Nothing fishy: Mesa hits another inflation bump
Add another item to the list of products ravaged by inflation: Live fish like largemouth bass used for stocking fishing ponds, according to the Arizona Game & Fish Department. The Arizona Game & Fish Department has reported that live fish like largemouth bass, catfish, trout and bluegill are being used for stocking fishing ponds in Mesa parks as part of the state’s Community Fishing Program. The fee for the fish is more than doubling in a 5-year agreement with Mesa, approved by the city council last week. The agency stocks 52 urban lakes in 22 communities across Arizona under the motto, “If people can't get to the fish, we'll bring the fish to the people.” However, the costs of urban fishing for Arizona cities and towns have increased, with increased costs being passed to participating cities and town councils across the state. The new contract includes a $217,448 fee for fish over five years, or about $41,000 annually.
Veröffentlicht : vor einer Woche durch Scott Shumaker, Tribune Staff Writer in
Add another item to the list of products ravaged by inflation: Live fish like largemouth bass used for stocking fishing ponds, according to the Arizona Game & Fish Department.
The state agency pours thousands of bass, catfish, trout and bluegill into artificial lakes at four Mesa parks as part of the state’s Community Fishing Program.
Mesa’s fee for the fish is more than doubling in a 5-year agreement with Game & Fish approved by the city council last week.
But for Mesa leaders, the popular community fishing program is a keeper.
Game & Fish Program Manager Scott Gurtin said the agency manages six trout hatcheries in Arizona. However, those only produce enough fish for Game & Fish to stock Arizona’s rural bodies of water.
For urban fishing, it buys fish from hatcheries in Utah, Colorado and Arkansas, and the cost of the fish and transportation “went stratospheric” during the pandemic.
Game & Fish stocks a total of 52 urban lakes in 22 communities across Arizona under the motto, “If people can’t get to the fish, we’ll bring the fish to the people.”
In Mesa, the agency administers the Community Fishing Program at Riverview Park, Red Mountain Park, Greenfield Park and Eastmark Great Park.
Gurtin said giving Arizonans access to fishing close to home helps connect them with nature, reduces stress and provides neighborhoods with a family friendly activity.
The program allows people to “get off work and drive to a local pond and enjoy some relaxing time trying to catch fish.”
“The difficult part of it, like anything, the costs have gone exceptionally high,” Gurtin said.
Some of the elevated costs are getting passed to participating cities and towns as contract renewals for the Community Fishing Program and go to city and town councils across the state this year.
Mesa’s fee for the live fish spiked 123% in the new agreement, but Mesa leaders said the Community Fishing Program is worth it.
“Definitely, having the experience of the outdoors in the city is a necessary amenity to providing the best recreation opportunities that we can provide,” said Councilwoman Jenn Duff, a former professional angler.
“To be able to (travel) to a lake or a river to go fishing is quite a luxury – it’s not available to the average child in Mesa – but I think (fishing) brings a lot to understanding and appreciation of the outdoors,” she said.
Duff said fishing is also good for residents’ mental health.
Mesa’s new contract includes a $217,448 fee for the cost of fish over five years, or about $41,000 annually. Under a 2018 contract – before the program added the Eastmark Great Park – the annual fee was about $16,000.
Municipalities also bear responsibility for maintaining suitable conditions for fish in the urban lakes.
Parks Director Andrea Moore said the Community Fishing Program is “very popular” and “very successful” in Mesa. She said the stocked lakes provide “a good introductory experience” to Mesa’s parks as well as the sport of fishing – especially for kids.
Gurtin said Mesa’s updated fee only covers about 33% of the cost of the fish; the rest is supported by fees from hunting and fishing licenses and sales taxes on related equipment.
Residents 10 or older must purchase a $37 fishing license to fish publicly accessible waters in Arizona, including the ponds at Mesa parks.
While the costs of urban fishing for Arizona cities and towns is growing, Gurtin said the agency is making an effort to keep the price flat for anglers.
“There are no current plans to raise the license fees that anglers pay,” Gurtin said. “While it would be prudent to keep pace with inflation, there’s a strong desire to keep fishing affordable to families.”
Arizona Game and Fish stocks Mesa’s urban lakes with largemouth bass and bluegills in the spring, catfish in the spring and fall, and rainbow trout in the winter.
Catfish, which are hardy and tolerate warm water, are the last to be stocked in May.
Gurtin said there’s no stocking of lower elevation lakes in the summer months due the higher water temperature and lower oxygen levels, but he said the urban lakes can be fished year-round.
“Catfish, bass and sunfish (bluegill) that remain in the ponds are capable of thriving through the summer months,” he said.
Themen: Inflation