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The 2005-06 Manitoba Trapping
Guide is now available, providing trappers with information on the current
seasons and regulation changes for the coming year, Conservation Minister Stan
Struthers announced today.
"Trapping has a long tradition
in Manitoba, especially for First Nations people harvesting animals for food and
clothing," said Struthers. "In many communities, trapping still remains a way of
life and an important source of seasonal income."
A significant change for
trappers this year is the opening of an experimental fisher season in southern
Manitoba. The fisher is a large member of the weasel family. Males measure 90 to
120 centimetres, weigh 3.5 to 5.5 kilograms and have blackish-brown fur that
becomes thick and soft from November to March. The female is smaller.
The current fisher season has
been underway for about a month. The black bear trapping season ends on Nov. 15
in the Registered Trapline and the Northern Special Trapping areas.
This year, the guide’s front
cover features marten releases in the Duck Mountain Registered Trapline Section
in the late 1960s. The success of this reintroduction program over the last
decade has resulted in about $200,000 in marten pelts being harvested by
trappers from this section.
Martens are smaller members of
the weasel family. Their fur is soft and thick, varying in color from pale buff
or yellow to reddish or dark brown. Martens have long, bushy tails that are
one-third of their total length. The female is about three-fourths the size of
the male.
Last year, Manitoba trappers
harvested nearly $3 million in fur-bearer pelts. Trapping Guides are available
from Manitoba Conservation District offices, trapping licence vendors and online
at
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/hunt_trap.
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