Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 5108
 October 10, 2023, Introduced by Reps. Morgan, Alexander, Martin, Hoskins, Miller, Martus,
   Cavitt, Markkanen, Wegela, Bierlein, Johnsen, Roth, Borton, Kunse, Brabec, Coffia,
   Rheingans, Neyer, Byrnes, Snyder, Prestin, Puri, Hoadley, Jaime Greene, Steele, Schmaltz, St.
   Germaine, Hood, Brixie, Aiyash and Whitsett and referred to the Committee on Natural
   Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.
       A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
"Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
by amending sections 47301, 47302, 47303, 47305, 47307, 47308,
47309, 47310, 47311, 47312, 47313, 47314, 47315, 47316, 47317,
47319, 47320, 47321, 47322, 47323, 47324, 47326, 47328, 47329, and
(MCL 324.47301, 324.47302, 324.47303, 324.47305, 324.47307,
47308, 324.47309, 324.47310, 324.47311, 324.47312, 324.47313,
47314, 324.47315, 324.47316, 324.47317, 324.47319, 324.47320,
47321, 324.47322, 324.47323, 324.47324, 324.47326, 324.47328,
47329, and 324.48724), sections 47301, 47302, 47305, 47307,
KHS                                                                                  H04392'23
                                         2
     47308, 47310, 47312, 47313, 47314, 47316, 47317, 47319, 47320,
     47321, 47322, 47323, 47324, 47326, 47328, 47329, and 48724 as added
     by 1995 PA 57, section 47303 as amended by 2004 PA 587, and
     sections 47309, 47311, and 47315 as amended by 2022 PA 34, and by
     adding sections 47304 and 47363; and to repeal acts and parts of
     acts.
                    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
         Sec. 47301. All fish of whatever kind found in the waters of
 Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie, commonly known as the
 Great Lakes, the bays of the Great Lakes, and the connecting waters
 between those lakes within the jurisdiction of this state are the
 property of the state, and taking the fish from those waters is a
 privilege. All fish in waters described in this section shall be
 taken, transported, sold, and possessed only in accordance with
 this part.As used in this part:
         (a) "Abandoned gear" means any commercial net, hooks, or other
 gear found on the waters of this state with which a licensee has
 done any of the following:
         (i) Intentionally discarded, disowned, or dispossessed.
         (ii) Failed to recover within a reasonable period of time
 following knowledge of the gear's location.
         (iii) Intentionally altered or removed the gear's ownership
 identification tags or similar markings.
         (iv) Failed to immediately restore the gear's lost or destroyed
 ownership identification tags or similar markings following
 knowledge of the absence or destruction of the tags or markings.
         (b) "Aquatic species" means fish, reptiles, amphibians,
 mollusks, and crustaceans, including their parts, eggs, and
 products.
     KHS                                                            H04392'23
                                        3
       (c) "Commercial" means buying, offering for sale, selling,
 bartering, giving, or furnishing to others any aquatic species or
 parts of aquatic species, including roe, for anything of value.
       (d) "Commercial fish species" means only those aquatic species
 that are authorized for commercial harvest under this part.
       (e) "Commercial net" means any of the following:
       (i) A fyke net.
       (ii) A gill net.
       (iii) A hoop net.
       (iv) An impoundment net.
       (v) A pound net.
       (vi) A purse seine net.
       (vii) A seine net.
       (viii) A trap net.
       (ix) A trawl net.
       (f) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
       (g) "Director" means the director of the department of natural
 resources.
       (h) "Dressed fish" means a fish with the head and tail
 attached but with the gills and the entire gut or viscera removed.
       (i) "Fish" means any fish, fish parts, roe, or fish products.
       (j) "Fish in the round" means a fish that is entirely intact
 as it was taken out of the water with no part or insides removed.
       (k) "Fyke net" and "hoop net" mean a long, bag-shaped
 impoundment net held open by hoops or frames and having 1 or more
 internal funnel-shaped throats that taper from the mouth of the net
 toward the pot.
       (l) "Gill net" means a vertical stationary wall of net in which
 fish are caught by entanglement.
     KHS                                                           H04392'23
                                       4
       (m) "Great Lakes" means those portions of Lake Superior, Lake
 Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie, including the bays of those
 lakes, that fall within the boundaries of this state.
       (n) "Great Lakes connecting waters" means those portions of
 Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, the St. Marys River, and the
 Detroit River that fall within the boundaries of this state.
       (o) "Illegal fish" means any fish taken or possessed in
 violation of this part or, if imported, not authorized by the laws
 of the state, country, or tribal authority where the fish was
 imported from. Illegal fish includes fish that have not been
 reported or for which a record has not been created as required by
 this part. Species listed as a prohibited transgenic or nonnative
 organism in part 413 may not be possessed or sold live and are
 considered illegal.
