Salmon Anglers Asked to Look for Tag

Anglers who catch a tagged salmon are reminded to turn in the heads and report information to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Anglers can identify a tagged salmon by looking at the adipose fin – a small fleshy lobe found on the back toward the tail. If the fin is missing it was likely removed by Game and Fish biologists and the salmon probably has a micro-tag embedded in its head. There is no external tag.

Micro-tags are inserted into a sample of young salmon before being stocked into Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River. This microscopic tag is implanted near the snout, and contains a code that identifies stocking information.

Heads can be turned into Game and Fish, or local bait shops in Riverdale and Pick City. Anglers will be provided information about the fish when tags are extracted and read by biologists.

State Requirement for Transporting Geese Adjusted

North Dakota goose hunters should take note of an exception made to state identification requirements for transporting geese when processed by commercial processors who comply with state and federal requirements.

Robert Timian, State Game and Fish Department chief of enforcement, said hunters taking geese to commercial processors must follow the same procedure as before. The only change is commercial processors can now remove the identification component of the goose prior to reaching the hunter’s legal residence.

“All federal requirements of tagging and record keeping for both the hunter and the processor remain the same,” Timian said. “In addition, nothing changes for the person who takes geese home to clean.”

This applies to both the early Canada goose and regular goose seasons. It does not apply for ducks. “The processors were in agreement with us to treat this as a pilot program on only geese and gauge how it works this year,” Timian said. “We might expand it to other species in the future.”

Processed geese are still subject to daily and possession limit regulations, and may be transported when accompanied by a copy of the record provided by the processor.

Prior to this year, one fully feathered wing or the fully feathered head of all waterfowl had to remain attached during transportation or shipment until it reached the hunter’s legal residence or was processed for immediate consumption.