312 IAC 9-8-6 - Commercial fishing on the Ohio River
Authority: IC 14-10-2-4; IC 14-22-2-6
Affected: IC 14-22-13
Sec. 6.
(a) This
section applies to license holders engaged in commercial fishing on the Ohio
River as authorized under IC 1422-13.
(b) "License holder" means an individual
licensed under IC 14-22-13 to use in, and to possess for use in, the water:
(1) seines;
(2) nets; or
(3) other commercial fishing gear.
(c) A license holder shall not
take or sell fish except in accordance with IC 14-22-13, this section, and
312 IAC
9-10. A license holder may take fish with the aid of
illumination of:
(1) a spotlight;
(2) a searchlight; or
(3) an artificial light;
where lawfully engaged in commercial fishing.
(d) A license holder
under this section may take and sell all species of fish from the Ohio River
except the following:
(1) Largemouth
bass.
(2) Smallmouth
bass.
(3) Spotted bass.
(4) Rock bass.
(5) White crappie.
(6) Black crappie.
(7) Walleye.
(8) Sauger.
(9) Saugeye.
(10) Striped bass.
(11) White bass.
(12) Hybrid striped bass.
(13) Yellow bass.
(14) Muskellunge.
(15) Northern pike.
(16) Tiger muskellunge.
(17) Chain pickerel.
(18) Lake sturgeon.
(19) Trout.
(20) Salmon.
(21) Blue catfish less than thirteen (13)
inches long.
(22) Channel catfish
less than thirteen (13) inches long.
(23) Flathead catfish less than thirteen (13)
inches long.
(24) Shovelnose
sturgeon less than twenty-five (25) inches measured in accordance with
312 IAC 9-6-2(b)
and taken from June 1 through September
30.
(25) Paddlefish less than
thirty-two (32) inches measured in accordance with
312 IAC 9-6-2(c)
and taken from May 1 through October
31.
(e) A license holder
may take no more than one (1) each per day of a:
(1) channel catfish that is at least
twenty-eight (28) inches long;
(2)
blue catfish that is at least thirty-five (35) inches long; and
(3) flathead catfish that is at least
thirty-five (35) inches long.
(f) A license holder under this section must
tag each item of gear so that a conservation officer may determine if the:
(1) gear is properly licensed; and
(2) license holder is complying with the
law.
(g) A person must
not possess a seine, net, or commercial trotline except as authorized with a
valid commercial fishing license for the Ohio River. This subsection does not
apply to a manufacturer, retailer, or wholesale dealer who possesses gear
exclusively for sale.
(h) The use
of commercial fishing gear authorized under this section is limited as follows:
(1) Commercial fishing gear cannot be used on
or within fifty (50) yards of a bay or inlet of the Ohio River denoted by a
line drawn from point to point across the bay or inlet.
(2) Commercial fishing gear cannot be used
beyond the bank of the Ohio River, the ordinary high watermark of the Ohio
River as defined by
312 IAC
1-1-26, or within fifty (50) yards of the mouth of a
stream denoted by a line drawn from point to point across a stream at its
farthest most downstream location at the existing water level or ordinary high
watermark, whichever is lowest.
(3)
Commercial fishing gear cannot be used in the following locations:
(A) John T. Myers Dam downstream to the outer
lock wall and the portion of the split channel around the southern part of
Wabash Island from the fixed weir dam to the first dike.
(B) Newburgh Dam downstream to the end of the
outer lock wall.
(C) Cannelton Dam
downstream to the end of the outer lock wall.
(D) McAlpine Dam downstream to the K and I
railroad bridge.
(E) Markland Dam
downstream to the end of the outer lock wall.
(i) The license holder must tend each item of
fishing gear not less frequently than once every twenty-four (24) hours and all
fish taken by the gear removed, except that hoop nets or slat traps may be left
unattended for not more than seventy-two (72) hours at which time all fish
taken by the gear must be removed. Each item of gear must be removed
immediately upon the completion of fishing.
