To revise sportfishing regulations and associated activities including the commercial collection, sale and use of baitfish.
Text of final rule:
New paragraph 10.1(c)(8) is added to read as follows:
(8) catch and release angling (i.e. catching and returning a fish to the water without causing it harm) is only permitted during the open season for a particular fish species. Measuring, weighing and photographing the fish are permitted as long as the fish is not removed from the water for an extended period or handled in a manner that could cause harm such fish may not be held on a string, or placed in a bucket, tub, livewell, or any other holding device.
Existing clause 10.2(c)(1)(ii)(d) is amended to read as follows:
(d) Use of hooks with added weight is prohibited, except that artificial flies and jigs weighing[of] no more than one-eighth ounce [added weight ]are permitted.
Existing paragraph 10.2(h)(2) is amended to read as follows:
(2) Table C- Fishing regulations for Lake Champlain and its tributaries.
Species
Open Season
Minimum Length
Daily Limit
(a) Trout
All year
12″
3
Lake Trout
All year
15″
3
Landlocked Salmon
All year
15″
2
(b) Black Bass
Second Saturday in June through November 30
10″
5
December 1 through the Friday [proceeding]preceding the second Saturday in June
Catch and release only; artificial lures only
(c) Walleye[, Sauger]
First Saturday in May through March 15
18″
[Any ]3[ in combination]
(d) Muskellunge
Last Saturday in May through November 30th
40″
1
(e) Northern Pike
All year
20″
5
(f) Crappie
All year
8″
25
(g) Pickerel
All year
Any size
10
(h) Yellow perch and Sunfish
All year
Any size
Any number
(i) Lake Sturgeon
May not be taken or possessed at any time.
(j) All other species not listed
All year
Any size
Any number
Existing subparagraph 10.2(h)(3)(iii) is repealed.
[(iii) Yellow perch taken from Cumberland Bay, and tributaries of Cumberland Bay to their first impassable barrier to fish, must not be sold, traded or bartered, offered for sale, or exposed for sale. Cumberland Bay is defined as that portion of Lake Champlain north and west of a line extending from Cumberland Head Light to the northern tip of Crab Island then westerly to the southerly of two piers at the oil terminal known locally as the Copeland Oil Terminal.]
Existing paragraph 10.2(k)(3) is amended to read as follows:
(3) Ice fishing is permitted for the taking of any species during its open season. [Five]Seven tip-ups[and two-hand lines] may be used.
10.3 Additional special fishing regulations for certain inland waters.
(b) Table A – Fishing regulations for specifically designated waters.
Water
Species
Open Season
Minimum Length
Daily Limit
Method
New clause 10.3(b)(22)(a) is amended to read as follows:
(a)
All waters except as listed below or listed in subdivision 10.6(h) of this Part
Trout
April 1 through October 15
Any size
5 with no more than 2 longer than 12″
New clause 10.3(b)(25)(a) is amended to read as follows:
(a)
All waters except as listed below or listed in subdivision 10.6(i) of this Part
Trout
April 1 through October 15
Any size
5 with no more than 2 longer than 12″
Existing clause 10.3(b)(26)(d) is amended to read as follows:
(d)
Spring Creek on Caledonia State Fish Hatchery property as posted
April 1 through October 15 8[7:30] a.m. to 4[3:30] pm
New clause 10.3(b)(33)(a) is amended to read as follows:
(a)
All waters except as listed below or listed in subdivision 10.6(j) of this Part
Trout
April 1 through October 15
Any size
5 with no more than 2 longer than 12″
New clause 10.3(b)(45)(a) is amended to read as follows:
(a)
All waters except as listed below or listed in subdivision 10.6(l) of this Part
Trout
April 1 through October 15
Any size
5 with no more than 2 longer than 12″
Existing section 10.4 is amended to read as follows:
10.4 Ice fishing and use of [ice-fishing lines]tip-ups.
(a) For the purposes of this Part, a[n ice-fishing line] tip-up means any device used for fishing through the ice, including but not limited to hand line, tip-up, tip down[s], etc.
(b) General provisions.
