No-Limit Trapping for Missouri Otters
By
KSPR News
Story Created:
Mar 28, 2009 at 3:08 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 28, 2009 at 3:08 PM CDT
There are so many otters in Missouri
waterways, the state has issued a no-limit trapping season.
The state Conservation Commission earlier this month made waterways in the entire state available for otter trapping. The
season will be Nov. 15 to Jan. 31.
Biologist Jeff Beringer estimates the state's otter population at 15,000.
Trapping is the preferred "management tool" because it causes less damage to pelts that can fetch about $30 each.
Missouri began its 10-year otter restoration program in 1982, releasing otters at 45 locations. But otters also have taken a big
bite out of the state's fisheries. Fishermen in the Ozarks have
blamed otters for fewer smallmouth bass.
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