(j) Gear is authorized only as set forth as
follows:
(1) Lines and mesh must be made of:
(A) linen;
(B) cotton; or
(C) a flexible synthetic fiber.
(2) The following restrictions
apply to a hoop net, wing net, straight lead net, or heart lead net:
(A) Each net described in this subdivision
must have a minimum bar mesh size of one (1) inch.
(B) Hoops may be any size, shape, or
material.
(C) The maximum length of
the lead or wing is sixty (60) feet.
(D) One (1) tag issued by the department must
be attached to the front hoop of each net.
(3) The following restrictions apply to a
gill or trammel net:
(A) The minimum bar mesh
size that can be fished from November 1 through April 30 is four (4)
inches.
(B) The only bar mesh size
that can be fished from May 1 through October 31 is from four (4) inches to
four and one-half (4 1/2) inches.
(C) The nets referenced in this subdivision
may be fished weighted or as a flag net.
(D) At least one (1) tag issued by the
department must be attached to the net for each one hundred (100) feet of net
or part thereof.
(4) The
following restrictions apply to a commercial trotline:
(A) Each line must have more than fifty (50)
hooks placed not closer than eighteen (18) inches apart.
(B) One (1) tag issued by the department must
be attached.
(C) The trotline must
be:
(i) not longer than three thousand (3,000)
feet, including staging; and
(ii)
fished separately rather than tied in a continuous line.
(5) The following restrictions
apply to a seine:
(A) A seine must have the
following:
(i) A minimum bar mesh size of one
(1) inch.
(ii) Both float and lead
lines.
(iii) Wood, fiberglass,
metal poles, or brails attached to each end.
(B) A seine in the water must be attended by
individuals pulling the seine through the water for the entrapment of fish. (C)
A seine must have at least one (1) tag issued by the department attached for
each one hundred (100) feet of net or part thereof.
(6) The following restrictions apply to a
slat trap:
(A) No wire or other mesh may be
added to the trap.
(B) At least two
(2) openings not less than one and one-fourth (1 1/4) inches wide must be
located between the slats. These openings shall not be restricted by
cross-bracings to a length shorter than eight (8) inches long.
(C) The trap shall be not larger than two (2)
feet in diameter or square end measure.
(D) A tag issued by the department must be
attached to the open ring or square.
(k) A license holder must do the following:
(1) Keep true and accurate daily catch
records of harvested fish in ink on a departmental form that includes the
following:
(A) The pounds by live weight for
each species of fish.
(B) The
aggregate number of the following:
(i) Blue
catfish.
(ii) Channel
catfish.
(iii) Flathead
catfish.
(iv) Paddlefish.
(v) Shovelnose sturgeon.
(C) Of the catfish reported in accordance
with clause (B), the number of the following:
(i) Blue catfish over thirty-five (35)
inches.
(ii) Channel catfish over
twenty-eight (28) inches.
(iii)
Flathead catfish over thirty-five (35) inches.
(D) The location fished by Ohio River pool
name and river mile.
(E) The amount
of daily fishing effort by gear type as follows:
(i) Total length of net fished (in feet) per
day each for seines, gill nets, and trammel nets.
(ii) Total number each of hoop nets, slat
traps, and dip nets fished per day.
(iii) Total number of trotline hooks fished
per day.
(2)
Submit to the department the completed form required under subdivision (1) by
the fifteenth day of each month for the preceding month whether the license
holder fished or not unless the license holder has submitted an inactive
license form to signify that no commercial fishing on the Ohio River will take
place for the remainder of the calendar year. The inactive license form shall
be submitted to the division of fish and wildlife before the fifteenth day of
the month following the month the license is deemed inactive.
(3) Allow on-board and dockside inspection of
the gear and catch at any time by a conservation officer or other authorized
representative of the department.
Notes
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