Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 1-99 - Fish, Game and Enforcement, Forestry and Recreation
Chapter NR 25 - Commercial fishing In Outlying Waters And Wholesale Fish Dealers
Subchapter II - Commercial Fishing - Outlying Waters
Section NR 25.06 - Quotas, catch fees and special regulations

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code § NR 25.06

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) LAKE SUPERIOR.

(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 natural resources board based upon recommendations from the state/tribal biological committee which consists of state, tribal and national biological service representatives.

Wisconsin Statistical District	Allowable annual harvest
WI-1	1. The total allowable commercial and tribal home use harvest in WI-1 may not exceed 6,000 lake trout. 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.
WI-2	2. The total allowable commercial and tribal home use harvest in the waters of WI-2 may not exceed 47,330 lake trout. a. That number of lake trout to be harvested by non-tribal licensed commercial fishers from the waters of WI-2 may not exceed 6,330 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-2 may not exceed 41,000 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.

(am) Recall of lake trout tags. The department may recall tags furnished or authorized in accordance with sub. (3), when necessary to implement a quota reduction.

(b) Harvest of fish from Lake Superior for home use by Lake Superior Chippewas. Members of the Bad River and Red Cliff bands of Lake Superior Chippewas may harvest species of fish for which there is an open season during said season, under home use permits issued by their respective tribal councils.

1. Home use permits will be issued to the heads of households only, and only one permit will be issued to an individual.

2. Permittees are restricted to the use of no more than 350 feet of gill net and sale of fish pursuant to these permits is prohibited. These fishing activities shall be restricted to waters adjacent to the reservations of the Bad River and Red Cliff bands, and during the closed season for lake trout no part of any net may extend beyond one-quarter mile from the shoreline of those waters.

3. In no instance may a boat fish both commercial and home use nets at the same time. If such home use nets are fished by a commercial licensee, those nets must be labeled as home use and must be marked in the same manner as required for commercial nets under s. NR 25.09.

4. Permittees shall limit the use of gill nets to mesh sizes of 2 3/4 inch stretch measure or smaller, and 4 1/2 inch stretch measure or larger.

5. All game fish harvested under permits issued under this section shall be tagged in accordance with sub. (3). The Bad River and Red Cliff bands shall provide quarterly home use harvest reports on forms supplied by the department.

(c) Cisco. The total allowable annual harvest of cisco by state and tribal fishers during the open season in Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior may not exceed 1,794,000 round weight pounds, as determined by the department and tribes and:

1. The total allowable state harvest in the waters of Lake Superior may not exceed 897,000 round weight pounds in a calendar year.

2. From October 1 through December 31 of each year, the 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 850,000 round weight pounds.

3. Excluding harvest under subd. 2, from January 1 through December 31 of each year, the total harvest of cisco by state fishers and the department shall not exceed 47,000 round weight pounds. The department shall subdivide the allocation of 47,000 round weight pounds among commercial incidental catch, angling, and department assessment activities.

4. The total allowable harvest by the Red Cliff and Bad River bands, including both commercial and tribal home use fishers in the waters of Lake Superior, may not exceed 897,000 round weight pounds in a calendar year.

(2) LAKE MICHIGAN AND GREEN BAY.

(a) Chubs. The total allowable annual commercial harvest of chubs in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan shall be determined by the natural resources board based on recommendations from the department.

1. The total allowable commercial harvest for any license year may not exceed 3,600,000 pounds.

2. No more than 600,000 pounds of the total allowable commercial harvest for any license year may be taken in the northern chub fishing zone.

3. No more than 3,000,000 pounds of the total allowable commercial harvest for any license year may be taken in the southern chub fishing zone.

4. The department reserves 100,000 pounds of the total allowable annual commercial harvest of chubs to be used for special assessment.

(b) Yellow perch. The total allowable annual commercial harvest of yellow perch in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay shall be determined by the natural resources board based on recommendations from the department.

1. The total allowable commercial harvest in zone 1 for any license year may not exceed 100,000 pounds.

2. The total allowable commercial harvest in zone 2 for any license year may not exceed 4,655 pounds.

3. The total allowable commercial harvest in zone 3 for any license year may not exceed 107,345 pounds.

1m. The total allowable annual commercial harvest of smelt in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay shall be determined by the natural resources board based on recommendations from the department.

2m. The total allowable commercial harvest of smelt in any license year may not exceed 1,000,000 pounds in Lake Michigan and Green Bay, of which no more than 25,000 pounds may be taken from Green Bay.

(d) Menominees.

1. The total allowable annual commercial harvest of menominees in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay shall be determined by the natural resources board based on recommendations from the department.

2. The total allowable commercial harvest of menominees in Lake Michigan and Green Bay may not exceed 75,000 pounds in any license year, with no more than 1,000 pounds to be taken from zone 1, 46,000 pounds from zone 2 and 28,000 pounds from zone 3.

(e) Whitefish.

