ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – While many people turn to the Bosque to relax and recreate, some are doing so illegally; a sort of fishing frenzy has community members concerned for the wildlife that inhabits the area. KRQE News 13 asked city officials and locals about the concerning rise of illegal fishing in the bosque.
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311 reports are surfacing about illegal fishing in these ponds, even though there are legal fishing areas right outside of the bosque.
“Here in the bosque, we have what’s called our wetland ponds; and it’s an important habitat area for lots of different wildlife. There’s amphibians and reptiles, and all different species of birds that come out that use the water here,” said Dustin Chavez-Davis, Open Space Project Coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department for the City of Albuquerque.
The bosque running through Albuquerque is a cherished refuge for many. “That’s a place that I spend a lot of time. I do a lot of birding down there, I run around there all the time,” said Rich Wagner with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program associated with the University of New Mexico. He said recently he’s seen a problem emerge: “Really within the last six to eight months, fisher people have discovered it, and they’ve been down there a lot.”
Fishing in the ponds inside the bosque, which are protected wildlife habitats, is illegal. “We do see issues with fishhooks, with fishing line, it gets caught in wildlife, can trap wildlife or do damage. And so for that reason, we really want to preserve this area for the wildlife and not allow any fishing here,” said Chavez-Davis. Not to mention, the potential ecological damage: “Even without leaving trash, they destroy the bank line and vegetation. Like I said, they’re sitting, they’re moving logs out, they’re doing all kinds of stuff that just isn’t supposed to be done down here,” Wagner said.
Wagner has even taken matters into his own hands: “I probably scoot off three groups of people a week, and maybe one out of ten of the groups I scoot off are really not receptive and I have a problem with.”
He wants to see more enforcement: “We need better signage, we need better awareness, and more people willing to come and talk to folks about why this is a critical habitat to protect.”
While there is signage posted telling people not to fish at ponds like these, city officials say they’re working to revamp them. “We are working on getting signs translated and posted and making sure that that information is accessible to the public in English and in Spanish and making sure it’s posted where it’s visible,” said Chavez-Davis.
Those KRQE News 13 spoke with agree education is key. “People want to understand it, they want to take care of it. They just have to have the information,” Wagner said.
It’s up to the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) Open Space Division to enforce this law. KRQE News 13 reached out to find out what the penalty is, and is waiting to hear back. The Parks and Recreation Department said if you see someone fishing illegally, the best thing to do is to report it on 311 or call 242-COPS.
Parks and Recreation asks if someone makes a report to be as specific as possible: “It’s good to give information about the exact location and the time of day when you’re making your observation and we do appreciate the public kind of making those reports cause that helps us decide you know where to put resources,” said Chavez-Davis, “if we do need to notify APD about an increase of activity in a certain area, you know those reports really do help us to kind of be the eyes on the ground and report back any issues we’re seeing.”
“Everyone has a role in protecting our open space resources and so the more we can do to get that message out there, that we’re all stewards of the land, we’re all out here to really protect our wildlife and to preserve our water resources, I think all of those things are really important,” said Chavez-Davis.
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