Subdivision 1. Inland waters defined. For the purposes of this section and section 97A.475, subdivision 30, "inland waters" means all waters entirely located within the boundaries of the state and the border waters between Minnesota and North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa, excluding those waters described in section 97C.801.
Subd. 2. Commercial fish defined. For purposes of this section and section 97A.475, subdivision 30, "commercial fish" are carp; bowfin; burbot; cisco; goldeye; rainbow smelt; black bullhead, brown bullhead, and yellow bullhead; lake whitefish; members of the sucker family, Catostomidae, including white sucker, redhorse, bigmouth buffalo, and smallmouth buffalo; members of the drum family, Sciaenidae, including sheepshead; and members of the gar family, Lepisosteidae.
Subd. 3. Regulation. The commissioner shall, by rule, regulate the taking, possession, transportation, and sale of commercial fish, and the licensing of commercial fishing operators in inland waters.
Subd. 4. Licenses required. A person may not commercially fish inland waters without a commercial fishing license. Nonresidents may only be licensed to fish waters not previously assigned to residents. In the license application the applicant must list the number of feet of seine of each depth to be licensed.
Subd. 5. Season. Licenses to net commercial fish in inland waters are issued to residents and nonresidents annually subject to this section and shall be valid for commercial fishing during the open season for commercial fishing in inland waters from the day after Labor Day to the day before the open season for walleye.
Subd. 6. License invalidation. (a) A license to take commercial fish is void upon:
(1) the licensee's death;
(2) cessation of commercial fishing operations within an assigned area, except as provided by paragraph (c);
(3) conviction of two or more violations of inland commercial fishing laws within a license period; or
(4) failure to apply for a new or renewal license prior to June 15 of any year.
(b) A commercial inland fishing license is not subject to the license revocation provisions of section 97A.421. Commercial fishing rights and area assignments covered by a license that becomes void reverts to the commissioner for reassignment.
(c) A person possessing a valid inland commercial fishing license may apply to the commissioner for transfer of an assigned commercial fishing area to another person. Upon receipt of the application, the commissioner shall notify the applicant that the application for transfer has been received and shall determine if other people are interested in the assigned area by:
(1) notifying the Inland Commercial Fish Trade Association in writing; and
(2) publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the vicinity of the assigned area.
These notices must allow interested persons 30 days to notify the commissioner of their interest in the assigned area. Within 60 days after publishing notice, the commissioner shall review the qualifications of all interested persons and approve or deny the transfer based on the criteria in section 97C.815, subdivision 2. If the transfer is denied, the licensee may retain the license or request that it become void.
Subd. 7. Monthly reports. A licensed inland commercial fishing operator shall submit a report on the licensed activities the operator was engaged in to the commissioner each month. The report must be on a form provided by the commissioner and submitted prior to the 15th day of the following month. The report shall be submitted whether fishing activity took place unless the operator has a written release from this obligation signed by the commissioner.
1986 c 386 art 3 s 62; 1991 c 259 s 23; 1996 c 410 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.