Chapter 29

29.417(3)(c) (c) That body of water known as Washington Harbor lying south of a line commencing at the water’s edge on the north line of section 26, township 34 north, range 29 east, and running in a straight line easterly to the water’s edge on the north line of section 25, same township and range.

29.417(3)(d) (d) That body of water known as Eagle Harbor lying south and east of a line drawn from the most northeast point in section 9, township 31 north, range 27 east, easterly to the water’s edge on the north line of section 12, same township and range.

29.417(3)(e) (e) That body of water known as Egg Harbor lying south of a line commencing at the most northeast point in section 26, township 30 north, range 26 east, and running in a straight line east to the north line of section 25, same township and range.

29.417(3)(f) (f) That body of water known as North Bay lying north of a line commencing at the most northeast point in section 35, township 31 north, range 28 east, and running in a straight line to the west line of section 25, same township and range.

29.417(3)(g) (g) That body of water known as Fish Creek Harbor lying south and east of a line commencing at the most northerly point in the southwest quarter of section 29, township 31 north, range 27 east, and running northeasterly in a straight line to the water’s edge on north line of said section, township and range.

29.417(3)(h) (h) That body of water known as Detroit Harbor lying north of a line commencing at the most southerly point in section 14, township 33 north, range 29 east, and running in a straight line to the most southerly point in section 18, township 33 north, range 30 east.

29.417(3)(i) (i) That body of water known as Little Sturgeon Bay lying south of a line commencing at the most northeast point in section 35, township 28 north, range 24 east, and running in a northeasterly direction to the most northerly point in section 36, same township and range.

29.417(3)(j) (j) That body of water known as Rowley’s Bay lying north of a line commencing at the water’s edge on south line of section 26, township 32 north, range 28 east, and running east to the most southerly point in section 32, same township and range.

29.417(3)(k) (k) That body of water known as Riley’s Bay lying south of a line commencing at the most northerly point in section 36, township 28 north, range 24 east, and running in a northeasterly direction to the most northerly point in section 30, township 28 north, range 25 east.

29.417 History History: 1981 c. 390 s. 252; 1997 a. 248 ss. 81, 83, 85, 681; Stats. 1997 s. 29.417.

29.417 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 20.38, Wis. adm. code.

29.421 29.421 Removal of rough fish. The department may take rough fish by means of seines, nets or other devices, or cause rough fish to be taken, from any of the waters of this state, other than waters in a self-contained fish rearing facility or in a preexisting fish rearing facility that is an artificial body of water. Whenever the department takes rough fish under this section it shall dispose of the fish in any manner that it determines to be appropriate.

29.421 History History: 1971 c. 266; 1977 c. 418; 1997 a. 27, 237; 1997 a. 248 ss. 676, 677; Stats. 1997 s. 29.421; 1999 a. 32.

29.421 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 20.38, Wis. adm. code.

29.424 29.424 Control of detrimental fish.

29.424(1) (1) When the department finds that any species of fish is detrimental to any of the waters of the state it may designate the species of fish and specify the waters in which the species of fish is found to be detrimental. The department may remove or cause to be removed detrimental fish of the species designated from the waters specified.

29.424(2) (2) Subsection (1) does not authorize the department to remove fish from a self-contained fish rearing facility or from a preexisting fish rearing facility that is an artificial body of water unless one or more of the following apply:

29.424(2)(a) (a) The fish are of a species that is not native to this state and the department determines that having the fish in that particular self-contained fish rearing facility or preexisting fish rearing facility poses a risk of being detrimental to the waters of the state.

29.424(2)(b) (b) The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection has requested that the department of natural resources remove the fish to address a problem affecting fish health.

29.424 History History: 1975 c. 360; 1997 a. 27; 1997 a. 248 ss. 678 to 680; Stats. 1997 s. 29.424.

29.424 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 20.38, Wis. adm. code.

subch. VI of ch. 29 SUBCHAPTER VI

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES

Subch. VI of ch. 29 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also s. NR 19.01, Wis. adm. code.

29.501 29.501 Fur dealers regulated.

29.501(1) (1) In this section:

29.501(1)(a) (a) “Dressed fur” means the dressed or tanned skins of any fur-bearing animal, but does not include fur in the manufactured article.

29.501(1)(b) (b) “Fur auctioneer” means a person duly licensed to sell furs of wild-fur-bearing animals of this or other states or foreign countries.

29.501(1)(c) (c) “Fur dresser or dyer” means a person engaged in the business of dressing, dyeing, tanning and otherwise preparing furs to be made into manufactured articles.

