WSMV Channel 4 New TN law could allow more commercial fishing

New TN law could allow more commercial fishing

It's a Tennessee pastime, but the sport of fishing is causing controversy over who wants to profit.

A new state law could pave the way for more commercial fishing on a set of lakes in our state.

Right now, it's just an idea. But a fight is heating up over the possibility of an expensive study that taxpayers may end up paying for.

The paddlefish isn't so pretty, but it is in demand both for sport and for profit.

"They've been around for a long, long time," said Bobby Wilson, chief of fisheries for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Recently, a new law paved the way for a new council on commercial fishing and a plan to study the possibility of more of it.

For the state wildlife federation, that is cause for concern.

"The public ownership of wildlife can not be overstated," said Michael Butler, with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. "We don't want to see these issues politicized. A bill was passed in the General Assembly calling for this study. It wasn't something that came from our professional wildlife biologist."

The study could include five lakes - Old Hickory, Cordell Hull, Melton Hill, Watts Bar and Norris.

"They could be strong revenue sources for some individual commercial fishermen that might benefit," Wilson said.

The issue of the study is one thing. The cost of it, at least $741,000, is another.

"The question becomes, is this a good idea for the state of Tennessee?" Butler said.

"We don't know. We don't have a plan," Wilson said. "It puts us in a difficult situation because the sportsmen of the state don't want us to fund any kind of study like that with their dollars."

And if the state does foot the bill, many wildlife advocates want a say in what the study will cover, believing tax dollars shouldn't benefit the minority.

"Do we need to be spending tax dollars on it when we've only got seven to 10 people that do this for a living and they have plenty of places to commercially fish right now?" Butler asked.

In an interesting note, typically when TWRA asks for feedback, it does well to receive 10 or 20 responses.

But when it put this issue out there, some 200 responses came back, with most largely opposed to the idea.

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