Weekly News

Diets high in Animal Protein may help prevent functional decline in Elderly Individuals

A diet high in protein, particularly animal protein, may help elderly individuals maintain a higher level of physical, psychological, and social function according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Due to increasing life expectancies in many countries, increasing numbers of elderly people are living with functional decline, such as declines in cognitive ability and activities of daily living. This can have profound effects on the health and well-being of older adults and their caregivers, as well as on health care resources.

Research suggests that as people age, their ability to absorb or process protein may decline. To compensate for this loss, protein requirements may increase with age. Megumi Tsubota-Utsugi, PhD, MPH, RD, of the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Japan, and her colleagues in Tohoku University and Teikyo University, Japan, wondered whether protein intake might affect the functional capabilities of older adults. They designed a study to investigate the relationship between protein intake and future decline in higher-level functional capacity in older community-

dwelling adults in Japan.

Their analysis included 1,007 individuals with an average age of 67.4 years who completed food questionnaires at the start of the study and seven years later. Participants were divided into four groups (quartiles) according to their intake levels of total, animal, and plant protein. Tests of higher-level functional capacity included social and intellectual aspects as well as measures related to activities of daily living.

Men in the highest quartile of animal protein intake had a 39 percent decreased chance of experiencing higher-level functional decline than those in the lowest quartile. These associations were not seen in women. No consistent association was observed between plant protein intake and future higher-level functional decline in either sex.

"Identifying nutritional factors that contribute to maintaining higher-level functional capacity is important for prevention of future deterioration of activities of daily living,� said Dr. Tsubota-Utsugi. �Along with other modifiable health behaviors, a diet rich in protein may help older adults maintain their functional capacity.�

H.R. 2959, the Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013

The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 (H.R. 2959) has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah). The bill would allow any person who is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid, concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried. Similar legislation to H.R. 2959 passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 272-154.

H.R. 2959 would not create a federal licensing system, nor authorize the federal government to interfere with the powers of the states to set standards for the issuance of carry permits, nor establish federal standards for carry permits, nor override state laws allowing for the carrying of firearms without a permit. Rather, it would simply require the states to recognize each others� carry permits.

This is not a new or untested concept. Since 2004, certain active and retired law enforcement officers have been authorized to carry concealed firearms throughout the United States based on identification issued by the agencies that employ or formerly employed them. Most states that issue carry permits or licenses already have statutes that grant reciprocity or recognition to non-resident licenses or permits under various circumstances. Meanwhile, Right-to-Carry Reciprocity legislation has been introduced in Congress since 1995.

� The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for defensive purposes. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court ruled that �the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right� throughout U.S. history, and that the Second Amendment protects �the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.� In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Court

ruled that the protections of the Second Amendment extend to infringements under state and local laws.

� The Seventh and Ninth Circuits, among other courts, have affirmed that the individual right protected by the Second Amendment includes the carrying of firearms in public for self-defense. In the 2012 case of Shepard v. Madigan, authored by Judge Richard Posner, the court ruled that the �confrontations� of which the Supreme Court wrote in Heller �are not limited to the home.� The court accordingly held, �A right to bear arms thus implies a right to carry a loaded gun outside the home.� The Ninth Circuit similarly held in the 2014 case of Peruta v. San Diego County that Second Amendment protects the right of responsible, law-abiding persons to carry a firearm outside the home for self-defense.

� Every state has a concealed-carry firearm permit law. Forty-two states, accounting for two-thirds of the U.S. population, readily issue concealed carry permits or licenses. Thirty-nine have �shall issue� laws, requiring that carry permits be issued to qualified applicants. Four states do not require a license or permit for the lawful carrying of concealed firearms. Only the District of Columbia prohibits entirely the carrying of firearms in public for self-defense.

� Concealed carry has proven to be sound public policy in the United States. H.R. 2959 recognizes both the increased popularity of concealed carry and the increased mobility of the U.S. population. The current patchwork of state and local laws and reciprocity arrangements can prove daunting and confusing for even the most conscientious and well-informed concealed carry permit holders. People carrying in good faith and strictly for defensive purposes have been arrested and subjected to prosecution for inadvertent violations, sometimes as a result of voluntarily disclosing their possession of firearms to law enforcement officers. H.R. 2959 allows law-abiding Americans to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment with confidence and peace of mind, while still allowing states to enforce their own standards of conduct and restricted places of carry for those in possession of firearms

Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels for March 14

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Winter refused to loosen its grip on the Great Lakes this week. A major storm dropped several inches of snow across the southern Great Lakes and frigid temperatures returned basin wide. Detroit, MI is only 3 inches shy of breaking a snowfall record established over 120 years ago. Ice cover remains extensive on the lakes, with 84% of the lakes' surface covered. This weekend, warmer conditions are expected but temperatures will again turn sharply colder to start next week. Mid and long range temperature forecasts show the potential for colder than average temperatures through the end of March.