29.501(1)(d) (d) “Itinerant fur buyers” means persons other than resident fur dealers who engage in the business of buying, bartering, trading or otherwise obtaining raw furs from trappers or from fur buyers or fur dealers in retail lots for purposes of resale, except those buying furs at a nationally advertised public auction conducted by a regularly licensed fur auctioneer.

29.501(1)(e) (e) “Raw fur” means the undressed skins or pelts of any fur-bearing animal.

29.501(1)(f) (f) “Resident fur dealer, Class A” means persons having an established post or place of business in the state where they carry on the business of buying, bartering, trading and otherwise obtaining raw or dressed furs, to the amount of $2,000 or more each year.

29.501(1)(g) (g) “Resident fur dealer, Class B” means persons having an established post or place of business in the state where they carry on the business of buying, bartering, trading and otherwise obtaining raw or dressed furs, to the amount of less than $2,000 each year.

29.501(2) (2) No person may engage in the business of buying, bartering, bargaining, trading or otherwise obtaining raw furs until he or she has a license issued under this section.

29.501(3) (3) Licenses shall be issued, subject to s. 29.024 (2g) and (2r), by the department upon application. The form of application and license shall be prescribed by the department.

29.501(5) (5) Persons who have not had a place of business in the state for at least one year immediately preceding the date of application for such license, shall be issued itinerant fur buyers’ licenses only.

29.501(6) (6) Each resident fur dealer, Class A; resident fur dealer, Class B; fur dresser or dyer; itinerant fur dealer or fur auctioneer license shall bear upon its face the date of issuance. The license shall be exhibited to the department upon request.

29.501(6m) (6m) 

29.501(6m)(a) (a) Every person licensed under this section shall keep records of all transactions in the buying, selling, dressing, dyeing or tanning of raw furs by the person. This record shall show the name and address of each person from whom furs were purchased and to whom sold, together with the date of receipt and shipment, and a detailed account as to the number and kinds of raw furs in each shipment received or sold. This record shall be open to the inspection of the department at all reasonable hours. The records shall be kept intact for a period of 2 years after the expiration of any license issued under this section, as to all transactions carried on while the license was effective.

29.501(6m)(b) (b) Not less than 10 days before conducting a fur auction, the fur auctioneer shall file with the department evidence of national advertising showing the date and place of the auction.

29.501(6m)(c) (c) Within 10 days after conducting any fur auction, the fur auctioneer shall file with the department on forms furnished by it a report of the auction containing the date and place of the auction, the names and addresses of all persons buying furs taken from wild fur-bearing animals, the quantities and kinds of furs bought, and the amounts paid for the furs by each buyer.

29.501(7) (7) All packages of raw furs shipped or transported by any person shall have plainly marked on the outside of the package or shipment the kinds and number of furs in the package or shipment, the license number, and the name of the consignor and the consignee.

29.501(8) (8) No person on the person’s own behalf or as an agent for any person may receive for shipment or cause to be received for shipment out of or in the state, any package of fur or furs unless the contents are plainly marked on the outside of the package as to the number and kinds of fur contained in the package, the license number, and the address of the consignor and consignee.

29.501(9) (9) Nothing in this section prohibits any person from buying raw or dressed furs for the purpose of making garments for himself or herself or a member of his or her family, but the person shall apply to the department for a permit to buy the furs.

29.501(9m) (9m) This section applies to the raw furs and dressed furs of fur-bearing animals that are subject to regulation under ch. 169.

29.501(10) (10) Any person who violates this section shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than 9 months, or both. Any person violating sub. (6m) shall forfeit not more than $100.

29.501 History History: 1975 c. 365; 1983 a. 27; 1991 a. 316; 1997 a. 191, 237; 1997 a. 248 ss. 288 to 290; Stats. 1997 s. 29.501; 1999 a. 32; 2001 a. 56; 2015 a. 89.

29.503 29.503 Wholesale fish dealer license.

29.503(1) (1) Definitions. In this section, unless the content otherwise requires:

29.503(1)(a) (a) “Canned fish” means fish and seafood products prepared for human consumption commercially, sterilized by heat and preserved in hermetically sealed containers.

29.503(1)(b) (b) “Fish” means any processed or unprocessed fish of those species which are found in the waters of the state as defined in s. 281.01 (18), including parts of fish, fish eggs, or fish products. “Fish” does not include minnows produced and sold or purchased as bait.

29.503(1)(c) (c) “Producer of fish” means any person who fishes with or without a crew.

29.503(1)(cm) (cm) “Record” includes any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual, or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form, that relates to the production, storage, transportation, purchase, sale, trade, barter, or other acquisition or disposition of fish by commercial fishers or wholesale fish dealers.

