Fishing Regulations

http://www.state.tn....h/fishmain.html

Here's the word from TWRA's non-game director on Tennessee native fishes in the aquarium (I'm paraphrasing what he told me; if he gives me permission to quote him directly I will do so):

No fish may be collected for the purpose of display or education. Any fish native to Tennessee that are kept for display or education must be accompanied by receipts showing that they have been purchased legally.

I forgot to mention- live fish may be collected from Tennessee waters and sold for the purpose of display ("catch-out") or bait by any one with a valid resident or non-resident Fish Dealer permit ($500/year). This is the same permit needed to farm-raise native or non-native fish.

Okay I did some fishin' here on said topic... I verified this with someone of stature within the state of TN, who can remain nameless, so far as this public forum goes. But I will say they are extremely familiar with the laws and is one of the people in the state of TN who is able to display native fishes (among other things concerning these fishes).

What he forgot to mention was the caveat "for display within the state boundary of Tennessee", which is only found in the Wildlife Code, not in the fishing regulations. But now you know about the Wildlife Code, so if you keep fish in TN on display, you've now got intent, and I'm sorry I had to post this.

It's legal to collect non-game fishes without a conservation status in the state of TN with a fishing license and up to a 10' seine as "bait".

There is no law prohibiting transportaiton of the bait from water body to water body in the state of TN.

There is no law prohibiting transportation of the bait collected across the state line.

If the recieving states that you will drive the bait through or are destined for have no law prohibiting the transportation of live fish, and the species you've collected as bait are not species that are illegal to posses in your state (fishes with conservation status for example), you're scott free.

To be 1000% honest, I think the measures that this has had to be thought through are disgusting. I feel like some greedy ol' white guy crawling through tax law looking for loop holes. Blech. And it makes me even more sick that for everyone to know the laws, I have to bring attention to what portions they should seal if they don't want anything leaving the state. But that's fine, the species that can ethically be collected from the Tennessee River drainage are all found in the Paint Rock River (although I'll miss my duck and cherry darters), and Alabama will never elevate any laws. The next real hurdle will probably be states shutting down their lines to live fish transportion with the VHS scare.

But to consider that it is NOT illegal for some guy to let his cows wander right into a stream in the upper portions of the Duck and Collins Rivers, for example, yet it IS illegal for a NATURE CENTER in the vicinity to have a tank of redline darter, duck darter, and longear sunfish to show people what those cows are extirpating... Well, I think that's just wrong.

Brian Wagner has provided a slam dunk of an example of HOW to do things next door in Arkansas. He'd be a good example for these guys to watch.

Anyway... What's Bruce say? Your mileage may vary.

Todd

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but does that mean that a person can collect "bait" (as long as the bait species are not listed) in Tennessee waters, and transport them to Ohio, for any use (display, education, etc...) without worrying about repercussions? As long as that species isn't listed in any states through which they are transported? (KY or OH)
-Thom

You got it.

I am sure Todd is correct here. But remember, and this applies to all situations, that this forum is not meant for law interpretation. The individual should use the info found on the forum, and confirm it for themselves. "I read it was okay on the Nanfa forum" is not a good excuse.
I really hate that these laws are not presented to us in a way that we can all easily decipher.

Agreed, and I'm glad you pointed that out Matt.

Todd