       (p) "Impoundment net" means a net designed to capture fish by
 deflection and to retain them in a live condition until removed.
       (q) "Licensed commercial fisher" means a person that has been
 issued a commercial fishing license under section 47304.
       (r) "Live car" or "live fish car" means a nonmotorized and
 nonsteerable floating box or hold that is towed behind the licensed
 commercial vessel for the exclusive purpose of holding or
 transporting live fish.
       (s) "Overall vessel length" means the minimum distance between
 the extreme outside end of the bow and the stern rounded to the
 nearest whole foot.
       (t) "Person" means an individual, firm, company, partnership,
 copartnership, association, or corporation.
       (u) "Pound net" means a stationary impoundment net consisting
 of a lead, heart, tunnels, and pot, supported by a series of stakes
     KHS                                                         H04392'23
                                        5
 or pilings, that traps fish inside a box-like net enclosure that is
 open above the surface of the water.
        (v) "Processed condition" means the physical form of the fish
 and is referred to as dressed, round, fillet, dressed headed, or
 roe.
        (w) "Purchase" means to buy, acquire, or obtain or attempt to
 buy, acquire, or obtain for exchange of value, goods, or services.
        (x) "Purse seine net" means a mesh net with floats on both
 edges that hangs down vertically in the water and is used to
 encircle the fish and enclose those fish when the net's bottom edge
 is pulled together.
        (y) "Quota" means a yearly allocation to commercial fishing
 licenses by the department for fish species listed under section
 47310 by a limitation of pounds of fish authorized to be taken.
        (z) "Record" includes any material on which 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 a licensed
 commercial fisher or wholesale fish dealer.
        (aa) "Retail fish dealer" means a person or retail store,
 locker plant, restaurant, hotel, tavern, meat market, grocery
 store, or other establishment, or club, that sells fish to the
 final consumer or sells fish for resale at no reduction in retail
 price.
        (bb) "Roe" means the eggs of any species of fish.
        (cc) "Saginaw Bay" means the area south and west of a straight
 line from Point Lookout in Arenac County to Sand Point in Huron
 County and inclusive of an area north and east of Sand Point within
 the following boundaries: commencing at the monument on the
     KHS                                                         H04392'23
                                       6
 westerly end of Sand Point (lat 43.54.58 long 083.24.19), thence
 easterly to the section line between section 7, T17N, R10E and
 section 12, T17N, R9E (lat 43.54.81 long 083.21.65); thence on a
 line due north for 2 miles (lat 43.56.55 long 083.21.65); thence on
 a line due west to a point due north of the monument on Sand Point
 (lat 43.56.56 long 083.24.19); thence southerly to the point of
 beginning.
       (dd) "Seine net" means a mesh net with weights on 1 edge and
 floats on the opposite edge that hangs vertically in the water and
 is used to enclose fish when its ends are either pulled together or
 drawn ashore.
       (ee) "Set hook lines" means a long fishing line with a series
 of hooks on short separate leaders attached to the main line.
       (ff) "Take" and "taking" means to fish for by any method,
 catch, kill, capture, trap, or harvest any aquatic species or to
 attempt to engage in any such activity.
       (gg) "Total allowable catch" means the cumulative annual catch
 limit for waters of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and
 Lake Erie under the jurisdiction of this state for species listed
 under section 47304 and as allocated by December 31 each year by
 the department.
       (hh) "Total fish length" means the straight line from the tip
 of the snout to the utmost end of the tail with the mouth closed
 and the caudal rays of the tail fin squeezed together.
       (ii) "Trap net" means a stationary impoundment net consisting
 of a lead, heart, tunnels, and pot, held in place by anchors and
 floats, that traps fish inside a box-like net enclosure that is not
 open above the surface of the water.
       (jj) "Trawl net" means any net that is actively towed through
     KHS                                                        H04392'23
                                        7
 the water by a vessel in order to capture fish.
       (kk) "Type of fish" means the status of the fish and is
 referred to as live, fresh, frozen, or smoked. Type, when
 referencing roe, is described as unprocessed or processed.
       (ll) (mm) "Unattended gear" means any commercial net, hooks, or
 other gear that has not been utilized or lifted and cleared of fish
 by the licensed commercial fisher for a period of 30 days or that
 contains decayed fish in amounts that indicate a prolonged period
 without being tended. This does not pertain to nets that have been
 properly reported and rendered unfishable as prescribed by the
 department.
       (mm) "Undersized fish" means a fish of a smaller than legal
 size as established by this act, by administrative rule, by order
 of the director, or as set by specific license condition.
       (nn) "Unfishable" means any commercial net, hook, or other
 gear that has been rendered inoperable as prescribed by the
 department.
