Section 312IAC9-8-3. Commercial fishing on Lake Michigan

   (a) This section:

(1) applies to a license holder engaged in commercial fishing on Lake Michigan; and

(2) is supplemental to section 2 of this rule.

  (b) For purposes of this section, "license holder" means an individual licensed under IC 14-22-14 to use in, and to possess for use in, the water, seines, nets, or other commercial fishing gear authorized in this rule and section 2 of this rule.

  (c) A license holder must comply with the restrictions on the use of commercial fishing gear as follows:

(1) A license holder must not set commercial fishing gear at any of the following locations:

(A) In water less than twenty-five (25) feet deep.

(B) Less than one-half (1/2) mile from:

(i) a pier;

(ii) a harbor;

(iii) a public beach;

(iv) a boat launching ramp; or

(v) the Michigan City Reef located approximately three thousand (3,000) feet offshore and eleven thousand (11,000) feet northeasterly from the harbor lighthouse at Michigan City, LaPorte County (N41° 44.79 and W86° 52.61).

(C) Less than one (1) mile from the mouth of Black Ditch, Burns Ditch, or the detached breakwater near the mouth of Trail Creek.

(2) A license holder must not set, lift, retrieve, tend, or remove commercial fishing gear from the water between one-half (1/2) hour after legal sunset to one-half (1/2) hour before legal sunrise.

  (d) Restrictions on the use of impoundment nets are as follows:

(1) The vertical height of impoundment net leads, wings, hearts, and pots shall not exceed five (5) feet.

(2) The total length of each lead or wing shall not exceed five hundred (500) feet. The total length of each impoundment net (heart and pot combined) shall not exceed forty (40) feet.

(3) The width of impoundment nets (heart and pot) shall not exceed ten (10) feet.

(4) The stretch mesh size of impoundment net leads, wings, and hearts shall be no smaller than two and one-half (2 1/2) inches and no larger than three and one-half (3 1/2) inches, including treated or tarred gear. The stretch mesh size of impoundment net pots shall not be smaller than two and one-fourth (2 1/4) inches, including treated or tarred gear.

(5) Impoundment net leads, wings, and hearts shall be constructed with size 12 twine (forty-eight thousandths (0.048) inch diameter) or larger. Impoundment net pots shall be constructed with size 15 twine (fifty-four thousandths (0.054) inch diameter) or larger from the heart to the last tunnel. The pots shall be constructed with size 18 twine (sixty-thousandths (0.060) inch diameter) or larger from the last tunnel to the end of the pot.

(6) The maximum number of meshes for each drop or hoop net pot is calculated as follows:

(A) Determine the diameter of a hoop, in inches, by measuring the distance across the widest point of the hoop.

(B) Multiply the diameter determined under clause (A) by three and fourteen-hundredths (3.14) to determine the circumference of the hoop.

(C) Divide the hoop circumference calculated under clause (B) by one and forty-five hundredths (1.45) to determine the number of meshes required to go around the hoop. Round the dividend to the nearest whole number.

(D) Add three (3) to the number calculated under clause (C).

The resulting sum is the maximum number of meshes for each pot.

(7) Drop or hoop net pots must also comply as follows:

(A) All hoops on a net shall have the same diameter.

(B) Hoops shall not be spaced more than seventeen (17) meshes apart.

(8) The maximum number of meshes for each box-style trap net is calculated as follows:

(A) Determine the width of the back wall, in inches.

(B) Divide the width determined under clause (A) by one and forty-five hundredths (1.45).

(C) Add three (3) to the number calculated under clause (B). The resulting sum is the maximum allowable meshes for the width of the back wall.

(D) Determine the height of the pot, in inches.

(E) Divide the height determined under clause (D) by one and forty-five hundredths (1.45).

(F) Add three (3) to the number calculated under clause (E). The resulting sum is the maximum allowable meshes for the pot height.

(9) Impoundment gear shall be marked at the end of the pot and at the end of each lead and wing with a buoy and flag. These buoys shall have a staff extending not less than five (5) feet above the surface of the water. An orange flag not less than twelve (12) inches square shall be affixed to the upper end of each staff. The base of each marker buoy shall legibly bear the license number in letters not less than two (2) inches high. Additional surface markers may be used by the license holder.

(10) The license holder shall remove all fish from each impoundment net at least once every seventy-two (72) hours, weather permitting.

(11) The maximum number of impoundment nets (pots) that may be fished at the same time by a license holder is as follows:

(A) Twenty-four (24) for the holder of a Class 1 license.

(B) Forty-eight (48) for the holder of a Class 2 license.

(C) Seventy-two (72) for the holder of a Class 3 license.

  (e) A license holder must comply with the restrictions on boats, ports, and operations as follows:

(1) A license holder must not use a boat for commercial fishing unless the boat is properly registered and titled under 140 IAC 9. An application for a commercial fishing license must include a description of each boat to be used for fishing. This description must include the:

(A) name;

(B) boat type;

(C) size;

(D) hull material; and

(E) registration number.

(2) The license holder must unload the daily catch at the Indiana port identified on the license application.

(3) A license holder may change the port or boat specified in this subsection only upon written notification, including documentation sufficient to identify the substituted port or boat, delivered to the department within ten (10) days of the change.

(4) A license holder must not take fish from a boat that is issued a certificate of inspection under  312 IAC 5-14 to carry passengers for hire.

(5) A person must not possess a fishing rod, pole, reel, or hand line while onboard a boat:

(A) from which commercial fishing gear is set, retrieved, or transported;

(B) that is en route to set or retrieve commercial fishing gear; or

(C) that is transporting fish captured with commercial fishing gear.