1. The total allowable annual commercial harvest of whitefish in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan and the total allowable annual commercial harvest of whitefish in Wisconsin waters of Green Bay shall be determined by the natural resources board based on recommendations from the department and results from Green Bay and Lake Michigan whitefish population models described under subd. 2. a.

a. The department shall utilize the Green Bay whitefish population model for calculating the department recommendation for the total allowable commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Green Bay and shall utilize the Lake Michigan whitefish population model for calculating the department recommendation for the total allowable commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan. The recommendation for the total allowable commercial harvest for each area shall be calculated every three years using output from the population models. The population models shall use the following quantitative data for each whitefish management unit: weight at age, length at age, maturity schedule, trap net harvest by weight, trap net fishing effort by number of lifts, age composition of whitefish caught in trap nets, gill net harvest by weight, gill net fishing effort by number of lifts, age composition of whitefish caught in gill nets, recreational harvest by numbers, recreational fishing effort by angler hours, age composition of recreationally caught whitefish, and, in Green Bay, young-of-the-year index survey. An appropriate exploitation rate based on recent harvest trends shall be applied to the Green Bay and Lake Michigan model estimates, respectively, and the department may also account for whitefish mortality to reach the total allowable commercial harvest recommendation for Green Bay and the total allowable commercial harvest recommendation for Lake Michigan.

b. For the 2022 and 2023 license years, the allowable harvest for zone 1 shall not exceed 48.4148% of the total allowable commercial harvest of whitefish in Green Bay determined under subd. 2. a. or 569,788 pounds. For any given license year after December 31, 2023, the allowable harvest for zone 1 shall not exceed 67.9758% of the total allowable commercial harvest of whitefish in Green Bay determined under subd. 2. a. or 800,000 pounds, whichever is less. For any given license year, the allowable harvest for zone 3 shall not exceed 43.9135% of the total allowable commercial harvest of whitefish in Lake Michigan determined under subd. 2. a. or 351,487 pounds, whichever is less, and the allowable harvest for zone 2 shall consist of the total allowable commercial harvest for Green Bay less the allowable harvest for zone 1 plus the total allowable commercial harvest for Lake Michigan less the allowable harvest for zone 3, and shall be implemented in accordance with subd. 2. c. and s. NR 25.07 (2) (e) 5.

c. If the allocation for zone 2 exceeds the allowable harvest for zone 2 produced by the Green Bay and Lake Michigan population models as described under subd. 2. b., the adjusted amount of whitefish that may be allocated to the Green Bay waters of zone 2 shall be calculated by the following formula: [X + ((zone 2 recommended allocation - (X+Y))*(X/(X+Y)))], and the adjusted amount of whitefish that may be allocated to the Lake Michigan waters of zone 2 shall be calculated by the following formula: [Y + ((zone 2 recommended allocation - (X+Y))*(Y/(X+Y)))], where X is the difference between the Green Bay total allowable commercial harvest calculated under subd. 2. a. and the zone 1 allowable harvest under subd. 2. b., and Y is the difference between the Lake Michigan total allowable commercial harvest calculated under subd. 2. a. and the zone 3 allowable harvest under subd. 2. b. For accuracy, decimals shall be rounded to nearest sixth decimal place.

d. For the 2022 and 2023 license years, the Green Bay total annual allowable commercial harvest shall be 1,176,889 pounds, the Lake Michigan total annual allowable commercial harvest shall be 800,407 pounds, the zone 1 annual allowable harvest shall be 569,788 pounds, the zone 2 annual allowable harvest shall be 1,056,021 pounds, and the zone 3 annual allowable harvest shall be 351,487 pounds.

(3) TAGGING OF FISH. All harvested fish species or subspecies required to be tagged in accordance with this section shall be tagged with tags furnished or authorized by the department upon completing the net lift and before being transported by boat when fishing in open water and before being transported when fishing with nets under ice. Fish shall be individually tagged.

(a) Tags authorized shall be approved in writing by the secretary of the department and shall conform to the following minimum specifications:

1. Tags shall be individually, serially numbered in nonrepeating number series.

2. Tags shall be color-coded by lake trout open season in a color which does not repeat in the next consecutive lake trout open season.

3. Tags shall include an appropriate state or tribal identification.

4. Tags shall only be ordered in a number sufficient to limit the harvest to a biologically determined quota.

5. Issuing authorities shall maintain records of tag allotments to individual fishers by tag serial numbers. Tag records shall be open to inspection by state conservation wardens during regular office hours.

6. Tags are valid for use only for the lake trout open season for which they are issued.

(b) Untagged fish may not be left unattended.

(d) Tags shall be locked and remain attached to fish until prepared for final consumption. Tags shall remain with smoked or filleted fish until sold to final consumers. Commercial fishers of the outlying waters or licensed wholesale fish dealers shall not be considered final consumers and must be in possession of tags for smoked and filleted fish.

(e) Tags provided or authorized by the department for tagging fish may not be transferred, except when transferring a lake trout quota allotment as provided in s. NR 25.07 (1) (a) 2. to another licensee.

(f) No person may possess or use tags furnished or authorized by the department for tagging fish which have been modified or tampered with.

(g) No treaty fisher may lift nets in Wisconsin waters while in possession of tags issued by another tribe or jurisdiction.

(h) All unused tags issued under this section for the commercial harvest of lean lake trout shall be returned to the department within 30 days of the close of the fishing season for lake trout described in s. NR 25.05 (1) (a).

(4) ALLOCATION. The harvest quotas established shall be allocated to individual commercial fishing licensees in accordance with s. NR 25.07.

(5) CATCH FEES. Catch fees to be charged for commercial harvest of fish species whose populations are sustained or supplemented through stocking shall be determined and assessed as follows:

(a) The department shall determine catch fees annually for each fish species population subject to this subsection and shall provide this information upon request by February 15 of each year.

(b) The catch fee for a given fish species population shall be equivalent to the department's direct cost in providing those fish for commercial harvest.

(d) Catch fees shall be collected through the sale of fish tags furnished or authorized by the department in accordance with sub. (3) at offices indicated on the quota applications provided under s. NR 25.07 (3). The total number of tags that may be purchased by an individual licensee shall be equivalent to that licensee's individual catch quota as determined in accordance with s. NR 25.07.

(e) Unused fish tags purchased in accordance with par. (d) shall be returned by the licensee to the department at the office where purchased within 15 days of the end of the open season for that fish species population. The department shall return the catch fees paid by that licensee for those unused fish tags.

See the table of Appellate Court Citations for Wisconsin appellate cases citing s. NR 25.06.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wisconsin may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

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