TCA § 70-2-303 — Resident preference in licensing — Nets — Study plan

Tennessee residents shall be given preference in licensing with a limit on the number of nonresident permits. All nets shall be properly buoyed to promote safety on the waters of the state. The agency shall develop a plan to study sustainability, population conditions, and juvenile survival rates on waters not currently open to commercial roe fishing. With the assistance of the commercial fishing community in harvest surveys, such study shall include at least the following objectives: Description of the size structure and age structure of the existing paddlefish population; Determination of paddlefish population parameters including growth, recruitment, and natural mortality; and Assessment of the likelihood that the paddlefish population can provide a sustainable commercial fishery.