(6) A current commercial fishing license, or a duplicate copy of a current commercial fishing license validated by the department, must be carried onboard each boat engaged in fishing under this section.

  (f) A license holder must meet the requirements for the use of a designated captain as follows:

(1) The license holder must designate an individual as captain of a boat operated by the license holder. A designated captain must be onboard each commercial fishing boat of the license holder while the boat is being used for an activity related to commercial fishing. Each applicant to be a designated captain must demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the department, each of the following on a departmental form:

(A) The applicant is an Indiana resident.

(B) The applicant has had onboard commercial fishing experience with impoundment gear on the Great Lakes for at least eight (8) months during the past two (2) years.

(C) The applicant has had no felony conviction related to commercial fishing activities during the past three (3) years from a state or Canadian province located along the Great Lakes.

(D) Except as provided in subdivision (3), the applicant is neither a designated captain nor an employee for the holder of another commercial fishing license.

(2) The department shall approve the selection of a designated captain upon satisfaction of the requirements of subdivision (1). A license holder may, at any time, request a designated captain be changed, added, or deleted. A new approval is required if a:

(A) license is renewed or transferred; or

(B) designated captain is changed or added.

(3) A license holder may use another license holder's designated captain during an emergency to retrieve commercial fishing gear from the water. As used in this subdivision, "emergency" means:

(A) the incapacitation or death of the license holder's designated captain; or

(B) a mechanical failure of the license holder's boat or essential gear retrieval equipment.

A written notification to justify the emergency designation must be provided to the department within ten (10) days of the emergency.

  (g) The renewal, transfer, merger, or exchange of a commercial fishing license is regulated as follows:

(1) No person is eligible to receive or hold a commercial fishing license except as provided under IC 14-22-14.

(2) A license holder may renew the license if the license holder is otherwise eligible to hold a commercial fishing license under IC 14-22 and this rule. License renewal will not be granted unless the license holder completes an application on a departmental form and the completed form and payment for the renewal fee are received by the department by February 1 of the year for which the license is sought. Licenses that are not renewed are permanently removed from the licensing system.

(3) No license may be transferred except upon prior consent of the director. Transfer shall be granted after delivery of a departmental form (with payment of the processing fee) establishing to the satisfaction of the director that the person to whom the transfer is to be made otherwise qualifies to hold a license under IC 14-22 and this article. If the person to whom the transfer is to be made holds an interest in another commercial fishing license at the time of the transfer, the second license is valid; the person is considered to have surrendered the first license. The first license:

(A) is permanently removed from the licensing system; and

(B) must, upon issuance of the new license, be immediately returned to the department.

(4) No license may be merged or converted except upon prior consent of the director. A license merger under IC 14-22-14-13 or a license conversion under IC 14-22-14-14 shall be granted after delivery of a completed departmental form and payment of the processing fee. Upon the issuance of a new license, any former license shall be immediately returned to the department.

(5) With the prior consent of the director and as provided under IC 14-22-14-16, a Class 2 license may be exchanged for a Class 1 license, or a Class 3 license may be exchanged for a Class 2 or a Class 1 license. A license exchange shall be granted after delivery of a completed departmental form and payment of the exchange processing fee. Upon issuance of the new license, the former license shall be immediately returned to the department.

(6) Upon the death or legal determination of incompetence of an individual license holder, a court may designate a family member (who would qualify for intestate succession from the decedent or incompetent under the principles set forth in IC 29-1-2) as the applicant for the same class license as held by the decedent or incompetent. Notwithstanding subdivision (2), the director shall issue a new license to the designated applicant, if the applicant qualifies to hold a license under IC 14-22 and this article. If an individual designated under this subdivision does not submit a completed application on a department form by February 1 of the year immediately following the year in which the original license is valid, or within ninety (90) days after the death or incapacity of the individual to whom the license is issued, whichever is later, the license is permanently removed from the licensing system.

  (h) A license holder shall keep legible and accurate daily fishing records on a departmental form of the following:

(1) The pounds and species of fish caught.

(2) The dates, locations, and depths fished.

(3) The type, quantity, and dimensions of gear used.

  (i) The form required under subsection (g) must be completed no later than noon on the day following the day on which the fish were taken. Each form must be submitted to the director or the director's representative before the sixteenth day of the month following the month in which the fish were taken.

  (j) A license holder who transfers or merges a license is responsible for submitting daily catch record for fish taken before the effective date of the transfer or merger. A license holder is responsible for submitting daily catch records for fish taken beginning with the date of the transfer or merger.

  (k) The director or the director's representative may, at any reasonable time, inspect the daily fishing records required under subsections (g) through (h) or IC 14-22-14-23. A license holder shall allow the following:

(1) The director or the director's representative to obtain catch data onboard or dockside at any reasonable time.

(2) Onboard and dockside inspections of the gear and catch at any time by the director or the director's representative.

  (l) A license holder is exempt from daily fishing records required under subsections (g) through (h) during the time that a license is held in reserve status. (Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 9-8-3; filed May 12, 1997, 10:00 a.m.: 20 IR 2722; filed May 28, 1998, 5:14 p.m.: 21 IR 3724; readopted filed Jul 28, 2003, 12:00 p.m.: 27 IR 286; readopted filed Nov 24, 2008, 11:08 a.m.: 20081210-IR-312080672RFA; errata filed Jun 2, 2009, 10:29 a.m.: 20090624-IR-312090386ACA; filed Jul 6, 2010, 1:55 p.m.: 20100804-IR-312090616FRA; readopted filed May 20, 2014, 9:43 a.m.: 20140618-IR-312140017RFA)