Posted 10:02 pm Sunday, May 16, 2010
Water Quality, Habitat Top Issues For New Chief
By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Writer
When it comes to freshwater fishing in Texas, there is a new sheriff in town.
Outdoor Writer
When it comes to freshwater fishing in Texas, there is a new sheriff in town.
Deputy director of the Inland Fisheries Division since 2004, Gary Saul has been bumped up the ladder to director. He replaces Phil Durocher, who retired after 18 years in the pinnacle post.
While there have been problems at the top in some past appointments, Saul recognizes the footsteps he is following coming behind those of Durocher and longtime division director Bob Kemp.
"I really am excited and honored to have the opportunity to keep this division going in a positive direction. We have had a wonderful history last 25 years and made a really good name for Texas fishing and the department," Saul said.
Coming into his new position Saul said he realizes the greatest strength of the division is the 225 employees who manage 800 public lakes and more than 191,000 miles of rivers and streams statewide.
"We have an extremely talented staff looking to do the next best thing and what is right for our constituents," Saul said.
For the most part Saul inherits a sound program. There are going to be budget challenges in the near future for all state agencies that result in cuts in programs and possibly staff cuts, but that is out of his control. What
is under his control is the quality of fisheries around the state and thanks to rain and regulations most of those are in good shape.
But it is an aging fishery. New lakes are a rarity meaning the department is going to have to do what it can to make older reservoirs as productive as possible. Saul said the challenge for the agency will be making the lakes as productive as possible.
"We have a lot to learn about the biology and management of reservoirs. We have made good decisions in the past based on what we know. As the reservoirs are aging we are still seeing excellent fisheries," Saul said.
Saul said to maintain them the department will be looking more and more at habitat and what it can do to restore habitat. In concert with the Wildlife Division, that is going to include working with private landowners in managing their land.
"One of the things we are trying to look at in TPWD is to take a watershed approach. Many of our fisheries are shaped around the reservoir they are in. Now we want to get into the watershed and work with the landowners to help with water quantity and quality coming into the reservoir," Saul said.
That would be a major change in tact for the department, both in that type of cooperation between divisions and in working with landowners. Saul noted, however, that it doesn't mean department fisheries biologists would work with landowners on fish management of their ponds and lakes, but will instead focus on riparian areas that lead to public waters.
"One of the things we are trying to do is integrate Inland Fisheries with Wildlife. They have tremendous relationships with landowners. To go work with the wildlife guys with the expertise we have should help the landowners improve their land," Saul explained.
The first project under the program is one intended to re-establish Guadalupe bass as the dominant bass in some Hill Country streams.
"We are going to look at the state fish and see if we can't improve the habitat and overwhelm the genetics in areas where smallmouth were overstocked to see if can get more (Guadalupe bass) out there," Saul said.
Otherwise, he said fishermen should expect continual tweaking of regulations instead of wholesale changes.
"We listen to our fishermen and we look at our surveys that we do and really try to hone in on what constituents are telling us. We have done well in that area," Saul said.
The biggest changes could come with an increased emphasis in catfish management. The department is in the process of surveying anglers and has begun working on developing a few trophy catfish fisheries as the demand for that type of fishing grows.
As for largemouth bass Saul lets the statistics speak for themselves.
"We have gone from one reservoir in Texas producing a 13-pound bass to more than 60 contributing a ShareLunker and probably more than that have produced a bass more than 13 pounds. We have come a long ways from the mid '70s when that began," he said.
If there is room for improvement, Saul said it might be in angler education on lakes with a slot limit. He said the department needs to convince anglers it is not only OK to take below-the-slot fish, but that doing so will help the trophy aspect in the long run.
Saul added that construction has resumed at the John Parker Fish Hatchery near Jasper. When the first phase of the facility comes online next spring it should increase annual Florida bass production to 11-13 million fingerlings per year, getting it closer to the 15-17 million requested annually by department biologists.
Phase II construction could add another two million or so fingerlings annually. The facility will also raise blue catfish and can be converted for striper and hybrid striped bass production if necessary.