LAKE LEVEL CONDITIONS

Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are 13 and 12 inches, respectively, above their levels of a year ago. Lakes St. Clair and Erie are 5 and 2 inches, respectively, above what they were at this time last year, while Lake Ontario is an inch below its level of a year ago. Over the next month, Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are projected to climb 1 and 3 inches, respectively. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are predicted to rise 5 to 6 inches in the next 30 days. Ice build-up in the connecting channels can cause significant water level fluctuations, especially in Lake St. Clair.

FORECASTED MONTHLY OUTFLOWS/CHANNEL CONDITIONS

Lake Superior�s outflow through the St. Mary�s River is predicted to be above average for the month of March. Lake Michigan-Huron�s outflow into the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair�s outflow into the Detroit River are both projected to be near average. In addition, the outflow of Lake

Erie into the Niagara River is projected to be near average, while the outflow of Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is expected to be above average in March.

ALERTS

Official records are based on monthly average water levels and not daily water levels. Lake Michigan‑Huron is below chart datum and is expected to remain below datum over the next several months. Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels. Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings. Ice information can be found at the National Ice Center�s website.

	Superior	Mich-Huron	St. Clair	Erie	Ontario
Level for March 14	601.18	577.26	573.46	570.73	244.59
Datum, in ft	601.10	577.50	572.30	569.20	243.30
Diff in inches	+1	-3	+14	+18	+15
Diff last month	0	0	+8	+2	-2
Diff from last yr	+13	+12	+5	+2	-1

Midwest Ice fishing a big boon

Battle on Bago a huge success

By all standards this year�s Battle on Bago, the Midwest�s largest Ice Fishing Tournament on central Wisconsin�s Lake Winnebago and Upper Lakes was a huge success.

Created in 2007 by members of the Oshkosh Southwest Rotary Club to support "Kids & Conservation", the tournament has shown steady increases in participation and fund raising each year it has been run. Throughout the first four years, they have generated over $295,000. Event organizer Glen Curran told us they raised over $300,000 this year alone, and it's been their highest attendance to date.

Tournament participants fished between 6 AM February 21st to 1:30 PM February 22nd on Lake Winnebago and the Upper Lakes. Each angler was allowed to register one fish per ticket, at $30 per ticket, with no limit to number of tickets an angler could purchase. All state regulations and bag limits applied to fish allowed which included: Walleye, panfish (perch, bluegills, Crappies), white bass or Burbot.

Cash prizes were determined by the weight of a single registered fish. In the event of a tie, the first fish registered with the same weight took priority so participants were encouraged to weigh fish as early as possible. Over 7000 anglers competed for $160,000 in prizes.

With its unique prize structure, the largest fish registered netted $2,014,

but 150^th place won a new Ford F150 Truck along with 400^th and 600^th

place taking home new Lund boats with Mercury motors, Battle on Bago leveled the playing field for professional and amateur anglers alike.

Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau Sales manager Becky Snyder stated Over 9,000 anglers and spectators attended the Oshkosh sponsored tournament, while about 7,000 of that number actually fished the two day tournament. Event organizers say it's been their highest attendance to date.

We stayed and ate at the Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel, in the heart of downtown Oshkosh. The hotel is a pretty classy place, with great facilities an atmosphere of casual fun, quality food, location � (on the waterfront), lots of amenities and reasonable prices. Oh, and a covered parking is attached.

1 N. Main St. downtown Oshkosh

www.oshkoshwaterfronthotel.com/

855-230-1900

[email protected]

For more tourist info:

www.VisitOshkosh.com

For more tournament details:

www.battleonbago.org

Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Committee Summary

Lake Huron 2013 Forage Update and overview of predator diet study � Ed Roseman, USGS

2013 Lake Huron forage fish surveys

The 2013 forage bottom trawl results for Lake Huron showed a small increase in newly hatched alewife and rainbow smelt with low numbers of adults. Overall their numbers remain low especially for alewife. There are many young bloater with another good hatch, however, there was a decrease in the number of larger bloaters. In addition, there was a decrease in the other forage species including sculpin, stickleback and trout perch. There was a decrease in the round goby abundance compared to the high levels in 2012. Forage fish biomass is still dominated by bloaters and the total forage fish biomass was down 50% from 2012. This is the first decrease in prey biomass in the past three years which is 13% of the long term maximum.

