Craig Argabright, Minot

The North Dakota Game and Fish have set their regulations for the 2020-2022 fishing seasons. The new regulations have a major change that will affect all fisherman alike, young and old.

The regulation states that two pieces of fish will now be considered two fillets which make up one fish. You are no longer allowed to fully clean your fish at the cleaning stations, in that you now have to take the fish home and finalize your cleaning there. If I have to have the mess at home, why then even have the cleaning stations at all?

Is this G&F excuse to start reducing or even quit providing fish cleaning stations in the future? It is the G&F’s assertion that this regulation will assist wardens in reducing over harvest of fish. I totally disagree with their argument as those who choose to exceed their limit, will continue to do so without regards to the number of pieces of fish fillets.

There is no forgiveness for those youngsters that are just learning to fillet fish. I can vividly remember first learning how to fillet, I never just came away with two fillets per fish, more like four or five as the norm.

Are we as sportsmen going to allow our children or grandchildren to be harassed by a warden for errors in filleting?

What about those that are camping and want to have a fish fry that evening back at the camper? You will thoroughly clean and cut your fish at the station and up drives a warden.

Uh, oh, you are now busted because you cut your single fillets in half at the station to make it easier for the cook back at camp as well as keeping the mess out of the camper.

As an organization that is solely supported by sportsman, most who own firearms, I find the new G&F regulations appalling. As stated, most ND sportsman also own firearms, whose Second Amendment Rights are constantly being threatened by overreaching politicians and government agencies with the only result being that the law-abiding citizens become lawbreakers, with no reduction in gun crime.

In this same note, the only outcome of the new ND G&F cleaning regulations is that those sportsman that followed the rules and did not exceed their limit are now going to become lawbreakers, while those that over harvested in the past will continue to do so with no regards to the method of which they clean their fish.

Congratulations ND Game and Fish, you just made more lawbreakers out of law-abiding citizens!