Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 301 - TOURISM, ARTS AND HERITAGE CABINET - DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES › Chapter 1 - Fish › Section 301 KAR 1:146 - Commercial fishing gear

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				150.010,
				150.025,
				150.120,
				150.170,
				150.175,
				150.445,
				150.450,
				150.990
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				150.025(1) authorizes the
				Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to promulgate administrative
				regulations regarding the buying, selling, and transporting of fish and
				wildlife, the restriction of places where taking is allowed, and the
				application of administrative regulations to a limited area or the entire
				state. This administrative regulation establishes the legal methods that may be
				used by commercial fishers to harvest rough fish.
Section 1. Gear Requirements.
(1) The gear listed in subsections (2)
			 through (16) of this section shall be the only legal commercial fishing gear
			 allowed in commercial fishing waters established in
			 301 KAR 1:150 and under the
			 conditions established in
			 301 KAR 1:155 by a licensed
			 commercial fisher.
(2) A hoop net,
			 wing net, straight net, or heart lead net shall have a minimum bar mesh size of
			 three (3) inches, except that the minimum mesh size shall be one (1) inch in
			 the following waters:
(a) The Ohio
			 River;
(b) The Mississippi River;
			 and
(c) Those portions of the
			 following waters open to commercial fishing pursuant to
			 301 KAR 1:150:
1. The Cumberland River below Barkley Dam;
			 and
2. The Tennessee River below
			 Kentucky Dam.
(3) A hoop may be made of any:
(a) Size;
(b) Shape; or
(c) Material.
(4) Wings and leads shall be constructed of:
(a) Natural multifilament; or
(b) Synthetic multifilament.
(5) Netting used for wings and
			 leads shall:
(a) Be constructed of twine no
			 smaller than number six (6) nylon or the equivalent;
(b) Have a breaking strength of fifty-five
			 (55) pounds or greater; and
(c)
			 Have a bar mesh size no larger than one (1) inch.
(6) Wings and leads may consist of either:
(a) Knotted construction; or
(b) Knotless construction.
(7) The maximum length of each
			 hoop net wing or lead shall be sixty (60) feet.
(8) The following nets shall be fished as
			 individual nets:
(a) Hoop nets;
(b) Wing nets;
(c) Straight lead nets; or
(d) Heart lead nets.
(9) Wings or leads shall:
(a) Not be tied together to become a
			 continuous multiple net unit; and
(b) Be used only to lead fish into a hoop
			 net.
(10) One (1)
			 commercial gear tag shall be attached to the first hoop of each net.
(11) A gill or trammel net:
(a) May be fished:
1. Weighted; or
2. As a flag net; and
(b) Shall have one (1) commercial gear tag
			 attached to each 100 feet or part thereof.
(12) A gill or trammel net shall only be used
			 in:
(a) The Ohio River;
(b) The Mississippi River; or
(c) An overflow lake adjacent to the Ohio or
			 Mississippi rivers if the lake can be accessed from the river by a boat during
			 high flow conditions, except as prohibited:
1.
			 On department Wildlife Management Areas pursuant to
			 301 KAR 4:020 or
			 301 KAR 4:050; or
2. Pursuant to the requirements of
			 301 KAR
			 1:140.
(13) The bar mesh size on gill or trammel
			 nets shall be:
(a) At least three (3) inches
			 in:
1. The Mississippi River; and
2. Overflow lakes adjacent to the Mississippi
			 River;
(b) At least four
			 (4) inches from November 1 through April 30 in:
1. The Ohio River; and
2. Overflow lakes adjacent to the Ohio River;
			 and
(c) Between four (4)
			 and four and one-half (4 1/2) inches from May 1 through October 31 in:
1. The Ohio River; and
2. Overflow lakes adjacent to the Ohio
			 River.
(14) A
			 commercial trotline shall:
(a) Have more than
			 fifty (50) hooks placed no closer than eighteen (18) inches apart;
(b) Have one (1) commercial gear tag attached
			 to each end of the trotline and, at a minimum, one (1) commercial gear tag
			 attached to every 100 feet of trotline;
(c) Not be longer than 1,000 feet;
			 and
(d) Be set at least three (3)
			 feet under the surface of the water.
(15) A seine:
(a) Shall have a maximum bar mesh size of one
			 (1) inch;
(b) May have knotted
			 netting if constructed of twine that is:
1. No
			 smaller than number six (6) nylon; or
2. An equivalent having a breaking strength
			 of at least fifty-five (55) pounds;
(c) May have knotless netting if constructed
			 of twine that is:
1. No smaller than number
			 147 nylon; or
2. An equivalent
			 having a breaking strength of fifty (50) pounds or greater;
(d) Shall be constructed of:
1. Natural multifilament; or
2. Synthetic material;
(e) Shall have both float and lead
			 lines;
(f) Shall have the following
			 attached at each end:
1. Wood poles;
2. Fiberglass poles; or
3. Brailes;
(g) Shall be attended by a person who pulls
			 the seine by hand through the water to entrap fish; and
(h) Shall have one (1) commercial gear tag
			 attached to each 100 feet or part thereof.
(16) A slat trap basket shall:
(a) Not have wire or other mesh added to any
			 part of the trap;
(b) Have at least
			 two (2) openings left between slats:
1. No
			 smaller than one and one-fourth (1 1/4) inches wide in the catch portion of the
			 trap; and
2. That shall not be
			 restricted by cross-bracings to a length shorter than eight (8)
			 inches;
(c) Not be larger
			 than two (2) feet in diameter or square-end measure; and
(d) Have one (1) commercial gear tag attached
			 to the opening ring or square.