Current StatusView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.Bill Number: 3806 Ratification Number: 571 Act Number 461 Introducing Body: House Subject: Relating to the protection of nongame fish
(A461, R571, H3806)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 50-13-1110, 50-13-1115, 50-13-1120, 50-13-1135, 50-13-1187, 50-13-1192, AND 50-13-1196, RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF NONGAME FISH, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ARTICLE OF THE CODE RELATING TO PROTECTION OF NONGAME FISH SHALL NOT APPLY TO SHAD OR HERRING WHERE OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, TO ADD SEINES TO THE LIST OF DEVICES WHICH MAY BE USED FOR TAKING NONGAME FISH, TO PROVIDE THAT IT SHALL BE LAWFUL TO TAKE NONGAME FISH WITH LAWFUL GAME FISHING DEVICES DESIGNED TO TAKE GAME FISH, TO DEFINE "SEINE", TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PERSON TAKING FISH WITH MORE THAN ONE SEINE MUST OBTAIN AND HAVE IN POSSESSION A VALID STATE FISHING LICENSE, TO REQUIRE ANY PERSON TAKING NONGAME FISH WITH TWO OR MORE GILL NETS TO OBTAIN AND HAVE IN POSSESSION A COMMERCIAL FRESH WATER FISHING LICENSE, TO ADD GRAPES AS PERMISSIBLE BAIT FOR USE WITH TROTLINES, SET HOOKS, AND JUGS, TO REGULATE NONGAME FISHING IN ADDITIONAL BODIES OF FRESH WATER, TO PROVIDE THAT CONFISCATED FISH MAY BE SOLD UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF LAW FOR THE SALE OF PERISHABLE ITEMS, TO QUALIFY THE ACTIONS WHICH ARE UNLAWFUL AND WHICH MAY RESULT IN THE CONFISCATION AND SALE OF BOATS, MOTORS, AND FISHING NEAR; AND TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTIONS 50-13-1126 AND 50-17-2275 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL TO ANCHOR A SEINE AND LEAVE IT UNATTENDED, AND TO REGULATE THE USE OF GILL NETS ON CERTAIN BODIES OF WATER IN FLORENCE, GEORGETOWN AND WILLIAMSBURG COUNTIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Applicability of article
Section 1. Section 50-13-1110 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding at the end:
"The provisions of this article shall not apply to shad or herring where otherwise provided by law."
Seines added to nongame fishing devices which may be used
Section 2. Subsection (A) of Section 50-13-1115 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding at the end:
"(15) seines".
Game fishing devices
Section 3. Subsection (B) of Section 50-13-1115 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding at the end:
"Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit the taking of nongame fish with lawful game fishing devices designed to take game fish."
Definition
Section 4. Section 50-13-1120 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding at the end:
"(p) 'seine' is a net having a stretch mesh of not less than one inch and not more than one and one-half inches which do not exceed seventy-five feet in length or six feet in depth."
Nongame fishing devices more than one seine added
Section 5. Subsection (1) of Section 50-13-1135 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding at the end of the first paragraph:
"(n) Not more than one seine."
Nongame fishing devices--two or more gill nets added
Section 6. Item (a) of subsection (2) of Section 50-13-1135 of the 1976 Code, created ,by Act 170 of 1981, is amended to read:
"(a) two or more gill nets;".
Trotlines, set hooks and jugs
Section 7. Section 50-13-1187 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by adding before the period at the end: "(6) grapes". The section as amended shall read:
"Section 50-13-1187. No game fish, live bait or any other bait other than bait listed below shall be used with trotlines, set hooks and jugs:
(1) soap (2) dough balls (3) cut fish (nongame fish cut into at least three equal parts) (4) shrimp (5) meat scraps (shall not include insects, worms or other invertebrates) (6) grapes."
Unlawful to anchor seine and leave unattended
Section 8. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-13-1126. It shall be unlawful to anchor a seine and leave it unattended."
