CHAPTER 9. REGULATION OF FISHING
IC 14-22-9
Chapter 9. Regulation of Fishing
IC 14-22-9-1
Unlawful means of taking fish
Sec. 1. (a) Except as allowed by section 3 of this chapter, a person
may not take fish from waters containing state owned fish, waters of
the state, or boundary waters of the state by the following:
(1) Means of:
(A) a weir;
(B) an electric current;
(C) dynamite or other explosive;
(D) a net;
(E) a seine;
(F) a trap; or
(G) any other substance that has a tendency to stupefy or
poison fish.
(2) Means of the following:
(A) A firearm.
(B) A crossbow.
(C) The hands alone.
(b) The methods or devices in this section may be possessed and
used:
(1) under special permit issued by the director under rules that
the director provides; or
(2) as otherwise provided by law.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-2
Ice fishing
Sec. 2. (a) A person may not:
(1) ice fish; or
(2) attempt to ice fish;
in water of the state through a hole greater than twelve (12) inches in
diameter.
(b) A house, shanty, or fully enclosed structure used in ice fishing
must have the name and address of the owner clearly painted or
otherwise indicated on the outside of the door of the structure. The
door of the structure must be equipped with a latch of a nature that
can be opened from the outside as well as from the inside. The
structure may be of a temporary nature only and shall be removed
from the ice before the ice leaves.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-3
Fishing near dams
Sec. 3. A person may not use, set, cause to be used or set, take, or
attempt to take fish by means of:
(1) a trotline;
(2) a set line;
(3) a throw line;
(4) a net;
(5) a trap; or
(6) a seine;
except legal minnow seines or dip nets, within three hundred (300)
yards of a dam that wholly or partly crosses a river, stream, or
waterway in Indiana or the boundary water of the state.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-4
Minnows and crayfish; unlawful transportation
Sec. 4. A bait dealer may not transport or hold live minnows or
live crayfish in Indiana for any purpose in a manner or under the
conditions that cause unnecessary loss and death of minnows. A
violation of this section is sufficient cause for the division to revoke
and seize a bait dealer's license.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-5
Minnows and crayfish; transportation outside state
Sec. 5. (a) This section does not apply to a person engaged in
commercially raising in private waters:
(1) minnows;
(2) crayfish; or
(3) game fish;
for the purpose of sale.
(b) As used in this section, "private waters" means water wholly
on the land of an individual that:
(1) is not connected with public waters; and
(2) will not allow the ingress of fish.
(c) A person may not transport outside Indiana more than one
hundred (100) minnows or one hundred (100) crayfish in a
twenty-four (24) hour period.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-6
Waste disposal
Sec. 6. All offal or filth of any kind accruing from the catching,
curing, cleaning, or shipping of fish in or near the water of Lake
Michigan shall be burned, buried, or otherwise disposed of in a
sanitary manner that:
(1) does not pollute the water; and
(2) is not or does not become detrimental to public health or
comfort.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-7
Sale of fish
Sec. 7. (a) This section does not apply to the sale of fish produced
in private ponds for sale or for breeding and stocking purposes if the
owner obtains a permit from the director under the rules adopted by
the department and conditions provided in the permit.
(b) A person may not sell, barter, or exchange, offer to sell, barter,
or exchange, or purchase or offer to purchase fish protected by law,
whether taken in Indiana, the boundary waters of the state, or some
other state and brought into Indiana, except as otherwise provided in
this article. Restaurants, hotels, boardinghouses, or eating houses
may prepare and serve during the open season to:
(1) a guest, patron, or boarder; and
(2) the family of the guest, patron, or boarder;
fish legally taken in open season in Indiana by the guest, patron, or
boarder.
(c) Except as specifically prohibited by law, a person may sell a
species of hatchery reared fish or fish legally taken outside Indiana
under a valid commercial fishing license or regulation, dead or alive,
dressed or undressed, or partly dressed under the rules that the
department and the state department of health prescribe if the fish are
tagged or labeled in a manner that specifically identifies the
following:
(1) The name and address of the seller.