       (oo) "Vessel" means every description of watercraft used or
 capable of being used as a means of transportation on water,
 including, but not limited to, any rowboat, sailboat, powerboat,
 motorboat, scow, tug, or launch.
       (pp) "Wholesale fish dealer" means a person that buys,
 barters, obtains, sells, solicits, or processes fish in any manner,
 for itself or any other person, for sale to someone other than the
 final consumer. Wholesale fish dealer includes any of the
 following:
       (i) A fish or food broker that acquires, solicits, obtains,
 buys, sells, or trades fish on behalf of another person.
       (ii) A fish processor that processes fish for itself or someone
     KHS                                                          H04392'23
                                       8
 else, for sale or trade by the owner of the fish to someone other
 than the final consumer.
       (iii) A crew member of a licensed commercial fisher who sells
 fish received as that individual's share of the catch, received as
 payment for that individual's work, or who retains part or all of
 the sale proceeds.
       (qq) Wholesale fish dealer does not include:
       (i) A licensed commercial fisher if that licensed commercial
 fisher is only selling the fish that it catches.
       (ii) A retail store or locker plant if that retail store or
 locker plant is only selling fish to a restaurant, hotel, or tavern
 at no reduction in the retail price charged other retail customers.
       Sec. 47302. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any
 other part or act, the department, when in the department's opinion
 it is necessary for the better protection, preservation,
 management, harvesting, and utilization of the fisheries in the
 waters described in section 47301 may limit the number of fishing
 licenses to be issued under this part and fix and determine the
 qualifications of persons to whom licenses are issued. In
 determining the number of licenses that the department issues
 during any license year, the department shall consider the number
 of persons holding licenses, the number of licensees needed to
 harvest the fish known or believed to be harvestable, the capacity
 of the boats and equipment owned and used by licensees to harvest
 those fish, and any other facts that may bear upon the allowing of
 a limited number of licensed persons to engage in commercial
 fishing in an economical and profitable manner. In determining the
 qualifications of the licensees, the department shall consider the
 kind, nature, and condition of the boats and fishing equipment and
     KHS                                                          H04392'23
                                         9
 gear to be used by the applicant, the years of experience the
 applicant has had in commercial fishing, and the quantity and kinds
 of fish that the applicant has caught during the previous 5 years,
 and other facts that may assist the department in determining that
 the applicant is capable of engaging in commercial fishing in a
 proper and profitable manner and will comply with the laws
 applicable to commercial fishing.
         (2) In addition to the requirements of this part and rules
 promulgated under this part, the license issued by the department
 may contain provisions that do 1 or more of the following:
         (a) Establish the amount of fish to be taken by species and
 kind.
         (b) Designate the areas in which the licensee is permitted to
 fish.
         (c) Specify the season when and the depths where the licensee
 may conduct commercial fishing operations.
         (d) Specify the methods and gear that the licensee shall use.
         (e) Specify other conditions, terms, and restrictions that are
 considered necessary in implementing this part, including, but not
 limited to, the right to inspect the licensee's fishing operations
 in the waters, on board, or ashore.
         (3) All licenses issued by the department pursuant to this
 part expire on December 31 of the year in which issued.
         (4) The department may suspend or revoke any license issued
 under this part if the licensee fails to fulfill or violates any of
 the conditions, terms, or restrictions of the license. The
 department shall afford the licensee a hearing in accordance with
 the administrative procedures act of 1969, Act No. 306 of the
 Public Acts of 1969, being sections 24.201 to 24.328 of the
     KHS                                                          H04392'23
                                       10
 Michigan Compiled Laws. Any person whose license has been suspended
 or revoked is not eligible to apply for or receive a license for
 the ensuing 2 calendar years following the suspension or
 revocation.
        (5) Any licensee licensed on November 15, 1968 has the right
 to have his or her license renewed from year to year by the
 department if the licensee continues to meet the qualifications set
 forth in this section and the qualifications specified in any rules
 promulgated under this section regardless of the determination of
 the number of licenses to be issued under this part. Licenses
 described in this section are not transferable without the
 permission of the department.
        (1) All fish in the waters of the Great Lakes and the Great
 Lakes connecting waters are the property of this state and the
 department shall manage those fish utilizing sound scientific
 management through data gathering and analysis. All commercially
 taken fish in the waters of the Great Lakes must be taken,
 transported, and sold only in accordance with this part. This part
 does not apply to sport fishing regulated under part 487. A
 licensed commercial fisher that is licensed on December 31, 2022
 has the right for their license to be renewed every year by the
 department if the licensed commercial fisher continues to meet the
 qualifications set forth in this act regardless of the
 determination of the number of licenses to be issued under this
 act.
        (2) In addition to the requirements of this part and rules
 promulgate