Bows and arrows, jigs, spears, tires, cast nets and minnow seines mar be used
Section 9. Section 50-13-1192 of the 1976 Code, as created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended to read:
"Section 50-13-1192. Bows and arrows, gigs, spears, tires, cast nets and minnow seines may be used in any of the freshwaters except in the lakes owned or managed by the Department. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it shall be unlawful to use or possess any nongame fishing device or gear or the number not authorized by this section for a particular body of water. Nongame fishing devices, with the exception of the above, may not be used in any body of freshwater including tributaries of rivers or creeks unless listed and regulated as indicated below:
Ashepoo River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Eel pots No limit
Ashley River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Eel pots No limit
Black Creek:
Darlington, Florence, Chesterfield Counties (includes Lakes Robinson and Prestwood)
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Black River:
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Broad River:
Includes the waters from the North Carolina state line to the confluence of the Broad and Saluda Rivers
Traps Five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines From Highway 34 Bridge up-one per license holder
Bull Creek:
Horry and Georgetown Counties
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Eel pots No limit
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Buffalo Creek:
Seines One per license holder
Bush River: (Laurens County)
Seines One per license holder
Combahee River:
Set hooks Maximum fifty per license holder
Eel pots No limit
Congaree River:
Includes the waters from the Gervais Street Bridge in Columbia to the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Trotlines Two thousand hooks maximum with commercial license
Hoop nets Fifty maximum with commercial license.
Cooper River:
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license (not allowed upstream from Wadboo Creek)
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder, no trotlines permitted upstream from Wadboo Creek)
Fyke nets As allowed for eel fishing by regulation
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder (no set hooks permitted upstream from Wadboo Creek)
Eel pots No limit (not allowed upstream from Wadboo Creek)
Coosawhatchie and Tullifinny Rivers:
Set hooks Maximum fifty per license holder
Mallard's Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Mims Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Shuler Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Woods Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Bridge Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Little Pond Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Steed's Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
John's Hole Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Rock's Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Mouth of Four Holes Lake:
Dorchester County waters
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Durbin Creek:
Seines One per license holder
Edisto River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Eel pots No limit
Enoree River:
Traps Two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty maximum (three-line maximum) per license holder
Set hooks Fifty per license holder
Seines One per license holder (from Southern Railroad in Greenville County down)
Great Pee Dee River:
Includes the waters from I-95 to North Carolina state line
Traps Maximum fifty allowed with commercial license
Trotlines Maximum two thousand hooks with commercial license
Gill nets Nongame nets allowed in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Great Pee Dee River:
Includes the waters from I-95 to the saltwater-
freshwater line
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Eel pots Below Highway 701 bridge only, no limit
Traps Maximum fifty allowed with commercial license
Lake Clark Hill and Stevens Creek:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Jugs Maximum fifty per license holder
Lake Greenwood:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Jugs Maximum fifty per license holder
Lake Hartwell:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Lake Jocassee:
Nongame devices prohibited
Lake Keowee:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Lakes Marion and Moultrie:
The waters lying between the confluence of the Wateree and Congaree Rivers and the backwaters of Lake Marion shall be considered a part of Lake Marion
Traps Maximum fifty with commercial license
Trotlines Maximum two thousand hooks with commercial license
Lake Murray:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Lake Secession:
Traps Maximum two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Lake Wateree:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Catawba River:
Includes the waters from the Lake Wylie Dam to the backwaters of Lake Wateree, including all reservoirs
Traps Maximum two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines One per license holder (York County only)
Lake Wylie:
Traps Maximum five per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Little River:
Seines One per license holder (from Mars Bridge in McCormick County up)
Little Pee Dee River:
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum) Gill nets Nongame nets allowed in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Log Creek: (Edgefield County)
Seines One per license holder
Long Cane Creek: (above Patterson Bridge)
Seines One per license holder
Louder's Lake:
Darlington County
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Lumber River:
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum)
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Lynches River:
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Gill nets Nongame nets allowed in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Mulberry Creek: (Greenwood County)
Seines One per license holder