2009-2011 Lake Huron Predator Diet Study

Since the alewife crashed in 2003 most predators like trout, salmon and walleye have altered their diet to eat more insects and smaller fish. Chinook salmon appeared to be the only species not able to switch to a more varied diet. The following is a summary:

Chinook continued to pursue mid water smelt and the rare alewife.

Lake trout ate primarily round goby and smelt.

Rainbow trout (steelhead) diet consisted of 56% invertebrates which were mainly terrestrial insects along with a variety of forage fish.

Atlantic salmon and Coho consumed smaller amounts of invertebrates but they ate a variety of smaller forage fish including significant numbers of emerald shiner and sticklebacks.

Walleye consumed mainly yellow perch. This is a switch from the 1980s when walleye ate mainly alewives, shad and shiners. Since the alewife crashed, forage fish over 6 inches in length have become rare resulting in young trout and salmon being about the only larger food items available for the larger predators. Because of this, it should be beneficial for fishery managers to concentrate on stocking species that are better able to avoid being eaten immediately after being planted. Recently, the brown trout program has been terminated in Lake Huron because the stocked fish spent many months near shore where they were very vulnerable and a switch in emphasis has been placed on Atlantic salmon and steelhead that smolt before and during stocking and quickly move off shore into safer waters.

Cormorants in Saginaw Bay

In 2003, authority was granted to the State to identify problem areas for treatment. USDA and tribal organizations were also recognized as agencies to manage cormorant control. Much work has been conducted in Northern Lake Huron and at various locations in Lake Michigan but control was not started in Saginaw Bay.

Little Charity Island and Spoils Island are the only two islands with breeding populations of cormorants within Saginaw Bay. Currently, it is estimated that there are over 2,500 pairs and because of increasing complaints about the expanding population in the Bay a diet study was started last April and extended through September. During each month 25 stomach samples were collected from the birds on each island for a total of 303 samples.

The stomachs taken from Little Charity Island contained high amounts by weight of yellow perch in April with a lesser spike in August. Yellow

perch were found during the other months but in much smaller amounts. High numbers of goby were present in stomachs during May, June, July

with smaller amounts in August and September. Significant amounts of walleye were present in May and September. The diets were the most varied in August and September with other species appearing in the stomachs throughout the entire sampling period including emerald shiners, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, pumpkinseed, white perch, white sucker and others.

The stomachs taken from Spoils Island contained a more diverse diet and were dominated with fresh water drum in April, white perch in May, walleye in June, and goby in July, August and September. Yellow perch were present in each month but the amounts were relatively small.

The main concern with having a large population of cormorants is the sport fishery will be negatively impacted. The annual trawl for age 0 walleye has shown considerable strong year classes since the alewife crashed in 2003. That translated into excellent adult walleye abundance, which is an enormous success story! Therefore, the goals have been reached and stocking has been discontinued.

In addition, trawl catches for age 0 yellow perch increased after the alewife declined. Numbers have declined since 2003, but overall numbers of juvenile age 0 yellow perch are very strong. These high numbers however, are not translating to adult abundance. Yellow perch reproduce very well, but are not surviving indicating a mortality problem on young perch in Saginaw Bay.

A walleye Diet Study has shown that in 2005 yellow perch became a dominant part of the walleye diet. With the first year of the Cormorant Diet Study complete, the challenge is to put those numbers into context and determine if the birds are also significantly reducing recovery of yellow perch in the Bay.

In 2011, cormorant total consumption in Saginaw Bay was estimated at 1,755,143 pounds of fish annually. By comparison, walleye consumption from age 2+ individuals is estimated to be around 3,122,959 pounds of fish/year, therefore cormorants are consuming 56% as much as walleye. By comparison walleyes are estimated to consume 498,553 pounds of yellow perch in Saginaw Bay during 2011 while cormorants consumed 257,094 pounds.

