Cornwall Town Councilman Tim McCarty doesn’t make a big deal about many things. But one thing that he is obviously passionate about is protecting Cornwall’s outdoor space so that residents can use it for years to come.

At last week’s Town Board meeting he’d asked for the topic ‘Catch and Release at Rings Pond’ to be placed on the agenda and said at the meeting that he’d like to see a local law put in place requiring those fishing at the pond to throw back whatever they catch.

What he believes is happening is that folks are catching panfish there to “possibly use as bait for crabbing.”

“Copious amounts of fish are being removed from the pond, and there aren’t that many fish in it anymore anyway, because the depth is low,” McCarty said at the meeting. “People need to leave the fish there so local kids can catch them.”

That’s his main point. Ring’s Pond, in the center of Cornwall, is somewhere that families can go to teach children to fish. “I taught my son there and he’s taught his son there,” McCarty said. “I am adamant that I want generations of the community to be able to fish there.”

He suggested signage, at a minimum, asking fishermen to toss back their catches. “I think that would work as a deterrent,” he said. But, a local law requiring it is an option too. Attorney Steve Gaba reminded him that the toughest part of such a law would be its enforcement.

Rings Pond, Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said, is one of hundreds of lakes and streams in New York State that is deemed as ‘unregulated waters’. He, as well as Councilwoman Karen Edelman-Reyes, also noted there are fewer fish in the water than there used to be. Wojehowski suggested thinking about the best way to handle the problem before taking any action.

In New York State, fishing licenses are not required for those under age 15.