Illinois also considers charter boats to include those taking anglers on paid fishing trips for any kind of sportfish. The Illinois DNR requires charter sportfishing boat operators to complete daily catch reports, all of which are due by the 15th of the following month. Those who do not comply may be subject to penalties and may not be able to obtain a charter boat permit in future years2,3.
Minnesota requires licensed Lake Superior fishing guides (including charters) to submit monthly fishing reports by the 10th of the following month during the fishing season. Those that do not submit reports three times in a 2-year period may not be eligible for a guide license for up to three years.4
Iowa does not require guide licenses or guide reporting.
Sources:
9. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies Used and How Any Related Findings Support the Regulatory Approach Chosen:
These rules are similar to the reporting requirements already in place for licensed charter captains, who guide anglers in sport trolling for trout and salmon in the Great Lakes. The reporting requirements for licensed charter captains are established in s. 29.514 (2), Stats., and s. NR 20.60, Wis. Admin. Code, and require the charter captain to record the licensee’s name and license number, locations fished, number of anglers, number of lines fished, hours fished, the number of each species of fish taken, and other information within ½ hour of completion of the fishing trip. The charter captain must submit all such reports to the department by the 10th day of the following month. Those rules have not imposed any significant inconveniences or costs to the charter captains, but provide important data used in monitoring trout and salmon harvest. Compliance rates for charter captain reporting are estimated to be around 95 percent, while fishing guide reporting compliance rates are highly uncertain. Lake trout and lake whitefish are significant fisheries for both anglers and commercial fishers, and yellow perch is a key fishery in Green Bay, popular among sport fishers and with a small commercial component. Lake trout and lake whitefish harvest from guided trips are currently estimated from the creel surveys conducted on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and from limited guide reporting on Green Bay. These values are combined with harvest estimates from the general sport creel, charter reports and commercial harvest data (commercial harvest of lake trout is limited to Lake Superior only) to generate a total estimate of harvested lake trout and lake whitefish in Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Green Bay yellow perch harvest is estimated similarly, through creel surveys and information from the limited commercial fishery. These harvest estimates are an input parameter to the statistical catch-at-age models used to generate the total lake trout, yellow perch, and lake whitefish abundance estimates for Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Green Bay from which safe harvest levels are derived. Commercial harvest and charter harvest reporting compliance rates are estimated to be close to 100 percent, and improving accuracy of sport harvest by having guide harvest reporting will improve the statistical catch at age models as well as provide valuable population information for other species that do have significant commercial harvest or enough data to develop a statistical catch-at-age model.
Harvest for other key Great Lakes sport fisheries, such as the walleye, muskellunge, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and northern pike fisheries, is also of interest, and the department estimates it from creel surveys and limited guide reporting. However, additional guide reporting would help improve the accuracy of department data for these fisheries.
10. Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to Determine the Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of an Economic Impact Report:
The department does not anticipate any significant costs to licensed fishing guides as a result of this rule. The majority of Great Lakes fishing guides already possess a cell phone or other electronic device on which reports can be entered, and no reporting costs, fees, or fines will be included in this rule. However, this rule would create new mechanisms to increase reporting compliance among fishing guides, which would require fishing guides to learn the new requirements and take action to submit timely reports.
11. Effect on Small Business (initial regulatory flexibility analysis):
This rule will have a minimal economic impact, if any, on licensed guide businesses. The types of information required to be reported under the proposed rule would not generate any costs. The method for reporting may minimally impact some guides under mandatory electronic reporting if those guides do not already possess an electronic device such as a computer or cell phone to enter the reporting information. These guides would have to purchase an electronic device to enter their reports, which is expected to be a minimal cost to each guide.
This rule will not contain any design or operational standards, but will contain new reporting requirements that will apply to licensed guides, including those who guide in sport trolling for species other than trout and salmon.
13. Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
Written comments may be submitted at the public hearings, by regular mail, or email to:
Meredith Penthorn
Department of Natural Resources
101 S. Webster St.
Madison, WI 53703
RULE TEXT
Section 1 NR 20.65 is repealed and recreated to read:
NR 20.65 Report of licensed guides.
(1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Assist” or “assisting” means providing support or aid to a person with the activities associated with the act of fishing, including transporting anglers between the shore and an open water or on-ice fishing location.
(b) “Direct” or “directing” means to manage, supervise, or oversee an angler’s or anglers’ fishing activities and fishing trip conditions to aid the angler or anglers in attempting to catch fish.
(c) “Electronic guide reporting system” means a system established or authorized by the department for reporting guided fishing trips and other required information to the department by electronic means.
(d)
1. “Fishing guide” means any person required to be licensed under the provisions of s. 29.512 (1), Stats., that is actively engaged in guiding, directing, or assisting a person or persons for compensation or reward in fishing, as defined in s. NR 20.03 (12), in waters defined in pars. (f), (h), and (i). 2. “Fishing guide” does not include a person that rents boats, fishing shelters, fishing gear, or related equipment to an angler for the angler’s independent use, provided that the person does not offer any additional services to guide, direct or assist the angler in attempting to catch fish.
