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6212.2500 PERMIT CONDITIONS. Repeal
6212.2525 PERMITTED FISHING CONTESTS
Subpart. 1. Limitation on number of boats. Contest participation will be limited to not
more than one boat for each ten acres of contest water.
Subpart 2. Equipment Requirements for Live Release.
A. The live-well and fish-holding equipment requirements under items B and C are
mandatory for all live-release contests to minimize negative impacts to fish.
B. Boat live-wells and holding tanks shall:
(1) Have at least one gallon of water per pound of fish held; and
(2) Be equipped with a functional water pump or circulation system capable of
maintaining dissolved oxygen at five parts per million or higher.
Subpart 3. Contest Denials. Permits may not be issued for the following.
A. Tagging or marking fish for special contest rewards.
B. Contests being proposed on waters managed for trout, except Lake Superior.
C. Contests that promote or allow fizzing (the act of inserting a needle into the fish’s gas
bladder).
D. Contests were boat take-off procedures result in unsafe boating.
E. Contests where use of live bait may cause increased mortality.
F. Contests on waters where the commissioner determines the activity may compromise
the fish management or research data being collected.
G. Contests that the commissioner determines will have excessive negative impact to
fish and fish habitat.
H. Contests on opening days, holidays, and other high use periods that the commissioner
determines result in unacceptable safety risks.
Subpart 4. Permit Conditions.
A. Conditions may be specified in the permit for the following areas for the purposes
provided in 97C.081, subd. 4.
1. Seasonal and daily restrictions;
2. Geographical restrictions;
3. Fish handling procedures;
4. Daily and possession limits;
5. Types of equipment;
6. Contest length, or
7. Treatments to prevent the spread of diseases and invasive species.
B. The commissioner shall consider the following criteria when determining conditions
to be included in the permit:
1. Whether the activity will advance knowledge, understanding, interpretation,
or management of a fish species, fish community, or water body;
2. Impacts on other public uses, research efforts, educational events, or
management activities;
3. Impacts to spawning fish or areas, rice beds, critical habitat, or to the fish
community;
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4. Whether the activity is detrimental or helps achieve management objectives
for the specific water body;
5. Whether contest activities during high use periods are anticipated to cause
unacceptable safety risks; and
6. Whether contest activities during high use periods are anticipated to cause
user conflicts.
Subpart 5. Restrictions on weigh-ins.
A. Permits will not be issued to release walleye, sauger, and their hybrids
(Sander genus within the Percidae family) alive after a weigh-in from:
(1) Memorial Day to Labor Day for all inland and border waters located in and
south of Traverse, Grant, Douglas, Todd, Morrison, Mille Lacs, Kanabec,
and Pine counties, except Lake Mille Lacs.
(2) From June 14 to Labor Day for all other inland and border waters, including
Lake Mille Lacs.
B. Permits will not be issued to release bass (Micropterus genus within the
Centrarchidae family) alive after an off-site weigh-in during July and August for inland
and border waters, except Canadian border waters.
C. Permits will not be issued to release northern pike (Esox lucius) and trout and
salmon (Salomonidae family) alive after an off-site weigh-in.
D. Permits for fishing contests involving muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and
sturgeon (Acipenseridae family) will only be issued for formats using immediate release
as defined in M.S. 97A.015, Subd.26C.
E. Notwithstanding items A-B, permits will not be issued to release fish alive
after a weigh-in, except for immediate release at the location of where caught when water
temperature or water quality conditions may lead to undue mortality of released fish.
F. Permits will not be issued to release fish alive after an off-site weigh-in when:
(1) 100 or more fish total will be weighed-in for the contest; or
(2) Fish will be held more than 2-1/2 hours from the time they leave the contest
waters until they are returned to contest waters.
G. Permits will not be issued to conduct an off-site weigh-in if the contest
organizer cannot prevent the spread of invasive species or pathogens to other waters from
activities associated with the contest.
6212.2600 POSSESSION OF FISH.
For Text of Subps 1 – 2 see MR.
Subp. 3. Authority to hold and release fish. In contests where fish may be returned to
the contest waters, the permittee may be authorized to hold healthy fish and release them
immediately following weigh-in. Suitable release sites may be specified in the permit for
the purposes provided in 97C.081, subd. 4. The commissioner shall consider the
following criteria to determine when a specific release location should be included in the
permit:
1. water or habitat quality at or near release sites would result in undue mortality of
released fish;
2. barriers such as dams or channels that may limit natural fish movement or
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redistribution;
3. genetics of the contest fish and the fish population where they are being released;
4. preferred fish habitat, home range of the contest fish, or where the fish was caught
is beyond what the fish species has been reported in the scientific literature to
reasonably navigate;
5. release of the contest fish at another location would lead to localized depletion of
fish stocks from contest waters were the contest fish were caught and removed; or
6. release of contest fish may result in the spread of diseases or invasive species.
Subp. 4 Gifting and donating fish
To prevent the waste of fish, the tournament organizer may be authorized in the permit to
collect up to one limit of fish per contest participant for gifting to a non-profit
organization or institution. The organizer must submit a plan for collection and
distribution at the time of application. Distribution of donated fish by the organizer or
group receiving the donated fish must be at no cost.
16212.2700 CONTEST OPERATION.
Subpart 1. Restriction on use of public accesses. No contest may preempt use of a boat
ramp or parking spaces at public access to contest waters. The organizer must submit a
parking plan at the time of application for approval. The plan must include provisions for
utilizing the parking sites, off-site parking, and location of weigh-ins. Contests shall not
use more than 50% of the parking spaces at state-owned sites unless authorized in the
permit.
1 Draft Version 1/2/07
October 5, 2007 at 4:37 pm
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