Section 25.16. Lake trout tagging and identification.

 

(1)   Importing foreign lake trout.

(a) No person may import or cause to be imported into Wisconsin any foreign lake trout by means of a boat authorized to be used under a license issued pursuant to s. 29.519 (1m) , Stats.

(b) No wholesale fish dealer or producer of fish may sell, buy, barter, trade, possess, control, transport or cause to be transported any domestic lake trout unless the fish is tagged with a valid, current commercial fish tag issued or authorized by the department. The tag shall be attached through the gills and mouth of whole or dressed lake trout. Producers of fish and their crew members may not possess filleted or chunked domestic lake trout on the ice or on board a boat.

(c) All commercial fish tags issued or authorized by the department or by a governmental agency of another state or country, when severed from the lake trout are considered state property and may be claimed by the department within one year of the date they were severed.

(2)   Filleted, portioned or smoked domestic lake trout. Lawfully possessed domestic lake trout which are intended for smoking, portioning or filleting may have the tags removed immediately prior to smoking, portioning or filleting.

(3)   Used tags.

(a) When lawfully possessed, lake trout which were tagged with a commercial fish tag issued or authorized by the department or by a governmental agency of another state or country and imported into this state are sold at retail or to a retail outlet, the wholesale fish dealer shall remove and retain the commercial fish tags. The department may reclaim such tags within one year at the wholesale fish dealer's place of business.

(b) No person may reuse any commercial fish tag issued or authorized by the department or by a governmental agency of another state or country.

History: Cr. Register, October, 1986, No. 370 , eff. 11-1-86; CR 08-060 : am. (title), (1) (title), (a), (2) (title) and (3) (b), r. and recr. (1) (b), r. (1) (c) to (e) and (2) (b) to (e), renum. (1) (f) and (2) (a) to be (1) (c) and (2) and am., Register June 2009 No. 642 , eff. 7-1-09.