No additional statutes or rules relate to this rule.
5. Plain Language Analysis:
Bait harvest regulations are established to manage harvest of wild bait, especially minnows, from waters of the state. These regulations are important for allowing bait harvesters and anglers of Wisconsin fair and equitable access to and use of baitfish, while maintaining populations of these fish as forage for native game and non-game fish and other wildlife. Bait harvest regulations also help mitigate the spread of aquatic invasive species and disease and minimize disturbances to sensitive aquatic resources. This rule aims to modernize bait harvest regulations to improve permitting and reporting efficiency for bait harvesters and the department while continuing to protect wild fish populations. This rule will also update gear use regulations to meet current needs. This rule will address regulations for commercial bait harvesters. Additionally, this rule creates a white sucker spawning permit to authorize bait dealers to harvest eggs and milt from white suckers for propagation as bait.
SECTIONS 1 and 10 create a definition of “disinfect” to clarify existing and new language requiring minnow harvest gear to be disinfected before being moved to other waterbodies to prevent the spread of diseases such as viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus and invasive species.
SECTION 2 extends the duration of wild bait harvest permits issued to licensed bait dealers from 30 days to December 31 of each year, which will save time and reduce paperwork for both bait dealers and the department, and would require bait dealers to apply for the permit at least a month in advance of the date they want to start harvesting minnows.
SECTION 3 provides a method for bait dealers to request amendments to their annual wild bait harvest permits. This change is in response to the transition in this rule to annual permits that expire on December 31 of each year, rather than being valid for 30 days with the ability of the bait dealer to request different waterbodies in each monthly permit. To prevent imposing additional workload demands, the bait dealer would be limited to 10 permit amendment requests per year.
SECTION 4 removes language on permit revocations from language introducing permit conditions. The revocation language will be moved to SECTION 5.
SECTION 5 provides that the department may revoke or modify a wild bait harvest permit if the permit conditions, terms, and requirements are not being met, to ensure compliance with the wild bait harvest permit process, or to prevent or control the spread of VHS or aquatic invasive species. Notification would be effective upon email of the modification or revocation or three business days after the notification is mailed to the address of the permit holder.
SECTION 6 revises the record-keeping requirements for wild bait harvest permit holders to reflect minnow harvest activities such as setting and lifting minnow harvest gear, adjusts some recorded information so that it better aligns with typical minnow harvest practices, and requires the amount of minnows by volume or weight to be recorded by waterbody for all gear lifts that the permit holder conducts on that waterbody during that trip. These changes will provide the most accurate records of minnow harvest.
SECTION 7 requires minnow harvest information to be recorded before the bait dealer leaves the waterbody of harvest and requires the information to be reported to the department on a daily basis in the form specified by the department, with electronic reporting to take full effect in 2027.
SECTION 8 removes language relating to the 30-day wild bait harvest permit duration from the provision allowing a permit applicant to harvest minnows from a water stocked by that applicant.
SECTION 9 creates a white sucker spawning permit to regulate the harvest of white sucker eggs and milt for raising white suckers for bait purposes. Previously, the department utilized cooperative agreements to authorize taking white sucker eggs, with some of the eggs provided to the department for use in state fish hatcheries. However, the cooperative agreements have become more burdensome and less beneficial to the department over time, so transitioning to a permit will provide a more efficient mechanism for authorizing bait dealers to take white sucker eggs or milt. This section specifies permit application requirements, allows the department to set permit conditions to prevent the spread of invasive species or pathogens or to maintain a sustainable population of suckers in the waterbody, sets permit requirements including release of game fish from harvest gear and disinfection of harvest gear, and requires records to be kept of the suckers and eggs harvested per waterbody, with records to be submitted to the department.
SECTION 11 allows the department to set conditions in non-standard gear permits to minimize user conflict, manage cumulative harvest of minnows from specific waterbodies, minimize bycatch of non-target fish, and protect fish habitat.
SECTION 12 requires the department to specify conditions limiting gear size or number in trout streams depending on the size of the stream. This will better preserve the forage base and protect habitat in trout streams, which are sensitive aquatic resources.
6. Summary of, and Comparison with, Existing or Proposed Federal Statutes and Regulations:
No federal regulations apply. States possess inherent authority to manage the fishery and wildlife resources within their boundaries, except insofar as preempted by federal treaties and laws, including regulations established in the Federal Register.
7. If Held, Summary of Comments Received During Preliminary Comment Period
and at Public Hearing on the Statement of Scope:
The department was not directed to hold a preliminary public hearing on this rule.
8. Comparison with Similar Rules in Adjacent States:
Minnesota requires minnow dealers to obtain a minnow dealer license to harvest bait from the wild to sell as bait.1 In addition, the minnow dealer must possess a minnow retailer license to sell bait from more than one retail location, a minnow dealer vehicle license to transport more than 12 dozen minnows, and an exporting minnow dealer license to export minnow out of the state. Minnows also may not be harvested from waters infested with invasive species unless the minnow dealer is issued a permit, and all minnow dealers must complete annual invasive species training. Minnow dealers also may only harvest certain species from waters designated as free of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in the past year. A minnow dealer must also obtain a separate permit to harvest minnows in trout waters. Minnesota also requires an annual report form of bait sales to be submitted.
