DWR kicks off early survey of 2027 fish-regulation ideas, including spearfishing and bowfishing concepts
Loading...
Summary
Division staff ran a mentimeter-style, early-stage survey with the Blue Ribbon Council to gauge comfort with conceptual regulatory changes for 2027: site-specific native protection zones, limited spearfishing/bowfishing for nuisance species, slams for native sport-fish and local slot/bag adjustments in response to population modeling.
Trina Hedrick led a conceptual review and interactive Mentimeter survey with the Blue Ribbon Council on Jan. 15 to solicit early input on potential 2027 regulation changes. Staff emphasized these are conceptual, approximately six months earlier than the formal rulemaking timeline, and are intended to gather stakeholder insight.
Key concepts presented included: temporary or location-specific protection for native nongame species (e.g., Escalante drainage), allowing spearfishing in waters where biologists have identified a need for additional harvest (for example, lake trout or overabundant walleyes), allowing bowfishing for nuisance carp/Utah sucker in select waters, and the possibility of listing native species as sport fish while prohibiting harvest (a catch-and-release designation to build public interest).
Council members raised common concerns about enforcement and unintended consequences. Questions included how spearfishing or bowfishing expansions would be monitored, whether new harvest options might be difficult to reverse if popularity rises, and the potential for conflicts between spear anglers and other users. Staff noted the Division is beta-testing a spear-angler survey tool to better track spear-angler effort and harvest, and plans to return finalized proposals to the board later in the cycle.
Region-specific survey items included proposals for: spearfishing/bowfishing allowances in the Provo River delta for carp/pike/white bass outside of sensitive spawn periods; spawning-season closures or nighttime closures in Flaming Gorge (Lynwood Bay) to reduce snagging and enforcement burdens; protective slot limits and adjusted bag limits in Starvation and Willard Reservoirs to address stacked size classes; and consideration of no-limits or must-kill regulations for overabundant black bullhead in some waters.
Staff stressed these concepts will be refined with data and public input; multiple council members urged careful outreach to other user groups and clear safety analysis before expanding underwater harvest options. The board intends to collect regional feedback and return with proposed regulatory language for the statewide angler survey and board consideration later in the year.
Next steps: regions will provide data and modeling to staff by March 1 for consideration in the FY27 regulation package; spear-angler beta surveys will run during 2026 to inform the scale of any spearfishing proposals.
