INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio River paddlefish, whose eggs are sought by poachers as a lucrative source of caviar, are being protected by new regulations from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR approved emergency rules that include limiting the catching of the paddlefish from Nov. 15 to April 15 and a minimum size of 34 inches from eye to tail fork.
"Our recent investigation clearly revealed that existing regulations are insufficient to protect this unique resource," DNR director Robert Carter Jr. said Monday. "Unfortunately, the high market prices for paddlefish caviar do not encourage resource conservation.
"The escalating harvest pressure threatens to take paddlefish faster than they can be replaced, which could lead to a shortage we intend to prevent," he said.
A two-year investigation has led to arrests of more than 20 people on charges including illegal taking of paddlefish, money laundering, and racketeering and corrupt business influence, Carter said.
Paddlefish in the Mississippi River Basin, including the Ohio River, were targeted by poachers because of a decline in traditional sturgeon caviar sources in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the DNR said.
Most females require 10 to 12 years to mature and may spawn only once every two to three years. A mature female paddlefish may carry several pounds of eggs, which can bring up to $250 per pound or more, the department said.
The emergency rules, valid for one year and then renewable for another year, also prohibit the snagging of paddlefish by people with sport-fishing licenses. They also prohibit the use of gill nets and trammel nets during the closed paddlefish season, and standardize a method for commercial fishers to check paddlefish for the presence of eggs.
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