Section 870.50  Unlawful Acts

a)         It is unlawful to release any aquatic life into the waters of this State without first securing permission of the Department to do so, except that the owners of a body of water or their agents may release aquatic life on the Aquatic Life Approved Species List into waters that are wholly on their property.  All aquatic life may be released into waters from which they were taken (Section 10-100 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code).  Permission will be based upon the potential detriment to the aquatic resource.

b)         It is unlawful for any persons to transport, ship, or convey within the State, any live grass carp or white amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix), or hybrid grass carp, unless that person has in his possession a "Restricted Species Transportation Permit" issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

c)         It is unlawful to transport, ship, or convey live trout, salmon, or char into the State unless a salmonid import permit has been issued to the source hatchery, as required by Section 10-105 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code [515 ILCS 10-105].  A copy of the salmonid import permit must accompany each shipment.  A salmonid import permit will be issued only if the source hatchery has been inspected within the last 12 months and found free of, but not limited to, the following disease agents:  VHS – Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus; IHN – Infectious Hematopoetic Necrosis Virus; CS – Ceratomyxosis (Ceratomyxa shasta); PKD – Proliferative Kidney Disease agent; and/or any other disease agents that are not known to be present in the Great Lakes Basin.

1)         A salmonid import permit may be issued for a period of up to 6 months following the inspection of the source hatchery.  The salmonid import permit will be reissued if the owner/operator of the source hatchery certifies that there has been no change in the disease status of the source hatchery in the 6 month period following the annual inspection.  A bill of sale, listing quantity, species, and hatchery of origin shall be provided to and retained by the final recipient of the fish, until the fish are disposed of.

2)           The Department recognizes persons inspecting hatcheries using the methods of diagnosis found in "Suggested Procedures for the Detection and Identification of Certain Finfish and Shellfish Pathogens" 4^th ed., Version 1 (1994), published by the Fish Health Section of the American Fisheries Society or the "Manual of Compliance to the Fish Health Protection Regulations of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada (1988) (no further amendments or editions are included), as competent in the diagnosis of fish diseases, unless a clearcut conflict of interest exists (such as the inspector being related to the hatchery owner by blood, adoption, marriage or economic interest).

d)       No live aquatic life not on the Aquatic Life Approved Species List produced at the facilities operated or owned by an aquaculture permit holder may be removed from the site unless they are being transferred to another permit holder who has permission to possess them, or to a fish market as food, or to an aquarium shop.

(Source:  Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 7741, effective April 21, 2003)