For personal bait harvest, Minnesota requires that the water in live bait buckets be exchanged for tap or bottled water before moving minnows away from the waterbody. Minnesota also restricts personal minnow harvest on certain waters without a permit, and restricts harvest on waters infested with invasive species, specifying that bait taken from these waters may not be moved live away from these waters. Gear regulations also apply for personal bait harvest, as well as a variety of species-specific restrictions to prevent the spread of VHS.2
Iowa requires a bait dealer license to sell bait. Bait dealers may not export bait taken from the wild. To use gear larger than specified in the bait dealer regulations, the bait dealer must apply for a permit. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources can restrict waters where bait harvest is allowed to protect minnow populations for management purposes. Anglers can harvest bait for personal use, but may not transport the bait in lake or river water and instead must bring clean water in which to transport the bait to prevent the spread of invasive species. Certain gear regulations apply for legal minnow harvest gear.3
In Illinois, bait harvest gear are restricted to certain dimensions. Minnow dealers must obtain a retail minnow dealers license or wholesale minnow dealers license.4
Michigan requires anglers to use bait fish in the waters where collected. Some waters are protected from bait harvest for fishery management purposes. Species that are considered to be VHS species must be labeled with their scientific and common name, location of capture, and testing status prior to being imported.5 Michigan also requires two types of bait dealer licenses—retail or wholesale—with a commercial bait catcher license for dealers that harvest minnows from the wild to sell by retail or wholesale. Commercial bait catchers are required to submit monthly reports of daily fishing activity online. Commercial bait catchers are also restricted to certain waters and certain gear types and sizes when harvesting bait.6 Commercial bait catchers may harvest minnows from the Great Lakes, but between Oct. 1 and May 31 each year the bait catcher must test all diseases-susceptible minnows harvested from these waters for disease and the DNR must certify them as free of disease before they can be sold.7 During the remaining months of the year, bait catchers must conduct one joint sampling effort for fish to test for disease.
9. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies Used and How Any Related Findings Support the Regulatory Approach Chosen:
Commercial bait harvesters licensed as bait dealers under s. 29.509, Stats., must currently apply for a wild bait harvest permit under s. NR 19.057, Wis. Admin. Code, to harvest bait minnows from waters of the state for sale, barter, or trade. Along with the requirement to hold a bait dealer license, bait dealers may not harvest minnows from waters affected by viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) and are required to disinfect minnow harvest and transport gear after use and fulfill fish health requirements promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Bait dealers with a wild bait harvest permit are required to maintain records of minnow harvest and disposition and make them available for inspection, but there is no requirement to submit these records to the department. Through enhanced reporting requirements, this rule will help provide valuable reporting data on wild bait harvest activities while simplifying certain wild bait harvest requirements for bait dealers.
Wild bait harvest permits are currently valid for 30 days in most cases. This permit duration was established to allow the department to more quickly respond to fish disease outbreaks by restricting harvest in waters of new disease outbreaks, and the 30-day duration was deemed to be appropriate when VHS was first confirmed in Wisconsin in 2006. However, VHS has not spread in Wisconsin as originally anticipated, so extending the wild bait harvest permit duration may better serve customers and the department by reducing the amount of paperwork and review needed for this permit.
Bait dealers are also required to obtain a non-standard gear permit to use gear other than standard minnow traps, minnow seines or minnow dip nets, to use gear in trout streams during the closed season, or to use more than 20 minnow traps during the open trout season. Current rules establish criteria for issuing the non-standard gear permit and permit conditions, and allow the department to require reporting of harvest activities conducted under the non-standard gear permit; however, bait dealers do not currently submit reports to the department.
This rule also permits the taking of white sucker eggs and milt for rearing to sell the offspring as bait. The department has previously utilized cooperative agreements to allow commercial bait dealers to take white sucker eggs from the wild to rear as bait in exchange for returning a subset of the eggs or reared suckers to state fish hatcheries for use in rearing muskies. However, the cooperative agreements are no longer practical due to the complexities involved with moving fish between private fish farms and state fish hatcheries, and thus the department no longer receives any eggs or suckers from this arrangement. A permitting approach would provide an alternative means to authorize bait dealers to take white sucker eggs and milt for use as wild bait.
If this rule is not pursued, existing bait harvest regulations will continue to provide protection to baitfish and associated fish populations, but these regulations would not allow the department to adapt to current baitfish management needs or improve the efficiency of permitting and data collection, and would not reflect stakeholder input and preferences.
10. Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to Determine the Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of an Economic Impact Report:
This rule is expected to have a minimal economic impact (less than $50,000). No new costs are expected as a result of revising the wild bait harvest permit duration and creating a white sucker harvest permit, nor for changes to the non-standard gear permit to allow flexibility in permit conditions. Commercial bait harvesters are already required to record information on their minnow harvests and disposition and maintain records for inspection upon the request of department staff. The main costs would stem from reporting minnow harvest activities electronically for bait dealers that do not currently own a smartphone; however, paper reporting will be allowed in the short-term after implementing this rule, so additional costs are not expected upon implementation. Additionally, according to the Pew Research Center1, an estimated 85 percent of American adults owns a smartphone. Based on this estimate, we assumed that about 8 of the 55 commercial bait harvesters do not own a phone with internet access. Assuming a basic smartphone and plan would cost about $230 a year, the total compliance cost for the group of bait harvesters without phones would be approximately $1,840 per year.
11. Effect on Small Business (final regulatory flexibility analysis):
This rule will primarily impact wild bait harvesters and their businesses. Based on the information presented in section 10 of the analysis section of this board order, the department anticipates that this rule will have a minimal economic impact on small business.
13. Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
