Commercial Fishing: Seasons, Methods

PURPOSE: This rule provides for commercial fishing in certain streams and establishes restrictions on the use of commercial fishing gear. (1) Commercial fish and live bait may be taken and possessed in any numbers by the holder of a commercial fishing permit from commercial waters with seines, gill nets, trammel nets, hoop nets with or without wings, trotlines, throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, or jug or block lines, and any number of hooks, except— (A) On the Missouri River upstream from U.S. Highway 169 where hooks may not be used; (B) Endangered species as listed in 3 CSR 10-4.111(3), including lake sturgeon and pallid sturgeon, may not be taken or possessed, and must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught; and (C) Alligator gar may not be taken or possessed, and must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. (2) Trammel nets and gill nets must be attended at all times by the permittee’s immediate presence where nets are set. For purposes of this section, immediate presence is defined as within sight of the location of set equipment in order to personally claim or identify such equipment during inspection by an agent of the department. Hoop nets may be left set and unattended for not more than forty-eight (48) hours. All other commercial fishing equipment may be left set and unattended for not more than twenty-four (24) hours. (3) On the Missouri River or banks thereof, game fish (including channel, blue, and flathead catfish; paddlefish; and shovelnose sturgeon) may not be possessed or transported while fishing by commercial methods or while possessing commercial fishing gear and shall be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. (4) On that part of the St. Francis River which forms the boundary between the states of Arkansas and Missouri, the following may not be possessed or transported while fishing by commercial methods or while possessing commercial fishing gear and shall be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught: (A) Channel, blue, and flathead catfish less than fifteen inches (15") in total length; and (B) Other game fish (including paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon). (5) On the portions of the Mississippi River defined as commercial waters, the following may not be possessed or transported while fishing by commercial methods or while possessing commercial fishing gear and shall be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught: (A) Channel, blue, and flathead catfish less than fifteen inches (15") in total length; (B) Paddlefish, except paddlefish equal to or greater than thirty-two inches (32") in length (measured from eye to fork of tail), may be transported and possessed from November 1 through April 15; (C) Shovelnose sturgeon, except shovelnose sturgeon twentyfour inches (24") to thirty-two inches (32") in length (measured from tip of snout to fork of tail), may be transported and possessed from October 15 through May 15 upstream from the Melvin Price Locks and Dam; and (D) Other game fish. (6) While on waters of the state and adjacent banks, the head and tail must remain attached to all fish, bowfin, and shovelnose sturgeon must remain whole and intact, and the ovaries of paddlefish must remain intact and accompany the fish from which they were removed. (7) Commercial fishing gear may not be used or set within three hundred (300) yards of any spillway, lock, dam, or the mouth of any tributary stream or ditch, or in waters existing temporarily through overflow outside the banks of the specified rivers except as specified in 3 CSR 10-20.805 (14), and may not be used to take fish underneath or through the ice. (8) Commercial gear must meet the following requirements: (A) Seines, gill nets, and trammel nets having a mesh smaller than two inches (2") bar measure, measured when wet, may not be used; (B) Hoop nets having a mesh smaller than one and one-half inches (1 1/2") bar measure, measured when wet, may not be used. Hoop net wings and leads must be a single panel, not more than six feet (6') in depth, mesh size one and one half inches (1 1/2") bar measure, measured when wet, and made of twine not less than three sixty-fourths of an inch (3/64") in diameter; (C) Hooks attached to trotlines or throwlines shall be staged not less than two feet (2') apart; (D) While in use, all commercial fishing gear shall be labeled with tags furnished by the department and placed as indicated on the tags. Portions of trotlines and jug or block lines, throwlines, bank lines, and limb lines must have the commercial tag number under which they are being fished attached to each line; and (E) Commercial fishing gear may not be possessed on waters of the state or adjacent banks that are not open to commercial fishing, except during transportation by boat from the nearest access location to commercial fishing waters as determined by the department. (9) The possession of game fish except as defined as commercial fish in 3 CSR 10-20.805 while in the act of using commercial fishing gear or aboard a boat transporting fish taken by commercial fishing gear is prohibited. (10) The possession of extracted eggs of any fish species, except as provided in section (6) of this rule, is prohibited while on waters of the state and adjacent banks. (11) Invasive fish, common carp, and grass carp that jump from the water on or into a watercraft, or onto land, may be taken and possessed in any number. Invasive fish may not be transported from waters of the state where taken unconfined or in water. AUTHORITY: sections 40 and 45 of Art. IV, Mo. Const. and section 252.040, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed Aug. 16, 1973, effective Dec. 31, 1973. Amended: Filed July 20, 1977, effective Jan. 1, 1978. Amended: Filed July 31, 1981, effective Jan. 1, 1982. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 1983, effective Jan. 1, 1984. Amended: Filed Aug. 3, 1984, effective Jan. 1, 1985. Amended: Filed June 7, 1985, effective Sept. 14, 1985. Amended: Filed Aug. 6, 1985, effective Jan. 1, 1986. Amended: Filed Aug. 9, 1988, effective Jan. 1, 1989. Amended: Filed Aug. 8, 1989, effective Jan. 1, 1990. Amended: Filed May 10, 1990, effective Jan. 1, 1991. Amended: Filed Oct. 11, 1990, effective July 1, 1992. Amended: Filed May 10, 1991, effective Jan. 1, 1992. Amended: Filed April 28, 1992, effective Feb. 26, 1993. Amended: Filed April 21, 1993, effective Jan. 1, 1994. Amended: Filed April 25, 1996, effective March 1, 1997. Amended: Filed May 10, 1999, effective March 1, 2000. Amended: Filed May 9, 2002, effective July 1, 2002. Amended: Filed June 4, 2004, effective June 15, 2004. Amended: Filed Dec. 30, 2003, effective July 1, 2004. Amended: Filed Sept. 29, 2004, effective Feb. 28, 2005. Amended: Filed Sept. 14, 2005, effective Feb. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed March 6, 2006, effective Aug. 30, 2006. Amended: Filed Oct. 2, 2006, effective Feb. 28, 2007. Amended: Filed Sept. 27, 2007, effective Feb. 29, 2008. Amended: Filed Oct. 10, 2008, effective July 1, 2009. Amended: Filed Sept. 25, 2009, effective March 1, 2010. Amended: Filed March 12, 2013, effective Aug. 30, 2013. Amended: Filed March 2, 2020, effective Aug. 30, 2020. Amended: Filed Jan. 22, 2021, effective Aug. 30, 2021. Amended: Filed Aug. 27, 2021, effective Feb. 28, 2022. *Original authority: 252.040, RSMo 1945, amended 1989.