This rule is likely to have a minimal (less than $50,000) total economic impact, if any, on commercial fishing businesses and sport fishing businesses. Both the lake trout quota allocation for the commercial fishery and the lake trout harvest closure trigger for angling will increase over the next three years in this rule, allowing for additional lake trout commercial harvest and more opportunities for anglers to harvest lake trout with a lower risk of an early season closure. This will benefit local businesses.
In future cycles, the quotas may increase further or could decrease. Whether established by rule or through use of the mechanisms which are established by rule, harvest quotas have always fluctuated due to relative abundance of the species.
The rule will require that commercial fishers tag all gill nets with an information and identification tag on the net’s buoy staff on the portion that is above the water. Currently, only gill nets greater than 4 7/16-inch stretch measure and set shallower than 330 feet require these tags. These tags are supplied by the department at no cost to the commercial fisher and require little effort or expense to attach.
The rule does not allow for the potential to establish a reduced fine for small businesses, nor does it establish “alternative enforcement mechanisms” for “minor violations” of administrative rules made by small businesses. Public utility rate payers and local governmental units will not be affected by the rule.
12. Agency Contact Person: Brad Ray, Lake Superior fisheries team supervisor, 141 S. Third St., Bayfield, WI 54814, 715-779-4036, Bradley.Ray@wisconsin.gov 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:
Kari Lee-Zimmermann
Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 7921, 101 S. Webster St.
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 316-0080
Comments may be submitted to the department contact person listed above or to DNRAdministrativeRulesComments@wisconsin.gov until the deadline given in the upcoming notice of public hearing. The notice of public hearing and deadline for submitting comments will be published in the Wisconsin Administrative Register and on the department’s website, at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/calendar. Comments may also be submitted through the Wisconsin Administrative Rules Website at https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/emergency_rules/active. RULE TEXT
Section 1. NR 20.20 (73) (n) 5. is amended to read:
COUNTY AND SPECIES | WATERS | AUTHORIZED METHODS | OPEN SEASON (both dates inclusive) | DAILY BAG LIMIT | MINIMUM LENGTH OR OTHER SIZE RESTRICTIONS (INCHES) |
(73) SPECIES OR WATERS NOT LISTED IN SUBS. (1) TO (72) |
Trout and salmon | 5. Lake Superior, lake trout only | a. Hook and line | December 1 to September 30 except that when recreational lake trout harvest during a season in waters east of a line running north−south from Bark Point (46° 53.21’, −91° 11.16’) measured by department creel surveys exceeds 9,500 75% of the recreational harvest quota established by the department for lake trout, the season may be closed only in those waters east of Bark Point. A season closure shall become effective upon issuance of an order of the secretary and publication in the official state newspaper. | 2 in total in waters east of a line running north−south from Bark Point. 3 in total west of a line running north− south from Bark Point. | In waters east of a line running north−south from Bark Point (46° 53.21’, −91° 11.16’) the minimum is 15 and only 1 fish longer than 25 For lake trout in waters west of a line running north−south from Bark Point the minimum is 15 and only 1 fish longer than 25 |
Section 2. NR 25.06 (1) (a) is repealed and recreated to read:
NR 25.06 (1) (a) Lake trout. The total allowable annual harvest of lake trout by state and tribal commercial fishers and tribal home use fishers under par. (b) during the open season in WI−1 and WI−2 shall be determined by the department and approved by the natural resources board. The department shall subdivide the total allowable catch for WI-1 and WI-2 among state anglers, state commercial fishers, tribal commercial fishers, tribal home use, and department assessment, and shall allocate the total allowable catch as follows:
Note: Pursuant to a December 2018 agreement between the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the department's harvest quota recommendation is based on the advice of a biological committee with members from both bands and the department.
1. ‘WI-1.’ The total allowable commercial and tribal home use harvest in WI−1 may not exceed 6,000 lake trout and shall be allocated as follows:
a. That number of lake trout to be harvested by non−tribal licensed commercial fishers from the waters of WI−1 may not exceed 4,000 lake trout.
b. That number of lake trout to be harvested by the Red Cliff and Bad River bands, including both commercial and tribal home use fishers, from the waters of WI−1 may not exceed 2,000 lake trout.
