TWRA committee amends paddlefish rules: half 6-inch/half 7-inch nets this year, full 7-inch required by 2026-27

The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission fisheries committee on Feb. 20 amended Commercial Take of Fish and Turtle Proclamation 25-01 to phase in a 7-inch square-mesh requirement for paddlefish nets and to change the Kentucky Lake paddlefish season end date from April 7 to March 31. The committee voted to refer the amended proclamation to the full commission for final action.

Chief Jason Haniger, chief of fisheries for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, told the committee the changes respond to biological and gear-impact data: “We are managing for sustainability of the paddlefish fishery. We went through a downturn. The fishermen's experienced that.” He said the mesh-size increase is intended to reduce bycatch and mortality of sublegal and male paddlefish in what the agency has converted into an all‑female, gravid‑female harvest fishery.

The amended proposal also shortens the Kentucky Lake paddlefish season to close March 31, based on a 10‑year analysis the agency presented…