Pennsylvania Code › Title 58 - RECREATION › Part II - FISH AND BOAT COMMISSION › Subpart B - FISHING › Chapter 69 - FISHING IN LAKE ERIE AND BOUNDARY LAKES › Subchapter D - COMMERCIAL FISHING, SEASONS AND NETS › Section 69.33 - Use of commercial trap nets

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Size
. Trap nets, cribs and associated leads shall be
					 constructed of twine not lighter than number 12 thread/cord. A trap net lead or
					 lifting crib with a mesh in violation of this section, whether being fished or
					 held in possession, shall be subject to confiscation by the
					 Commission.
(b)
Species
. A commercial trap net licensee may not possess or
					 sell a fish except in compliance with the following size limits and seasons.
					 The following size limits apply to commercial trap net licensees except that 5%
					 of each licensee's daily catch by number per species may be undersized fish
					 that may be lawfully sold:
Species
Size
								  Limit
Season
Yellow perch
(Perca
								  flavescens)
None
No closed season until the total
								  allowable catch is taken. See §
																69.31 (relating to seasons).
Walleye
(Stizostedion
								  vitreum)
15 inches
January 1 to March 14 and May 1 to
								  December 31. This season will close when the total allowable catch for walleye
								  is taken. See § 69.31.
White fish
(Coregonus
								  spp.)
17 inches
No closed season
White perch
(Morone
								  americana)
No size limit
No closed season
Cisco
(Coregonus spp. except C.
								  artedii)
No size limit
No closed season
White bass
(Morone
								  chrysops)
No size limit
No closed season
Burbot
(Lota lota)
No
								  size limit
No closed season
Sheepshead
(Aplodinotus
								  grunniens)
No size limit
No closed season
Gizzard shad
(Dorosoma
								  cepedianum)
No size limit
No closed season
Goldfish
(Carassius
								  auratus)
No size limit
No closed season
Lake whitefish
(Coregonus
								  clupeaformis)
No size limit
No closed season
Brown bullhead
(Ictalurus
								  nebulosus)
No size limit
No closed season
Yellow bullhead
(Ictalurus
								  natalis)
No size limit
No closed season
Rainbow smelt
(Osmerus
								  mordax)
No size limit
No closed season
Channel catfish
(Ictalurus
								  punctatus)
No size limit
No closed season
Suckers
(Carpides sp., Catostomus sp.,
								  Ictiobus sp. and Moxmostoma sp.)
No size limit
No
								  closed season
Carp
(Cyprinus
								  carpio)
No size limit
No closed season
(c)
Buoys/tags
. Marker buoys
					 shall be attached to the beginning of each lead and to the back of the crib. A
					 staff extending 8 feet above the water with a minimum size flag of 18 inches by
					 18 inches secured near the top shall be attached to the anchor for the
					 beginning of the lead and a staff extending 8 feet above the water with 2
					 minimum size flags of 18 inches by 18 inches (double flags) shall be attached
					 to the anchor for the crib. The licensee shall affix a metal, numbered tag
					 provided by the Commission to each of the required staffs showing the name and
					 address of the owner or the lessee. Licensees shall report a seal that is lost,
					 misplaced or stolen orally within 24 hours of discovery and in writing to the
					 Commission at Northwest Law Enforcement Region within 2 business days.
					 Improperly marked or tagged nets shall be subject to confiscation by the
					 Commission. Officers authorized to enforce the code and this part may mark trap
					 nets for the purpose of determining the number of trap nets being used by a
					 particular licensee.
(d)
Restricted period
. From January 1 through June 15, no part of
					 a trap net may be set within 0.5 miles of Lake Erie shoreline, except between
					 longitudes 80°00" and 80°10" where no part of a trap net may be set
					 within 1.5 miles of the Lake Erie shoreline. From June 16 through December 31,
					 no part of a trap net may be set within 1.5 miles of the Lake Erie
					 shoreline.
(e)
Restricted
					 waters.
The use of trap nets to harvest yellow perch from Lake Erie
					 will be prohibited from an area bound on the west by the 80°00"
					 longitudinal line and on the east at the Commonwealth/New York border
					 (79°45'43") and on the south by the Lake Erie shoreline and on the north by
					 the international border between the Commonwealth and Ontario,
					 Canada.
(f)
Time.
Trap nets may be fished 24 hours a day, but it is unlawful to set or lift them
					 during the period from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.
					 Trap nets may be set or fished, or both, from March 1 to November 30.
(g)
Description of trap net
.
(1) In the most general sense, a trap net is
					 a compartmentalized trap, consisting of a lead, heart, tunnel and crib with
					 wings and funnels. Fish are entrapped in the crib by swimming along a lead
					 which directs the animal progressively through the heart, tunnel and into the
					 crib. The netting and webbing which make up the crib shall be a single sheet
					 external panel, subject to mesh size regulation to allow small, young fish a
					 means of escape.
(2) A trap net
					 fishing device is designed to catch fish by impoundment. Fish caught by
					 impoundment remain alive and swimming for an extended period while confined
					 within the trap net crib. The elements of netting, webbing and twine (thread)
					 size (diameter) used in the construction of a trap net shall be of design and
					 dimension that will discourage, prohibit and preclude the enmeshing and
					 entanglement of fish in the netting of any part of the trap net device. The
					 netting of the crib shall be constructed as a single panel or sheet of webbing.
					 Lawful trap nets may not have liners or covers which would make the external
					 crib webbing two or more sheets in thickness.
(3) As used in this chapter, the term "trap
					 net" includes hoop nets and fyke nets.