(1) No person shall fish through the ice in any water inhabited by trout except those waters specified in this Part.
(2) No person shall [use ice fishing lines]fish through the ice on the frozen waters of the State during the period from May 1st through November 14th except by the use of hand lines.
(3) Fish may be taken through the ice [only] in accordance with open seasons, minimum sizes and daily limits set forth in this Part.
(4) Wherever ice fishing is permitted, no more than seven [ice fishing lines]tip-ups[, with an ice fishing line meaning any device use for ice fishing through the ice (including but not limited to hand line, tip-up, tip down, rod and reel, etc.)] may be used except where specified in this section or other sections of this Part.
(5) No more than 15 tip-ups[ice fishing lines with an ice fishing line meaning any device use for ice fishing through the ice (including but not limited to hand line, tip-up, tip down, rod and reel, etc.)] may be used in Lake Champlain.
(6) No person shall operate tip-ups [ice fishing lines]without being in immediate attendance while the tip-ups [ice fishing lines ]are in the water.
(7) No person shall use a[n ice-fishing line]tip-up that has more than five lures or baits or a combination of both.
(8) No person shall use a[n ice-fishing line] tip-up that has more than 15- hook points in any combination of single, double or treble hooks.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
Nonsubstantive changes were made in sections 10.1(c), 10.2(h), 10.3(b), 10.4(a) and (b).
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Shaun Keeler, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233, (518) 402-8928, email: shaun.keeler@dec.ny.gov
Additional matter required by statute:
A Programmatic Impact Statement pertaining to these actions is on file with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Revised Regulatory Impact Statement
A revised Regulatory Impact Statement is not needed, as the original Regulatory Impact Statement, as published in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, remains valid. It does not need to be amended.
Revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
A revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments statement is not needed. The original Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments statement, as published in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, remains valid and does not need to be amended.
Revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
A revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis is not needed. The original Rural Area Flexibility Analysis Statement, as published in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, remains valid and does not need to be amended.
Revised Job Impact Statement
A revised Job Impact Statement is not needed. The original Job Impact Statement, as published in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, remains valid and does not need to be amended.
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that does not require a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2020, which is no later than the 5th year after the year in which this rule is being adopted
Assessment of Public Comment
Comment: The definition of “catch and release” should be expanded with regards to catching and releasing trout, specifically, to include: 1) requiring the use of single, barbless, non-treble hooks; 2) prohibiting removal of the fish from the water during the months of January and February (i.e. when air temperatures are most likely to be freezing); 3) prohibiting fishing when the water temperature is 70 degrees or higher; and 4) expanding the prohibition on 'handling in a manner that may cause harm' to include a prohibition on holding a trout by its gill slits (i.e. "gilling").
Response: The intention of this definition of “Catch and Release” is to provide guidance, on a broad scale, as to what is permissible (and not permissible) as far as handling sportfish caught during their open but “Catch & Release only” season. The Department believes that this definition accomplishes that so additional regulatory requirements are not necessary. The Department does consider additional gear (e.g. hook related) restrictions for specific species- specific waters-specific conditions and at specific times of the year (e.g. trout and salmon spawning in Great Lake tributaries, Lake Champlain tributaries) and will continue to consider special gear restrictions where appropriate. The Department will also continue to provide guidance to anglers on procedures that will reduce mortality of fish that are caught and released, such as those found in the Fishing Regulations Guide that is published annually by the Department and on its website. The Department believes several of the specific measures identified for trout would not be practical or enforceable. Water temperatures can fluctuate substantially on a daily basis from spring through fall, and values above and below 70F can occur on the same day. Additionally, prohibiting removal of fish from the water in January and February is not necessary to facilitate survival; but guidelines should continue to encourage anglers to minimize the time fish are out of the water for hook removal.
Comment: If the definition of Catch and Release means that you are supposed to immediately release Black Bass during the C&R season, then I strongly oppose.
Response: The definition of Catch and Release does allow for the measuring, weighing and photographing of the fish as long as the fish is not removed for an extended period of time, and the fish is caught “in season.” This applies to all species with a “catch and release only” season, including black bass.
