LAKEPORT– Invasive Species Council members heard firsthand on Monday that many boaters aren”t complying with the Lake County quagga mussel inspection program. During a meeting of the council it was revealed that an informal survey of the bass fishermen competing in the West Coast Bass tournament held on Saturday and Sunday didn”t have the required inspection bands attached to their boats. The county ordinance requires that all out-of-county boats be screened or inspected and be issued a color-coded band before being allowed to launch into Clear Lake.
The tournament had 59 boats with some coming from Southern California, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona. With the exception of Oregon, all the other areas have waters that are contaminated with the quagga mussel. Some of the boats from these areas apparently weren”t inspected prior to be launched in the lake. One out-of-county boater remarked when asked why his boat didn”t have the inspection band, “I”m not going give Lake County $10 to inspect my boat.”
Department of Fish and Game (DFG) fishery biologist Jay Rowan said that all tournament organization are required to have a permit to conduct bass tournaments and one of the conditions on the permit require that boats must pass a screening or inspection and be issued the required bands. Council Chairman Greg Giusti said that he was disappointed that so many boats were allowed to launch without a color-coded band.
“Obviously we have to come up with an enforcement method identifying those boaters that are ignoring the law. The ordinance is only as good as the enforcement,” Giusti said.
Lake County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Fulton told the council that she will be immediately contacting all the bass tournament directors and inform them that all boats in their respective tournaments will be required to be screened or inspected or they won”t be allowed to launch.
Lakeport city councilwoman Suzanne Lyons said that she will be asking the city council to lift the hiring freeze so that a park ranger can be hired to check on boats that are launching at Library Park in Lakeport.
Any person that launches a boat in Clear Lake without the required band and is cited can be fined as much as $460 which includes court and administrative costs. Most of the tournaments also have a rule that says that any contestant that has been issued a ticket by the sheriff”s boat patrol or a DFG game warden is automatically disqualified from the tournament and their entry fees are forfeited.
Giusti said that he will be working closely with Lake County Sheriff”s boat patrol and the DFG game wardens to make sure that all the boats in future bass tournaments comply with the requirements of the county ordinance.