29.503(1)(d) (d) “Seafood” means food sold fresh or frozen and commonly known as oysters, shrimp, lobsters, lobster tails, crabs, scallops, clams and other types of shell fish which are or can be lawfully taken for commercial purposes, but not any canned fish or fish known as lutefisk.

29.503(1)(e) (e) “Wholesale fish dealer” means any person who buys, barters, obtains, sells, solicits, or processes fish in any manner for himself or herself or any other person for sale to anyone other than a consumer; but no established retail store or locker plant is a “wholesale fish dealer” solely as the result of the sale of fish to a restaurant, hotel or tavern at no reduction in the retail price charged other retail customers. A producer of fish, except as otherwise hereinafter provided, who sells fish directly to retailers is a wholesale fish dealer. Hotels, meat markets, grocery stores, restaurants and taverns are retailers, except when they sell fish for resale, in which case they are wholesale fish dealers.

29.503(2) (2) License required; exemption.

29.503(2)(a) (a) No person may engage in business as a wholesale fish dealer unless he or she is issued a wholesale fish dealer license by the department.

29.503(2)(b) (b) No producer of fish who holds a commercial fishing license or contract under this chapter shall be required to obtain a license to sell the fish that he or she produces.

29.503(3) (3) Lake sturgeon. A wholesale fish dealer license does not authorize a person to sell, buy, barter, trade, possess, control or transport lake sturgeon.

29.503(4) (4) Tagging, labeling, and vehicle identification requirements.

29.503(4)(a) (a) Tag, label or receipt required. No wholesale fish dealer may sell, buy, barter, trade, possess, control, transport, or cause to be transported any fish unless the fish are tagged and labeled in accordance with the law of the state or country where they were taken or, if no label or tag is required under the law of that state or country, unless the fish are accompanied by a receipt or invoice from the person from whom the fish were purchased or obtained.

29.503(4)(b) (b) Special requirements for lake trout. No wholesale fish dealer or producer of fish may sell, buy, barter, trade, possess, control, transport, or cause to be transported any lake trout unless the lake trout is identified in the form and manner required by the department.

29.503(4)(c) (c) Failure to tag or label. Fish which are not tagged, labeled or accompanied by a receipt showing the fish were taken in another state or country as required under par. (a) or (b) are presumed to have been taken from the waters of this state.

29.503(4)(d) (d) Package labeling requirements.

29.503(4)(d)1. 1. No wholesale fish dealer or producer of fish may transport or cause to be transported, or deliver or receive for transportation from the seller of fish to the buyer of fish, any container, package, or box containing any fish unless it is accompanied by a bill of lading or an invoice that contains the name, address, and license number of the seller and of the buyer.

29.503(4)(d)2. 2. The bill of lading or invoice required under subd. 1. shall contain the name, address, and license number of the seller and the buyer of the fish covered by the bill of lading or invoice and shall specify the point of origin of the fish, the point of destination of the fish, the species of fish, the weight of each species of fish, and the number of containers, packages, or boxes covered by the bill of lading or invoice. The operator of the conveyance transporting the fish shall immediately produce the bill of lading or invoice for inspection upon the request of a warden.

29.503(4)(d)3. 3. This paragraph does not apply to a producer of fish if the producer is transporting fish from the producer’s boat or landing to a processing facility in this state.

29.503(4)(e) (e) Vehicle identification requirements.

29.503(4)(e)1. 1. No wholesale fish dealer or producer of fish may transport or cause to be transported any fish in a vehicle unless the ownership of the vehicle is marked in a manner prescribed by the department that identifies the vehicle’s ownership and that confirms that the vehicle contains fish.

29.503(4)(e)2. 2. This paragraph does not apply to a producer of fish if the producer is transporting fish from the producer’s boat or landing to a processing facility in this state.

29.503(5) (5) Records and inventories.

29.503(5)(a) (a) Records. Each wholesale fish dealer shall keep legible, written records in the English language of all fish purchased, sold, possessed, or obtained in his or her capacity as a wholesale fish dealer by any means including by trade or barter and shall keep records of all fish disposed of in his or her capacity as a wholesale fish dealer for any reason, including as a result of spoilage or by donation. The record shall include the name, address, and fish dealer license number of the purchaser; the name, address, and wholesale fish dealer or commercial fishing license number of the person from whom the fish were purchased or obtained; the date of the transaction; the kinds of fish, the pounds or kilograms of each kind and the description of the fish purchased or obtained; and the signature of the person completing the record. If the record relates to a retail sale by the wholesale fish dealer, the record shall include only the date of the transaction and the kind, weight, and condition of the fish sold.