2. ‘WI-2.’ The department shall utilize the WI-2 lake trout population model for calculating the department recommendation for the total allowable commercial and home use harvest of lake trout. The recommendation for the total allowable commercial harvest for WI-2 shall be calculated at least every three years using the output from the population model. The population model shall use the following quantitative data for lake trout: commercial and recreational harvest, commercial and recreational fishing effort, adult lake trout index in spring fishery-independent survey, juvenile lake trout index in summer fishery-independent survey, age compositions of lake trout in commercial, recreational, and fishery-independent surveys, length at age, weight at age, maturity schedule, and sea lamprey mortality estimates. An appropriate exploitation rate based on recent harvest trends shall be applied to the model estimates, and the department may also account for mortality and presence of hatchery-origin fish in the system to reach the total allowable catch recommendation. The total allowable commercial and tribal home use harvest in WI−2 shall be allocated as follows:
a. For any given lake trout season after November 27, 2026, the total allowable commercial and tribal home use harvest in the waters of WI-2 will be determined under this subdivision.
b. For 2024 through the open season ending September 30, 2026, the number of lake trout harvested by non-tribal licensed commercial fishers from waters of WI-2 may not exceed 7,500 lake trout and the number of lake trout to be harvested by the Red Cliff and Bad River bands, including both commercial and tribal home use fishers, from the waters of WI−2 may not exceed 44,500 lake trout.
Note: If the Red Cliff and Bad River bands do not reach an agreement on the method of allocating the tribal quota between them, the department may divide the quota 50% for the Bad River band and 50% for the Red Cliff band, or by any other equitable method.
Section 3. NR 25.06 (1) (c) 1. to 3. is amended to read:
1.
The total allowable state harvest of cisco in the waters of Lake Superior may not exceed 897,000 round weight pounds in a calendar year. A portion of the state allowable harvest shall be reserved for recreational harvest and assessment purposes.2.
From October 1 through December 31 of each year, theThe total harvest of cisco by state licensed commercial fishers using gill nets with a mesh size of not less than 2 3/8 inch and not more than 3-inch stretch measure may not exceed 850,000890,000 round weight pounds.3.
Excluding harvest under subd. 2, from January 1 through December 31 of each year, theThe total harvest of cisco by state recreational fishers and from the department assessment activities shall not exceed 47,000 7,000 round weight pounds. The department shall subdivide the allocation of 47,000 7,000 round weight pounds among commercial incidental catch, angling, and department assessment activities.
Section 4. NR 25.09 (1) (b) 1. is amended to read:
NR 25.09 (1) (b) 1. The licensee may use entrapping nets only when the pot or crib is set, placed, or operated in water not more than 90 feet (15 fathoms) deep, and only when the mesh size of the trap net pot or crib, excluding shoaling twine, is 4 ¼ inch stretch measure or greater.
Section 5. NR 25.09 (1) (bm) 3. is created to read:
NR 25.09 (1) (bm) 3. The licensee using gill nets shall tag the net with an informational tag, supplied by the department, on the buoy staff above the water line. Each tag shall state the length of the gang of nets, the mesh size of the gang of nets, the license number or fleet reporting number, and the licensee’s initials.
Section 6. Statement of Emergency. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world and its sport and commercial fisheries are internationally significant. The welfare of state-licensed commercial fishers, tribal commercial fishers, recreational anglers, and associated businesses of Lake Superior depends upon abundant, sustainable fish populations. Additionally, appropriate quotas will allow commercial and recreational fishers to sustainably utilize the available fishery resources. Three years of data are required to identify trends in fish populations and harvest and formulate management decisions, and rule promulgation timelines do not allow for a permanent rule to be implemented after such decisions are made but in time for the regulations to be in place for the start of the fishing season. To preserve the welfare of fish populations in Lake Superior and the fishers and businesses that rely on them, the department finds that an emergency rule is necessary to implement rule changes that apply to the harvest of lake trout, a commercial and recreational fish species. In addition, establishing minimum mesh size requirements for trap nets is necessary to prevent catch and mortality of sublegal whitefish caught in lake trout and whitefish fishing operations. In order to use the most current biological information and align with the start of the fishing season, an emergency rule process needs to be implemented.
Section 7. Effective Date. This rule takes effect upon publication in the official state newspaper, as provided in s. 227.24(1)(c), Stats., except SECTION 3, which takes effect on January 1, 2025. Section 8. Board adoption. This rule was approved and adopted by the State of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board on October 23, 2024.
Dated at Madison, Wisconsin _____________________________.
STATE OF WISCONSIN
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
BY ______________________________________
Steven Little, Deputy Secretary