A model estimate shows that during 2011 36% of the age 1 yellow perch survived, 9% were eaten by cormorants, 12% were eaten by walleye and 43% were eaten by others. Would management of the cormorants make a difference in yellow perch survival? Cormorants are eating a variety of prey and nongame species are the larger majority but the consumption of yellow perch is not negligible. Even if the number of yellow perch consumed by the birds is a smaller percentage, the impact could be large. More analysis is needed to fully evaluate the cormorant�s significance so a second year of collection is planned. Most likely a decision will not be made on implementation of cormorant control in the Bay until 2015 after the 2 year diet study is complete.

Cormorant funding is through a grant, and congress has not acted on that yet. The USDA have just completed our 10th year of cormorant control. This has been a great accomplishment! It has been an excellent experience working with the various agencies, Tribes and volunteers to accomplish many goals.

Mentored Youth Fishing Days March 22

HARRISBURG, Pa. After a highly successful first run last year, the PFBC�s popular Mentored Youth Fishing Days program returns this spring to kick off the 2014 fishing season. The first day will be held on 12 waters on March 22 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This is the Saturday before the March 29 regional opening day of trout season.

�The pilot program last year was such a huge hit with anglers and their friends and family that we decided to expand the program statewide in 2014,� said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. �Commission staff and a host of volunteer organizations will be at the waters, answering questions and helping individuals so they can have the best experience possible.� �We surveyed participants in the pilot program and found that 89 percent of the registered youth fished that day,� he added. �The survey also showed that a majority of mentors were family members, and more than 80 percent of the mentors said they were satisfied with the experience.�

The second Mentored Youth Fishing Day will be held on 29 waters on April 5 from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This is the Saturday before the April 12 traditional opening day of trout season.

To participate in the program, adult anglers (16 years or older) must have a valid fishing license and trout/salmon permit and be accompanied by a youth. Youth anglers must obtain a free PFBC-issued permit or a voluntary youth fishing license. Both are available at www.GoneFishingPA.com or at any of the more than 900 licensing agents across the state.

Also, the PFBC is reminding anglers that the process to participate this year has changed. Last year, participants registered online to receive a permit. Because the program is expanding statewide this year, and with an eye to the future, the PFBC is now using the Pennsylvania Automated License Service (PALS) to issue youth permits and voluntary licenses.

Asian Carp expand North in Mississippi River; Eggs Found Near Lynxville, Wisconsin

Asian carp eggs, including late-stage embryos nearly ready to hatch from the egg, were recently identified in samples collected by U.S. Geological Survey scientists in 2013 from the Upper Mississippi River as far north as Lynxville, Wisc. Lynxville is about 74 miles North of the Illinois state line.

"This discovery means that Asian carp spawned much farther north in the Mississippi than previously recorded," said Leon Carl, USGS Midwest Regional Director. "The presence of eggs in the samples indicates that spawning occurred, but we do not know if eggs hatched and survived or whether future spawning events would result in live fish."

The Asian carp eggs and late-stage embryos were discovered two weeks ago while processing samples that were collected in mid-May and mid-June, 2013. The samples were taken as part of a larger research project designed to identify Asian carp spawning habitats. The eggs and late-stage embryos were 250 river miles upstream of previously known reproductive populations in the river. Spawning would have occurred upstream from this site.

Once the scientists visually identified the eggs, they examined other samples taken from the Mississippi River and found Asian carp eggs at seven locations between Pool 19 near Keokuk, Iowa, and Pool 9 of the main channel of the Upper Mississippi River near Lynxville. Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin border the navigation pools

where these samples were collected.

The eggs and late-stage embryos were identified as bigheaded carps � either bighead carp or silver carp � through visual analyses of specific features of the eggs and embryos. It is also possible that some eggs could be from grass carp, although no eggs were visually identified as such. The USGS attempted genetic analyses to definitively determine which species of Asian carp the eggs belong to, but the results were inconclusive. Additional steps are being completed to attempt genetic confirmation, and those results are expected in one to two weeks.

The research project that collected these eggs is being coordinated by the USGS in collaboration with Western Illinois University. Scientists plan to collect additional samples from the Mississippi River in 2014 as part of their on-going research project.

"Invasive Asian carp could pose substantial environmental risks and economic impacts to the Upper Mississippi River if they become established," Carl said. "Further research will help us to better understand their habitat requirements and inform integrated control efforts."

For more information on Asian carp research, go to Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) website. The ACRCC is a partnership of federal and state agencies, municipalities and other groups, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

State Fish Pages

Illinois - Indiana - Michigan - Minnesota - Ohio - Pennsylvania - New York - Wisconsin - Ontario