Illinois Administrative Code › Title 17 - CONSERVATION › Part 830 - COMMERCIAL FISHING AND MUSSELING IN CERTAIN WATERS OF THE STATE › Section 830.13 - Special Regulations for the Commercial Harvest of Roe-Bearing Species

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) Shovelnose
			 sturgeon may not be commercially harvested except in the Mississippi River
			 upstream of the Melvin Price Lock and Dam located in Alton (excluding the area
			 from Lock and Dam 19 to the State Highway 9 Bridge in Niota), the Ohio River or
			 the Wabash River. Shovelnose sturgeon may only be commercially harvested from
			 October 1 through May 31 from the Mississippi and Wabash River and from October
			 15 through May 15 from the Ohio River .
b) Paddlefish may not be commercially
			 harvested except in the Ohio River, the Illinois River below Route 89, and the
			 Mississippi River below Lock and Dam 19. Paddlefish may only be commercially
			 harvested from October 1 through May 31 from the Mississippi and Illinois
			 Rivers. Paddlefish may only be commercially harvested from November 1 through
			 April 30 from the Ohio River.
c)
			 Shovelnose sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon X pallid sturgeon hybrids may not
			 be commercially harvested from the Mississippi River downstream of Lock and Dam
			 26. Pallid sturgeon are federally and State listed endangered fish species that
			 cannot be taken and must be immediately released unharmed back to the
			 water.
d) All commercial roe
			 harvesters engaged in harvesting of roe-bearing species, including shovelnose
			 sturgeon, paddlefish and bowfin, shall:
1)
			 leave the roe of harvested shovelnose sturgeon, paddlefish and bowfin whole,
			 intact and inside the body cavity of the fish while on the water or adjacent
			 bank. However, the intact ovaries of paddlefish harvested from the Mississippi
			 or Illinois Rivers may be removed while on the water with the carcasses of the
			 fish the ovary is harvested from being retained for identification
			 purposes;
2) after complete
			 retrieval of fishing tackle, commercial fishermen shall immediately remove all
			 aquatic species that are not in compliance with size limits or are illegal
			 species to take or possess and immediately return them without unnecessary
			 injury to the waters from which taken, unless it is unsafe to remove fish where
			 the net was pulled. In such case, fishermen shall immediately move to a shore
			 area no more than 1/4 mile from the location where the net was set, and then
			 remove fish not legal for commercial fishermen to take. "Complete retrieval"
			 means as soon as an individual piece of fishing tackle has been retrieved in
			 whole to the fisherman's boat;
3)
			 not kill roe-bearing species to check for eggs. Commercial roe harvesters may
			 use a 10 or 12 gauge needle to examine roe-bearing species for the presence of
			 eggs; and
4) not set any tackle
			 prior to 10:00 a.m. on October 1 on the Mississippi and Wabash Rivers. Any
			 commercial gear that is being operated under a commercial roe harvest permit
			 prior to 10:00 a.m. on the Mississippi or Wabash River shall be considered an
			 illegal device.