I remember years ago when I could catch trophy catfish from the banks of the Tennessee River. Now, I'm lucky if I get a 15 to 20 lb catfish. It's sad that TWRA does nothing to protect them. Our catfish population has been majorly depleted due to paylakes paying commercial fishermen to take fish out of their natural habitats and place them in ponds where they die. They take up to 9,000 lbs of fish a week out of our natural bodies of water and that's just to one paylake.

We need TWRA to actually do their job and have these transports checked at ramps and state lines. They are killing our fisheries and endangering our catfish. Why does TWRA allow this to happen? Why, when I call, do they say it's the job of local authorities? It's TWRA's job to protect the fisheries and wildlife, to my understanding. We want you guys to step up your work and protect our fish. We pay every year to fish and hunt yet we can't enjoy it because you guys do not enforce laws.

We need the TWRA to conduct checks on all vessels and bait trucks crossing state lines. We also need (TDOT) Tennesse Department of Transport to have them stopped at weight stations with the amout of weight they carry.

As a concerned citizen and angler, I want this issue to be resolved immediately. Our natural waters are being exploited by commercial fishermen for pay lakes. Paylakes and other similar entities know that what they do is harmful to our natural waters, yet they continue to pay to get these big fish into their small chemical lakes, making people pay to catch them. This illegal transportation across state lines is detrimental to our ecosystems and must be stopped.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) needs stricter enforcement of laws against illegal fish transportation. These practices not only threaten the biodiversity of our waterways but also undermine the efforts of responsible anglers who follow the rules.

Sign this petition if you believe in protecting our natural waters and holding those accountable who exploit them for profit! These magnificent creatures are at risk, and we must consider them a game fish with appropriate limits in place. Please sign this petition to help preserve our catfish population for future generations!