(e) “Fishing trip” means the time period during which an individual fishes or a group of anglers fishes together, commencing upon leaving the dock or shore and ending upon return to the dock or shore after the conclusion of fishing.
(g) “Guide,” when used as a verb, or “guiding” means to advise, influence or superintend the conduct or instruction of an angler or anglers, including providing expertise to an angler or anglers on how to conduct fishing activities to improve the angler or anglers’ ability to catch fish.
(i) “Lake Superior” means Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior and Chequamegon Bay, as well as all tributaries up to the first lake or barrier impassable to fish.
(2) General provisions. No person may fail to file a report as required under this subsection and sub. (3). No person may file an inaccurate report of the information required under this subsection.
(a) Each fishing guide operating in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, or Green Bay designated under par. (b) shall report to the department in the manner described in sub. (3) for each fishing trip, except as provided in pars. (d) and (e).
(b) The department shall annually specify the waters of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Green Bay and the time frame and the fish species for which reporting is required, which shall become effective on January 1 each year. The department shall notify fishing guides of this information no later than December 1 of the preceding year.
(c) The report required under par. (a) for each guided fishing trip shall include all of the following accurate information:
1. Name and department customer identification number of the fishing guide filing the report.
2. Name and department customer identification number of other fishing guides who were involved in guiding, directing, or assisting with the fishing trip.
3. Date.
4. Location.
5. Total number of anglers.
6. Total number of hours fished during the fishing trip.
7. Description of fish caught during the fishing trip, including species, number caught, number kept, tag numbers, if any, and other related information.
8. Other information required on the report form that the department determines is relevant to the sound management of the species taken.
(d) If multiple fishing guides guide, direct, or assist with a fishing trip, in whole or in part, each fishing guide shall file a report per this subsection for that fishing trip, except that only one report may contain the information described in par. (c) 5. to 7., and all other reports filed for that fishing trip shall identify the name and department customer identification number of the fishing guide that completed the information in par. (c) 5. to 7. The fishing guides associated with the fishing trip may determine which fishing guide’s report will contain the information in par. (c) 5. to 7., but all fishing guides remain responsible for ensuring that the information in the fishing trip report is provided and filed in accordance with this subsection and sub. (3).
(e) Notwithstanding the requirements in pars. (a) and (d), as an alternative form of reporting, a person who employs one or more fishing guides and who obtains a guide license under s. 29.512 (1), Stats., may elect to complete the fishing trip reports required under this subsection in place of any licensed fishing guide or group of fishing guides under its employ, in accordance with all of the following conditions: 1. The employer and any employed fishing guides for whom the employer will file reports shall jointly apply, on application forms furnished by the department, for annual authorization to file the fishing reports under this subsection. Authorization shall remain in effect until the end of the license year. The application forms shall include all of the following information:
a. The name, business address, and department customer identification number of the employer that will report on behalf of the employed fishing guides.
b. The names and department customer identification numbers of all fishing guides for whom the employer will submit reports during the license year.
c. Fishing guide certification that each fishing guide shall provide true and accurate information required under this subsection to the employer for all fishing trips during the license year while under the employ of that employer, that the fishing guide shall provide this information within 24 hours after completion of the fishing trip, and that the fishing guide remains responsible for ensuring that the employer has received the fishing trip report information to fulfill the requirements in subs. (2) and (3).
d. Acknowledgement of the employer and each fishing guide listed under subd. 2. b. for which fishing trip reports will be filed that the employer shall submit all fishing trip reports for the calendar year with information provided by the fishing guide and in accordance with this section.
e. Any other information requested by the department.
2. The employer and each employed fishing guide for whom the employer will file reports shall each be responsible for the form, content, and submission of all fishing trip reports filed pursuant to this paragraph.
(3) Reporting methods.
(a) Each fishing guide required to report under sub. (2) shall submit a report of each fishing trip to the department by means of the electronic guide reporting system within 24 hours after completion of the fishing trip, except as provided in par. (c). The fishing guide shall submit the report in the English language on electronic forms provided for this purpose by the department.
(b) Reports submitted by the fishing guide using the electronic guide reporting system are considered approved upon submittal.
(c)
1. If the electronic guide reporting system is not in operation, or if the fishing guide is unable to connect to the electronic guide reporting system, the fishing guide shall complete and sign, in writing in the English language, a paper report on a form furnished by the department containing the required information in sub. (2) (c) within 24 hours of completion of the fishing trip.
2. When the electronic reporting system is again functional, or the fishing guide’s electronic communication device can again connect to the electronic guide reporting system, the fishing guide shall resume entering trip reports required under sub. (2) into the electronic guide reporting system and submitting the reports electronically to the department. The fishing guide shall retroactively enter the information from any paper reports into the electronic reporting system within 48 hours of completion of the fishing trip unless the department has granted an extension.
