ORDER OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN
NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD
AMENDING
RULES
The statement of scope for this rule, SS
097-14
, was approved by the Governor on
September 22, 2014, published in
Register No. 706
on
October 15
, 2014, and approved by the Natural Resources Board on
October 29, 2014
.
This rule was approved by the Governor on
December 30, 2014
.
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board proposes an order to
amend
NR
20.20 (73
)(
n) 4.
and
25.06 (1)(a) 1.
to
3.
,
Wis. Adm. Code
,
relating to
lake trout harvest limits
in
Lake Superior
and affecting small business.
|
FH-16-14(E)
Analysis
Prepared by the Department of Natural Resources
1. Statute I
nterpreted:
Sections
29.014
(1)
,
29.041
and
29.519
(1m)
(b)
, Stats.
2. Statutory A
uthority:
Sections
29.014
(1)
,
29.041
and
29.519
(1m)
(b)
,
and
227.4,
Stats.
3. Explanation of Agency A
uthority:
Section
29.014 (1)
, Stats., directs the department to establish and maintain conditions governing the taking of fish that will conserve the fish supply and ensure the citizens of this state continued opportunities for good fishing.
Section
29.041
,
Stats.,
provides that the department may regulate fishing on and in all interstate boundary waters and outlying waters.
Section
29.519 (1m) (b)
, Stats., authorizes the department to limit the number of Great Lakes commercial fishing licenses, designate the areas in the outlying waters under the jurisdiction of this state where commercial fishing operations are restricted, establish species harvest limits, and designate the kind, size and amount of gear to be used in the harvest.
Pursuant to s. 227.4,
Stats.,
the department finds that an emergency exists and that this rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or welfare. The welfare of state-licensed commercial fishers,
Chippewa
comme
rcial fishers, recreational fish
ers, and associated businesses is threatened by a decline in the lake trout population in the Apostle Islands vicinity of Lake Superior
, which is the result of harvest pressure by various user groups
. The decline in lake trout popul
ation abundances
requires
harvest
reductions in order to ensure a sustainable lake trout fishery over the long-term. Lake trout harvest limits were negotiated
in
Septem
ber 2014
among the Department of Natural Resources and the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa and those changes must be ordered through administrative code.
This emergency rule is needed to preserve the public welfare and adhere to the terms of the 2005-2015 Lake Superior Fishing Agreement
.
4. Related Statutes or R
ule
s
:
Section
29.973
, Stats.,
Commercial fish reporting system
5.
Plain Language A
nalysis:
The purpose of the emergency rule is to amend Lake Superior lake trout harvest limits. The total allowable catch of lake trout in Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior is divided among
Chippewa-licensed
comm
ercial fisher
s, st
ate-licensed commercial fisher
s, Chippewa
subsistence fishers, and
recreational
fisher
s.
The
2005-2015 Lake Superior Fishing Agreement
specifies
the procedure for allocating lake trout commercial harvests
, defines refuges and special fishing areas, and establishes other terms and arrangements for
fisheries management in Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior
.
After n
egotiations in September 2014
, t
he Department of Natural Resources and the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa
agreed to
new lake trout harvest limits that need to be put in place by emergency rule for the 2014
15 open season.
Separate from the Lake Superior Fishing Agreement negotiations, regulations
are
also
created
by the department
for
state-licensed commercial fishers and
recreational fishers in Lake Superior in order to manage the total population.
This emergency rule
reduces the annual commercial fishing harvest limit for lake trout in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior and
also
amend
s the bag limits and size restrictions for recreational anglers.
The terms of the
Lake Superior Fishing Agreement
are such that harvest by recreational anglers and state-licensed commercial fishers during the 2014-2015 season must be reduced compared to previous seasons.
The recreational
lake trout open season runs from
December 1
, 2014,
through September 30
, 2015
. The commercial fishing season is open November 28
, 2014,
through September 30
, 2015
.
Section
1
reduces the recreational
fishing
daily bag limit
from 3 lake trout to 2 (within the 5
total
trout
daily bag limit)
in waters
east of
a line running north-south from
Bark Point
(
46° 53.21’, -91° 11.16’
)
on the south shore of
Lake Superior
,
an area also known as “WI-2.”