(2) The hatchery.
(3) The commercial fishing license or regulation.
(d) A person may not import and sell a live species of fish that has
not been approved by the director without a permit from the director
for this activity.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-8
Stocking fish in waters of the state
Sec. 8. Except as otherwise provided, a person may not stock fish
in the following:
(1) Waters containing state owned fish.
(2) Waters of the state.
(3) Boundary waters of the state.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-9
Obstruction of waterways; dams; fish ladders
Sec. 9. (a) This section does not apply to a downstream water
release from an existing municipal or fire protection impoundment
that has not impounded sufficient water for release.
(b) A person may not stretch, place, or set an obstruction, other
than a dam, across a waterway of Indiana or boundary waters of the
state that prevents fish from ascending or descending a waterway.
(c) A person who owns, operates, or controls a dam:
(1) whose impounded water is withdrawn for municipal,
industrial, electrical, agricultural, mining, or any other use; and
(2) across a waterway of Indiana or boundary water of Indiana
whose watershed is greater than fifty (50) square miles;
may be required to incorporate into the structure sufficient water
storage head to maintain during periods of minimum stream flow a
downstream discharge equal to the inflow into the impoundment
created by the dam and to maintain a sufficient head of water above
the dam to support fish life. A person described in this subsection
shall maintain during periods of minimum stream flow a downstream
discharge equal to the inflow into the impoundment created by the
dam.
(d) An owner of a dam across a waterway of Indiana or boundary
water of Indiana whose watershed is greater than fifty (50) square
miles may be required to construct and maintain the following:
(1) Fish ladders on the dam sufficient to allow the fish below
the dam to pass over the dam into the water above the dam.
(2) A passageway around and over the dam sufficient to allow
the upstream and downstream hand-carrying of small boats for
the purpose of navigation.
The fish ladders or boat passage shall be constructed in the manner
and of the materials that are prescribed by the director.
(e) The department shall enforce and administer this section.
(f) A person who violates this section commits a Class C
infraction. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate
offense.
(g) The remedy afforded by this section does not deprive an
aggrieved person from seeking redress by any other remedy:
(1) provided by statute; or
(2) under law.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15.
IC 14-22-9-10
Control of aquatic vegetation
Sec. 10. (a) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) A privately owned lake, farm pond, or public or private
drainage ditch.
(2) A landowner or tenant adjacent to public waters or boundary
waters of the state, who chemically, mechanically, or physically
controls aquatic vegetation in the immediate vicinity of a boat
landing or bathing beach on or adjacent to the real property of
the landowner or tenant if the following conditions exist:
(A) The area where vegetation is to be controlled does not
exceed:
(i) twenty-five (25) feet along the legally established,
average, or normal shoreline;
(ii) a water depth of six (6) feet; and
(iii) a total surface area of six hundred twenty-five (625)
square feet.
(B) Control of vegetation does not occur in a public
waterway of the state.
(b) A person may not chemically, mechanically, physically, or
biologically control aquatic vegetation in the public waters or
boundary waters of the state without a permit issued by the
department. All procedures to control aquatic vegetation under this
section shall be conducted in accordance with rules adopted by the
department under IC 4-22-2.
(c) Upon receipt of an application for a permit to control aquatic
vegetation and the payment of a fee of five dollars ($5), the
department may issue a permit to the applicant. However, if the
aquatic vegetation proposed to be controlled is present in a public
water supply, the department may not, without prior written approval
from the department of environmental management, approve a permit
for chemical control of the aquatic vegetation.
(d) This section does not do any of the following:
(1) Act as a bar to a suit or cause of action by a person or
governmental agency.
(2) Relieve the permittee from liability, rules, restrictions, or
permits that may be required of the permittee by any other
governmental agency.
(3) Affect water pollution control laws (as defined in
IC 13-11-2-261) and the rules adopted under water pollution
control laws (as defined in IC 13-11-2-261).
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15. Amended by P.L.1-1996, SEC.64;
P.L.19-2002, SEC.1.