(a) A person may not use live minnows imported from outside of the state, game fish, goldfish, or carp for bait. Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (d), the commissioner may adopt rules to authorize the use of game fish eggs as bait in Lake Superior and its tributaries below the posted boundaries and prescribe restrictions on their use.
(b) A person may not import or possess live, frozen, or processed bait from known waters where viral hemorrhagic septicemia has been identified as being present: (1) unless the bait has been processed to inactivate viral hemorrhagic septicemia in a manner prescribed by rules adopted by the commissioner; or (2) except as provided in paragraph (c). For purposes of this paragraph, "bait" includes fish, aquatic worms, amphibians, invertebrates, and insects used for taking wild animals in waters of the state.
(c) Cisco and rainbow smelt taken under rules adopted by the commissioner may be used as:
(1) fresh or frozen bait only on Lake Superior; or
(2) bait that has been processed to inactivate viral hemorrhagic septicemia in a manner prescribed by rules adopted by the commissioner.
(d) To ensure that frozen or dead fish being brought into the state are not in violation of paragraph (b), the following paperwork must accompany the shipment. Documents must be open for inspection by the commissioner at any reasonable time. All documents must be available to purchasers of these bait items. Each container or package of frozen or dead fish must have the following information:
(1) water body source;
(2) lot number;
(3) company contact including name, phone, and address;
(4) date of packaging and labeling; and
(5) valid negative fish health certification from the source water body.
1986 c 386 art 3 s 30; 2008 c 307 s 14; 1Sp2011 c 2 art 5 s 61; 2012 c 272 s 26; 2013 c 121 s 46
Structure Minnesota Statutes
Chapters 97 - 102 — Game And Fish
Section 97C.001 — Experimental Waters.
Section 97C.005 — Special Management Waters.
Section 97C.007 — Northern Pike Experimental And Special Management Waters.
Section 97C.02 — Acquiring Critical Aquatic Habitat.
Section 97C.021 — Angling Restricted In Trout Streams.
Section 97C.025 — Fishing And Motorboats Restricted In Certain Areas.
Section 97C.035 — Endangered Fish Populations.
Section 97C.041 — Commissioner May Remove Rough Fish And Catfish.
Section 97C.045 — Removing Rough Fish From Boundary Waters.
Section 97C.051 — Special Permits To Use Piscicides.
Section 97C.055 — Removing Dead Fish.
Section 97C.061 — Dragging Weight Or Anchor Through Vegetation.
Section 97C.065 — Pollutants In Waters.
Section 97C.071 — Structures In Public Waters.
Section 97C.075 — Fish Screens In Flowing Waters.
Section 97C.077 — Fish Screens In Lakes.
Section 97C.081 — Fishing Contests.
Section 97C.085 — Permit Required For Tagging Fish.
Section 97C.087 — Special Fish Management Tags.
Section 97C.201 — State Fish Stocking Prohibited Without Public Access.
Section 97C.203 — Exchanging Fish Or Wildlife Resources; Disposal Of State Hatchery Products.
Section 97C.205 — Transporting And Stocking Fish.
Section 97C.211 — Private Fish Hatcheries.
Section 97C.215 — Special Permits For United States Agents.
Section 97C.301 — License Required To Take Fish.
Section 97C.303 — Conservation Angling License.
Section 97C.305 — Trout-and-salmon Stamp Validation.
Section 97C.311 — Lake Superior Fishing-guide License.
Section 97C.315 — Angling Lines And Hooks.
Section 97C.317 — Fishing By Party.
Section 97C.321 — Restrictions On Unattended Lines.
Section 97C.325 — Restrictions On Taking Fish.
Section 97C.327 — Measuring Fish Length.
Section 97C.331 — Snagging Fish Prohibited.
Section 97C.335 — Use Of Artificial Lights To Take Fish Prohibited.
Section 97C.341 — Certain Aquatic Life Prohibited For Bait.
Section 97C.342 — Disease-free Certification; Frozen Or Dead Fish Bait.
Section 97C.345 — Restrictions On Using And Possessing Nets And Spears.
Section 97C.351 — Fish Nets; Tags.
Section 97C.355 — Shelters On Ice; Dark Houses And Fish Houses.
Section 97C.361 — Restrictions On Fish Houses And Dark Houses In Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Section 97C.371 — Spearing Fish.
Section 97C.375 — Taking Rough Fish By Spearing.
Section 97C.376 — Bow Fishing.
Section 97C.381 — Harpooning Rough Fish.
Section 97C.385 — Commissioner's Authority To Regulate Winter Fishing.
Section 97C.391 — Buying And Selling Fish.
Section 97C.395 — Open Seasons For Angling.
Section 97C.411 — Sturgeon And Paddlefish.
Section 97C.415 — Trout And Salmon.
Section 97C.417 — Reporting Invasive Carp.
Section 97C.501 — Minnow Licenses Required.
Section 97C.502 — Minnows And Leeches; Invasive Species Training Required.
Section 97C.511 — Minnow Seines.
Section 97C.515 — Imported Minnows.
Section 97C.521 — Transporting Carp Fingerlings Prohibited.
Section 97C.525 — Restrictions On Transporting Minnows.
Section 97C.611 — Turtle Species; Limits.
Section 97C.621 — Areas May Be Closed To Taking Turtles.
Section 97C.701 — Taking Mussels.
Section 97C.801 — Taking Rough Fish On Mississippi River.
Section 97C.805 — Netting Lake Whitefish And Ciscoes.
Section 97C.811 — Commercial Fishing In Inland Waters.
Section 97C.815 — Commercial Fishing Areas.
Section 97C.821 — Possessing, Selling, And Transporting Commercial Fish.
Section 97C.825 — Lake Of The Woods And Rainy Lake Fishing.
Section 97C.831 — Namakan And Sand Point Lakes; Commercial Fishing.
Section 97C.835 — Lake Superior Commercial Fishing.
Section 97C.836 — Lake Superior Lake Trout; Expanded Assessment Harvest.
Section 97C.841 — Apprentice License.
Section 97C.843 — Possession For Commercial Netting.
Section 97C.845 — Interference With Commercial Fishing.
Section 97C.851 — Commercial Fishing In International Waters; Resort Owners.
Section 97C.855 — Upper And Lower Red Lake And Nett Lake; Transportation, Sale, And Disposal.
Section 97C.861 — Fish Vendors; Requirements.