NR 19.057 (3) (a) Each permit holder or the permit holder’s employee shall maintain a clear, legible daily record in the English language on department forms available from the department of all minnows harvested minnow harvest activities conducted under the permit which the department requires to be reported, which may include setting, tending, moving, or removing minnow harvest gear, or the removal of minnows from harvest gear, from any inland or outlying water. The record shall include the water body of origin, the town, range and section latitude and longitude or nearest road crossing where harvested, the species harvested, the date of harvest, the gear type and amount used, the quantity weight or volume of each species harvested by waterbody for all gear lifts conducted during that day’s trip to the waterbody, the disposition of the minnows, except that retail sales to consumers need not be recorded, the signature of the permit holder, and any other information required on the record form.
Section 7 NR 19.057 (3) (b), (c), and (d) are created to read:
NR 19.057 (3) (b) The permit holder shall ensure that all information required under par. (a), except for the disposition of the minnows, is accurately recorded at the time that the permit holder or the permit holder’s employee sets, tends, lifts, moves, or removes the gear in the waterbody and empties the gear of fish and before the permit holder or permit holder’s employee leaves the site where the minnows were loaded for transport. The permit holder or employee shall record the final disposition of the minnows to sources other than retail sales to final consumers at the time of disposition.
(c) The permit holder or the permit holder’s employee shall submit a report of all daily records recorded under pars. (a) and (b) no later than the 10th day of the month following the month of harvest in the form specified by the department. After December 31, 2027, the permit holder or the permit holder’s employee shall submit the report forms electronically to an electronic reporting system designated by the department by 11:59 p.m. the day the minnows are removed from the harvest gear.
(d) The permit holder shall maintain all records required under this subsection for no less than 2 years after the expiration of the permit and shall make the records available to a department representative for inspection upon request at all reasonable hours.
Section 8 NR 19.057 (5) is amended to read:
NR 19.057 (5) Notwithstanding the 30-day limit in sub. (1), the The department may issue a wild harvest permit that is valid for the dates specified on the permit, which may exceed 30 days duration, if the permit is for the harvest of minnows from a water of the state stocked with minnows by the applicant pursuant to a stocking permit under s. 29.736, Stats., or for the harvest of minnows from a lake stocked with minnows by the applicant pursuant to a permit for private management under s. 29.737, Stats. The department may issue a wild harvest permit under this section in conjunction with a stocking permit or a permit for private management. Section 9 NR 19.0575 is created to read:
NR 19.0575 White sucker spawning permit required.
(1) No bait dealer may take the eggs or milt from white suckers caught from any inland or outlying water for the purpose of rearing the offspring as bait unless the bait dealer is 18 years of age or older and possesses a white sucker spawning permit from the department. The permit holder shall comply with all terms and conditions of the permit. Permits shall expire on December 31 each year. The bait dealer shall include all of the following information on the permit application:
(a) The name and street address of the bait dealer.
(b) The bait dealer’s license number or department customer identification number.
(c) The types and quantities of harvest gear to be used in each waterbody to collect white suckers for egg or milt harvest.
(d) The volume in quarts of white sucker eggs, milt, or both that the bait dealer is requesting to harvest from each waterbody.
(e) The waters where the bait dealer will harvest the white sucker eggs or milt.
Note: “White sucker” refers to the species Catostomus commersonii.
Note: See s. NR 20.14 for general minnow collection restrictions, s. NR 20.20 for county and statewide restrictions on waters, authorized methods, open season, size limits, bag limits and other restrictions, and s. 29.401, Stats., for gear use restrictions. (2) The department may issue a white sucker spawning permit under this section if it determines that all of the following criteria are met, and may set specific conditions in the permit or deny applications when necessary to ensure compliance with this section, prevent or control the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus or invasive species, and maintain a supply of suckers that is sufficiently adequate to replenish the population and sustain ecosystem function in the water of harvest:
(a) The applicant is a bait dealer who holds a bait dealer’s license or is exempt under s. 29.509 (3), Stats., from the requirement to hold a bait dealer’s license. (b) The eggs or milt will not be collected from white suckers in Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River, Lake Winnebago, the Fox River from Lake Winnebago to Green Bay, or any bay, slough or backwater of these waters, or any water connected to these waters upstream to the first dam or other obstruction impassable to fish, or from any other water where the department has reason to believe that viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus may be present or where other invasive species may be present.