29.503(5)(br) (br) Inventory. Each wholesale fish dealer shall prepare an annual inventory of Great Lakes fish and all species of sturgeon owned by the wholesale fish dealer or in the dealer’s possession or control at the time that the inventory is prepared, including such fish maintained in cold storage facilities. The inventory shall be furnished to the department within 15 days after the inventory is completed. The inventory shall be recorded on a form available from the department and shall include the weight of the fish in pounds or kilograms, the species of the fish, the condition of the fish, and the address of the location of the fish.

29.503(5)(c) (c) Prohibition. No wholesale fish dealer, or employee of a wholesale fish dealer, may possess, control, store, transport, or cause to be transported any fish for which there is no record or for which there is no inventory as required under this subsection.

29.503(5)(d) (d) Record retention and confidentiality.

29.503(5)(d)1. 1. Each wholesale fish dealer shall retain all records and inventories required under this subsection for a period of at least 5 years from the date on which the record or inventory was created. Each wholesale fish dealer shall notify the department annually, on forms available from the department, of the location of the dealer’s records and inventories.

29.503(5)(d)2. 2. Upon the written request of a wholesale fish dealer to the department, the department shall keep confidential the value or weight of any fish listed on a record or inventory under this subsection and the identity of any person who is listed on a record under this subsection as having purchased, sold, possessed, or obtained fish.

29.503(5)(d)3. 3. Notwithstanding the confidentiality requirement in subd. 2, the department may disclose information contained on any record or inventory furnished by a dealer to the department if the disclosure is in furtherance of an investigation or enforcement action undertaken by the department or a law enforcement agency.

29.503(5)(d)4. 4. Notwithstanding the confidentiality requirement in subd. 2, the department may disclose information contained on any record furnished by a dealer to the department if the department uses the information for a statistical summary or report that does not identify the dealer by name or license number.

29.503(6) (6) Inspections.

29.503(6)(a) (a) Subjects of inspection. Fish stored or in the possession of a wholesale fish dealer, records and reports of a wholesale fish dealer and buildings, structures, vehicles, boats, equipment and materials related to a wholesale fish dealer’s business are subject to inspection by the department as provided in this subsection.

29.503(6)(am) (am) Record production.

29.503(6)(am)1. 1. Upon the request of the department, a wholesale fish dealer licensed in this state shall produce all records relating to the purchase, acquisition, sale, trade, barter, storage, or disposition of fish that are kept at the wholesale fish dealer’s place of business or at a residence, dwelling, or location other than the wholesale fish dealer’s place of business, within 24 hours of the request, for inspection or copying. The wholesale fish dealer may mail the records to the department for inspection or copying. The records shall be mailed within 24 hours of receipt of the department’s request.

29.503(6)(am)2. 2. The department may not issue a license to, or renew a wholesale fish dealer license issued to, any person who has been convicted of violating this paragraph for a period of one year following the conviction.

29.503(6)(b) (b) Inspection authority; entry; inspection. For the purpose of enforcing this subsection, a warden or a representative of the department, upon presentation of his or her credentials to a wholesale fish dealer, a person operating a vehicle or boat for a wholesale fish dealer or an employee or person acting on behalf of a wholesale fish dealer, is authorized during any time when business is being conducted on the premises:

29.503(6)(b)1. 1. To enter any building or structure, except a dwelling place, where fish are stored, processed, packed or held, where a wholesale fish dealer’s records or reports are kept, where vehicles, boats, equipment or materials used in a wholesale fish dealer’s business are located or where activities related to a wholesale fish dealer’s business are conducted and to enter any vehicle or boat used to transport or hold fish.

29.503(6)(b)2. 2. To inspect fish stored or in the possession of a wholesale fish dealer, inspect or copy records or reports of a wholesale fish dealer, and to inspect buildings, structures, vehicles, boats, equipment and materials related to a wholesale fish dealer’s business.

29.503(6)(c) (c) Failure to produce records or to permit inspection. No wholesale fish dealer, operator of a vehicle or boat for a wholesale fish dealer or employee or person acting on behalf of a wholesale fish dealer may prohibit entry or prohibit an inspection to be conducted as authorized under this subsection, or refuse to produce records as required under this subsection, unless a court restrains or enjoins the entry, inspection, or production.

29.503(7) (7) Exemption. This section does not apply to fish produced in a state or municipal fish hatchery or to farm-raised fish that are bought, bartered, sold, obtained, processed, solicited, or transported by a person who operates a fish farm registered under s. 95.60 (3m) or by that person’s employees.