The rule will not directly impact sport fishing businesses, but sport fishing businesses and anglers may have a perception of increased user conflict due to additional commercial fishing effort in Green Bay. Since the Green Bay fishery is a shared fishery between sport and commercial fishers, close monitoring of the impacts of the increased Zone 1 quota through this rule will be important for ensuring that the welfare of sport fishing businesses is also protected.
The proposed rule would not contain any design or operational standards for commercial fishers.
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
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707
Rule Text
Section 1 NR 25.06 (2) (e) 2. b. is amended to read:
25.06 (2) (e) 2. b. The total allowable commercial harvest of whitefish in Lake Michigan and Green Bay may not exceed 2,880,001 pounds in any license year except as provided in subd. 2. c.
Section 2 NR 25.06 (2) (e) 2. c. is created to read:
25.06 (2) (e) 2. c. Notwithstanding subd. 2. a. and b., an additional 207,603 pounds of lake whitefish may be taken in Zone 1 for a total allowable harvest in Zone 1 of 569,788 pounds.
Section 3 NR 25.09 (2) (a) 9m. is created to read:
25.09 (2) (a) 9m. a. If by June 30, 2022, 12 onboard monitored lifts of gill nets with a mesh size of 4 inches or larger stretch measure in either southern Green Bay or northern Green Bay catch an average of at least 2 lake sturgeon, or an average of 10 percent or more by numbers of the total incidental catch of illegal fish out of the total dressed whitefish reported harvested by number, not to exceed 2,875,304 feet in total of gill nets with a mesh size of 4 inches or larger stretch measure may be set for the 2022 license year. The change in total gill net effort under this subdivision shall become effective upon order of the secretary.
b. Once the total footage of gill nets has reached 95 percent of the total allotment, the department shall notify licensees that no additional gill net footage with a mesh size of 4 inches or larger stretch measure may be set for the remainder of the season.
c. Licensees shall remove all gill nets with a mesh size of 4 inches or larger stretch measure set in Green Bay by 11:59 p.m. of the following workday after notification from the department that gill nets with a mesh size of 4 inches or larger stretch measure may no longer be used.
d. The following formula shall be used to determine the percentage of incidental catch of illegal fish out of the reported whitefish harvest for the purposes of subd. 9m. a.: [(number of illegal fish) / ((reported dressed whitefish harvest in pounds x 1.17) / 2.3)] x 100.
Section 4 NR 25.09 (3) (e) 1. is amended to read:
25.09 (3) (e) 1. All gill nets in the water and marked with a commercial fishing license number or a fleet reporting number shall count toward the total allowable gill net effort authorized under sub. (1) (am) or the linear feet of nets authorized under sub. (2) (a) 9. and 9m.
Section 5 NR 25.13 (2) (intro.) is amended to read:
25.13 (2) A person required to be licensed under s. 29.519 (1m), Stats., to conduct commercial fishing operations on Lake Michigan, Green Bay, or Lake Superior, in lieu of the requirements under sub. (1), may elect to submit a daily fishing report to the department that includes all records of pounds of fish harvest, harvest effort, and all other information called for on the report form by means of the electronic fish reporting system, except that each person required to be licensed under s. 29.519 (1m), Stats., who conducts commercial whitefish fishing operations on Green Bay shall be required to submit a daily fishing report thereof by means of the electronic fish reporting system, as described in par. (fm). All fishing activities for the day, including the estimated pounds of each fish species caught required pursuant to par. (f) and the weighed catch by species, shall be reported before 11:59 p.m. of each day during which the licensee engages in on-water fishing activity. Reports shall be submitted in the English language on electronic forms provided for this purpose by the department and include such information as may be deemed necessary by the department for management of the fishery and to prevent depletion of the fish supply. The daily report shall be submitted using an electronic communication device operated by the licensee or a licensee’s crew member. Section 6 NR 25.13 (2) (f) 1. is amended to read:
1. For Except as provided in par. (fm), for each fishing trip on Lake Michigan or Green Bay, the licensee or crew member shall carry an electronic communication device and, after completing the last net lift but before starting for shore, shall login to the electronic fish reporting system and submit the date, licensee’s name, commercial fishing license number or fleet reporting number, boat name, zone of fishing, the estimated pounds of each fish species caught by zone, and any other information requested on the electronic fish reporting system for each fishing trip.
Section 7 NR 25.13 (2) (fm) is created to read:
25.13 (2) (fm) Each person required to be licensed under s. 29.519 (1m), Stats., who conducts commercial whitefish fishing operations on Green Bay, or a member of the licensee’s crew, who is required to submit a daily fishing report by means of the electronic fish reporting system shall submit the date, licensee’s name, commercial fishing license number or fleet reporting number, boat name, zone of fishing, the estimated pounds of each commercial fish species caught by zone, weighed catch by species for commercial fish, number of incidentally caught fish, and any other information required on the report form for each whitefish fishing trip. The licensee or member of the licensee’s crew may submit the report in one of the following ways: 1. By direct input through an electronic communication device to the electronic fish reporting system after completing the last net lift but before starting for shore, and no later than 11:59 p.m. the day of harvest.
2. By recording all required information on a daily paper report form supplied by the department after completing the last net lift but before starting for shore, then submitting this information through an electronic communication device to the electronic fish reporting system by 11:59 p.m. the day of harvest.
Section 8. Statement of Emergency. The department finds that the welfare of commercial fishers and businesses associated with commercial fishing may be compromised due to the continuing economic impacts of COVID-19 on small businesses. Allowing additional commercial whitefish harvest in management Zone 1 of Green Bay may alleviate these impacts by increasing the amount of fish available for commercial fishers to sell to restaurants and other customers as the market begins to recover and demand for fish rebounds. In addition, to ensure the continued protection of game fish populations and welfare of sport fishers in Green Bay with increased commercial whitefish harvest, large mesh gill net monitoring requirements and the option to implement a large mesh gill net effort cap are needed to mitigate user conflicts and mortality of bycatch. Furthermore, only the electronic fish harvest reporting system is set up to allow daily, efficient input of standardized information on commercial catch of whitefish and incidental catch of non-target species to effectively monitor whitefish harvest and populations of non-target fish susceptible to becoming bycatch in whitefish large mesh gill nets. This information is also being utilized to develop new permanent whitefish quotas (the subject of permanent rule FH-02-20) for sustainable management of the whitefish fishery and associated bycatch populations. Electronic harvest reporting on a daily basis will help protect the welfare of the Green Bay fishery and all user groups.
Section 9. Effective Date. This rule takes effect upon publication in the official state newspaper, as provided in s. 227.24(1)(c), Stats. Section 10. Board adoption. This rule was approved and adopted by the State of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board on October 27, 2021.