(3) The permit holder shall notify the department, in the manner specified by the department, at least 12 hours in advance of white sucker collection for the purpose of egg or milt harvest and shall provide all of the following information:
(a) Permit holder name.
(b) Location where fish will be collected.
(c) Time of day when collection will occur.
(d) The names of any employees operating under the permit holder’s sucker harvest permit.
(e) The phone number of the permit holder.
(4) The permit holder shall comply with all of the following restrictions:
(a) All nets shall be marked in accordance with s. 29.516, Stats. (b) Nets may not be attended, set, or lifted from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
(c) The permit holder may not use or possess hook and line fishing gear while engaged in operations under the authority of the permit.
(d) The permit holder and all employees working under the direction of the permit holder shall carry a current, valid copy of the white sucker spawning permit while conducting egg and milt harvesting activities.
(5) The permit holder or employees working under the direction of the permit holder shall immediately return unharmed to the water all fish other than white suckers captured in sucker harvest gear. All suckers from which eggs or milt are collected shall be returned unharmed to the water immediately following egg or milt collection, unless the permit holder has been issued a wild bait harvest permit for that waterbody and keeps the suckers as authorized under the wild bait harvest permit. All dead suckers removed from the harvest gear shall be disposed of away from the water, bank, or shore of the waterbody.
(6) The permit holder or employees working under the direction of the permit holder shall disinfect all sucker harvest gear and transport equipment after use to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus and other invasive species.
(7) The permit holder or employees working under the direction of the permit holder shall decontaminate all eggs harvested within 24 hours of harvest.
(8) The permit holder shall maintain clear, legible daily records in the English language on forms available from the department of the total volume of eggs harvested per waterbody. The record shall include the waterbody of origin of the white suckers from which the eggs or milt were harvested, the nearest road crossing or latitude and longitude to where the white sucker eggs or milt were harvested, the number of white suckers collected in all gear per waterbody that day, the date of harvest, and any other information required on the record form. The permit holder shall submit the records to the department within 7 days following harvest. The permit holder shall retain all harvest records for a period of 2 years.
Section 10 NR 20.03 (10m) is created to read:
NR 20.03 (10m) “Disinfect” or “disinfected” has the meaning given in s. NR 19.001 (5r). Section 11 NR 20.39 (1) (intro.) and (a) are amended to read:
NR 20.39 (1) The department may issue a permit under this section to a licensed bait dealer for the taking of minnows with minnow seines, minnow dip nets or minnow traps which are otherwise prohibited by s. NR 20.14. Applications shall be submitted on forms available from the department to the regional office having jurisdiction over the affected waters, and all of the following provisions shall apply to nonstandard gear permits.: (a) The department shall may issue the permit if it determines that all of the conditions of this paragraph are met, and may specify conditions in the permit to minimize user conflict in the waterbodies of harvest, manage cumulative harvest of minnows from specific waterbodies, minimize bycatch, and protect fish habitat.:
Section 12 NR 20.39 (1) (b) 3s. is created to read:
NR 20.39 (1) (b) 3s. For gear set in trout streams, specify conditions limiting gear type, size or number based on stream size.
Section 13. Effective Date. This rule takes effect on the first day of the month following publication in the Wisconsin Administrative Register as provided in s. 227.22 (2) (intro.), Stats. Section 14. Board adoption. This rule was approved and adopted by the State of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board on December 13, 2023.
