Catch-and-release policy is law of the land in Huntley
If you find yourself fishing in any of the four retention ponds the village of Huntley owns, you had better unhook and toss back whatever you catch.
It is now against the law to keep whatever you reel in from any of those ponds — two are in the Southwind subdivision, the other two in the Wing Pointe subdivision.
The new ordinance also prohibits people from keeping fish inside buckets, a net, a cage or any other apparatus meant to keep the fish alive and captive. After an initial warning, scofflaws will receive a $250 fine for violating the policy. A subsequent offense would cost $500.
Trustees approved the new law Thursday night, with only one, Trustee John Piwko, voting against it.
The village board took the vote two weeks after someone from the Southwind subdivision complained about a neighbor catching and keeping fish in one of its retention ponds.
Developers added bluegills and bass to the retention ponds in both subdivisions to help control insects and keep the ponds healthy.
Piwko said the board overreacted by passing a law based on a single complaint and on an issue that is not widespread in the village.
Instead of passing a new law, the board should have been more compassionate and found out whether the man was catching fish to feed his family, he said. If he was, then the board should have pointed him to a social service agency that could help him. And if he was doing it for sport, officials could have simply asked him not to do it again because the fish are there for a reason.
“I feel we should be looking to help solve the problem, rather than taking on new ordinances or anything,” Piwko said, adding that enforcing the new law unfairly burdens the police department.
Trustee Pam Fender supports the ordinance as a means to protect the environment, but thought the fines were too high.
“I don’t always get my way,” Fender said.