Permit to Sell Game Fish From a Private Pond

Fish from ponds may also be sold under the circumstances described below using a special permit issued by DNR. This is generally done by a pond owner for the purpose of sport fish population management. It is not a means of producing and selling fish as an aquaculturist. This permit is also sometimes commonly called a "pond draining permit".

Game fish from a pond may be sold when the owner of the pond has obtained a valid permit from the Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Section and the permit is displayed in a prominent place at the pond.  A permit will be issued only once annually and limits the time for taking fish from the pond to 15 days.  Permit applications require two weeks to process.  Find the appropriate Law Enforcement Section office for your county here. To transport game fish taken from the pond, the fish must be packaged and labeled with the permit number and the number and pounds of each species contained in the package. Fish must remain so packaged until processed for consumption or released into another pond.

If you are a registered aquaculturist and the fish being sold are domestic fish, not game fish, then this permit is not required.