It also
revise
s
size limits
for lake trout in WI-2, moving from
the
15-inch minimum to allow only 1 fish to be
harvested if it is between 20 and 25 inches and only 1 fish to be ha
rvested if it is greater than 35
inches
. N
o other size of lake trout may be harvested
in WI-2
.
T
he size limit
s
and bag limit
for lake trout harvested by sport fishers in waters west of a
line running north-south
from
Bark Point
(an area known as “WI-1”)
will remain the same:
a 15-inch minimum
size limit but only 1 lake trout
may be harvested over 25 inches
with a
daily bag limit
of
3
(within the 5 total trout daily bag limit)
.
Section
2
reduces the
annual state-licensed and Chippewa-licensed
commercial fishing harvest quota for lake trout in waters
east of a line running north-south from Bark Point on the south shore of Lake Superior
.
To
limit
the number of lake trout harvested,
commercial fishers
are
issued tags
that must be attached to harvested lake trout. The tags
issued to state-licensed commercial fishers
for the 2014-15 season have unique serial numbers that are designated for use
in
either WI-1 or WI-2
waters
only
.
6.
Summary of, and Comparison with, Existing or Proposed F
ederal
S
tatutes and
R
egulation
s
:
The department is not aware of any existing or proposed federal regulation that would govern commercial fishing in Wisconsin’s waters of Lake Superior.
7. Comparison with
S
imilar
R
ules
in Adjacent S
tates:
Of the four adjacent states, only Minnesota and Michigan have lake trout fisheries on the Great Lakes. The commercial harvest of lake trout from Minnesota waters of Lake Superior is limited to a population assessment fishery. In Michigan waters of Lake Superior there is no state-licensed commercial fishery, but tribal harvest is guided by the same modeling approach as in Wisconsin.
8. Summary of
Factual Data and Analytical M
ethodologies
Used and How Any Related Findings Support the Regulatory Approach C
hosen
:
An assessment of
lake trout
populations
in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior is conducted
by the Wisconsin State-Tribal Technical Committee
using the latest available data and modeling. Based on those results and recommendations from the
C
ommittee, the
harvest quotas associated with the
Lake
Superior
Fishing
Agreement are
re-negotiated to change the
allowable
harvest of lake trout by
various user groups
and
sometimes
to address other issues related to
shared
harvest of lake trout and other species
by state and Chippewa
fishers.
There has been a steady decline in lean lake trout abundance in Lake Superior since the early 2000s. This decline has been confirmed by indepe
ndent surveys conducted by the d
epartment and has been projected by models used to set safe harvest levels. Some level of decline was expected because of high harvest limits in the early 2000s, which were in response to several large year classes (numbers of fish spawned in the same year) predicted to enter the fishery. However, successive versions of a statistical catch-at-age model also suggest that previous estimates of lake trout abundance were inflated. This combination of increased harvest and re-scaled estimates of lake trout abundance
caused
total allowable catch recommendations to decline. While relatively stable abundances of spawning lake trout suggest that this decline is still reversible, action nee
ds to be taken to stop the
lake trout population’s decline. The decline
in
lake trout
abundance
requires emergency
harvest reductions in order to ensure a sustainable lake trout fishery over the long-term.
This rule includes changes to administrative code that support
fisheries management policies and goals.
The department took steps to e
nsur
e
the accuracy, integrity, objectivity and consistency of data used
to
prepar
e
the proposed rule and related analysis.
9. Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to D
etermine
the
E
ffect on
S
m
all B
usiness
or in P
reparation of
an
Economic Impact R
eport:
This
rule imposing harvest reductions is necessary in order to ensure a sustainable lake trout fishery over the long-term, an economic and natural resource benefit for all affected. The rule may have a moderate economic impact in the Lake Superior region, but an exact amount of impac
t is unknown at this time.
T
he d
epartment
met
with the state
-
licensed commercial fishers
and
is holding
a public meeting in
late
2014 to
inform stakeholders of the current status of lake trout in Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior and to
discuss
the direction of
management as it relates to
the
need
for
reduce
d
lake trout
harvest during the
2014-15
fishing season
.