New River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Old River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks (three-line maximum per license holder)
Pacolet River:
Traps Two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines One per license holder
Rabon Creek: (Laurens County)
Seines One per license holder
Redbank Creek: (Saluda County west of Highway 121)
Seines One per license holder
Reedy River:
Traps Two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines One per license holder (from Southern Railroad in Greenville County down)
Rocky River: (Anderson County)
Seines One per license holder
Salkehatchie River:
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Saluda River:
Includes the waters from the Southern Railroad Trestle in Greenville County to the backwaters of Lake Greenwood and the waters from the Lake Greenwood Dam to the backwaters of Lake Murray
Traps Two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines One per license holder (in Anderson, Laurens, and Greenville Counties only, except in Anderson County seines may be used in the river tributaries)
Saluda River:
Includes the waters from the Lake Murray Dam to the Gervais Street Bridge in Columbia
Traps Two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Sampit River:
Gill nets Nongame in season
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Santee River:
Downstream from Wilson Dam on Lake Marion:
note that the waters lying between the confluence of the Wateree and Congaree Rivers and Lake Marion are considered a part of Lake Marion
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
No nongame gear (except skimbow nets allowed upstream of U. S. Geological Survey Gauging Station No. 1715 which is approximately 2.4 miles below Santee Dam)
Eel pots No limit
Savannah River:
Below Stevens Creek Dam
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Hoop nets Fifty maximum with commercial license
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Trotlines Two thousand maximum hooks with commercial license
Eel pots No limit
Stevens Creek: (above Clark's Hill Bridge)
Seines One per license holder
Thickly Creek: (Cherokee County)
Seines One per license holder
Turkey Creek: (Edgefield and Greenwood Counties)
Seines One per license holder
Twelve Mile Creek:
Traps Maximum two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum per license holder (three-line maximum)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Tyger River:
Traps Maximum two per license holder
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Seines One per license holder
Waccamaw River:
Trotlines One hundred fifty hooks maximum (three-line maximum per license holder)
Gill nets Nongame nets in season
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Eel pots Below the junction of Big Bull Creek (no limit)
Warrior Creek: (Laurens County)
Seines One per license holder
Wateree River:
Traps Fifty maximum with commercial license
Trotlines Two thousand hooks maximum with commercial license.
Set hooks Fifty maximum per license holder
Hoop nets Fifty maximum with commercial license
Wilson Creek: (Greenwood County)
Seines One per license holder (one mile above the back waters of Greenwood up)".
Penalties
Section 10. Subsection (A) of Section 50-13-1196, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting:
"The fish shall be sold in the same manner as prescribed in Section 50-11-3940 for the sale of perishable items." When amended the subsection shall read:
"(A) In addition to any specific penalty provided in this article, any fish or fishing device taken or found to be in possession of any person charged with a violation of this article shall be confiscated. The fish shall be sold in the same manner as prescribed in Section 50-11-3940 for the sale of perishable items. If the person charged is convicted, the money received from such sale shall be forwarded to the Department and placed to the account of the game protection fund of the State Treasury. After conviction the fishing devices shall be sold at public auction. The sale of the fish and fishing devices shall be conducted using the procedures prescribed in Section 50-11-2080. If such person is acquitted the devices shall be returned to him along with any money that may have come from the sale of the confiscated fish."
Further
Section 11. Subsection (B) of Section 50-13-1196 of the 1976 Code, created by Act 170 of 1981, is amended by striking beginning on line four "fishing or". When amended the subsection shall read:
"(B) In addition to the specific penalties provided in this article and the penalties provided in subsection (A) of this section, the boat, motor and fishing gear of any person who is charged with unlawfully using or having in possession a gill net or hoop net on any freshwater lake or reservoir of the State shall be confiscated and sold at auction within the State after conviction using the procedure prescribed in Section 50-11-2080. The money received from such sale shall be forwarded to the Department and placed to the account of the game protection fund of the State Treasury. If such person is acquitted the boat, motor and fishing gear shall be returned to him. Upon conviction, the Department shall suspend such person's license or privilege to fish in this State for a period of one year from the date of conviction."
Size of gill nets
Section 12. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-17-2275. It shall be lawful to use gill nets having a mesh size no smaller than two and one-half inches and no greater than three inches, stretched mesh, for the taking of herring from February fifteenth through April fifteenth on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday only during any week of the open season in the following areas:
(1) On the Great Pee Dee, Old River around Bird Island, and Louders Lake in Darlington County and the Lynches River in Florence County.
(2) On the Sampit, Waccamaw and Black Rivers in Georgetown County.
(3) In Williamsburg County."
Time effective
Section 13. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.