1
0
. Effect on
Small B
usiness
(initial regulatory flexibility analysis)
:
The rule will impact the harvest of lake trout and other species by state-licensed commercial fishers, Chippewa
-licensed
fishers, and sport fishers. Because of the decline in lake trout populations, all groups that fish in Lake Superior would have a reduction in overall harvest limits, resulting in potential short-term income reduction (compared to prior years) for commercial fishers. However, impact on commercial fishing businesses may be
buffer
ed
by
the
ability to transfer i
ndividual license catch quotas –
through
lake trout tags
designated for use
in WI-1 and WI-2
–
between state-licensed commercial fishers. Quota transfers are already a common practice that are approved and documented by the department, as authorized by s. NR 25.08.
The
rule does not impose any compliance or reporting requirements nor would any design or operational standards be contained in the rule.
Minimal impact is expected for businesses or business associations that do not rely on harvest of lake trout (e.g., charter fishers that promote catch and release, commercial fishers that use trap nets).
11
. A
gency Contact
P
erson:
Terry Margenau, Lake Superior Fisheries Supervisor
PO Box 589
Bayfield, WI 54814-0589
715-779-4035 ext. 15
12
. Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
NR 20.20 (73
)
SPECIES
OR WATERS NOT LISTED IN SUBS. (1) TO (72)
(n) Trout and salmon
|
4. Lake Superior
|
a. Hook and line
|
Continuous except the open season for lake trout is December 1 to September 30
|
10 in total but only 5 may be salmon and only 5 may be trout, of which only 1 may be a rainbow trout, only 1 may be a brook trout and
only 3 may be lake
trout
in
waters east of a line running north-south from Bark Point (
46° 53.21’, -91° 11.16’
)
only 2 may be lake trout
and in waters west of a line running north-south from Bark Point only 3 may be lake trout.
with only 1 lake trout longer than 25 inches; when recreational lake trout harvest during a season measured by department creel surveys
exceeds 24,748 lake trout the lake trout bag limit is reduced to 1 and when recreational lake trout harvest during that same time exceeds 25,529 lake trout the lake trout bag limit is
reduced to 0
|
Rainbow trout 26
,
;
brook trout 20
,
;
other trout 15,
splake
15; brown trout 15;
salmon none
,
;
lake trout
harvested
west of Bark Point
:
15 b
ut only 1 may be longer than 25; lake trout
harvested
east of Bark Point
:
1
fish
between 20 and 25
, and
1
fish
longer than 35
|
NR 25.06 Quotas and catch fees.
(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 Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior east of Bark Point (WI-2) and west of Bark point (WI-1) 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.
NR 25.06(1)(a)1.
1.
The total allowable commercial and
tribal
home use harvest in the waters of Lake Superior east of Bark Point may not exceed
50,100
40,200
lake trout. The total allowable commercial and
tribal
home use harvest in waters of Lake Superior west of Bark Point may not exceed
2,850
5,130
lake trout.
NR 25.06(1)(a)2.
2.
That number of lake trout to be harvested by non-Indian licensed commercial fishers from the waters of Lake Superior east of Bark Point may not exceed
5,300
3,900
lake trout, and from the waters of Lake Superior west of Bark Point may not exceed
2,150
4
,
430
lake trout.
NR 25.06(1)(a)3.
3.
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 Lake Superior east of Bark Point may not exceed
44,800
36,300
lake trout. 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 Lake Superior west of Bark Point may not exceed 700 lake trout. 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
. Statement of Emergency.
The welfare of state-licensed commercial fishers,
Chippewa
tribal comme
rcial fishers, recreational fish
ers, and associated businesses is threatened by a decline in the lake trout population in the Apostle Islands vicinity of Lake Superior. The emergency rule is necessary to implement harvest limits for the 2014-15 lake trout harvest seasons.
Section
4
.
Effective Date
.
This rule shall take effect upon publication in the official state newspaper, as provided in s. 227.24(1
)(
d), Stats.
Section
5
. Board adoption.
This rule was approved and adopted by the State of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board on
December 10, 2014
.
