September 2022 Call to Change Tennessee Trotline Regulation

Criminal Charges Against Scott Fisher Dismissed
Now Let's Update the Trotline Regulation to Make Tennessee Rivers Safer for All Recreational Users!
(with Official Court Transcript of the Judge's Ruling)

By Andrea White, Southeast Regional Chair, American Canoe Association (ACA) and
Hunter Branstetter, ACA Tennessee State Director

On June 28, 2022, after more than a year of waiting, the case of the State of Tennessee v. Scott Fisher came to trial. Scott Fisher is a kayak instructor trainer who was charged with two counts of interfering with fishing because he cut a trotline that had snagged one of his students during a course on the Nolichucky River on May 30, 2021. After District Attorney Josh Rose presented the State's evidence and rested his case, Judge Stacy L. Street determined that the prosecution had not met its burden of proof and granted a Judgment of Acquittal in Mr. Fisher's favor.

The Court stressed that kayakers and anglers have equal rights to use the river and encouraged both communities to look out for the rights of the other:

“What this court will not do today is decide who has a greater right to that river, Mr. Silvers or Mr. Fisher, because you both do under the laws of the State of Tennessee under the guidance of TWRA, and the fact that that river is important to everybody in Unicoi County, both the fishermen and the kayakers.”

“Because the federal government or the state government owns 78% of the land in Unicoi County, one of the greatest sources of revenue for this county is that river that happens to flow through that government land. You all better find a way to enjoy it together, because whether you know it or not, fishermen you need the kayakers, kayakers, you need the fishermen.”

Judge Street's ruling emphasized that both fishermen like Mr. Silvers, and kayakers like Mr. Fisher, need to make efforts to exceed the mere letter of the regulations and to educate their peers about being considerate of other people using the river. The Judge underscored that Mr. Silvers has “…an absolute right to [set a trotline] within the regulations.” But he also encouraged Mr. Silvers, going forward, to go above and beyond the current regulation to make the trotline both visible and safe.

“…mark it in yellow, orange, bright pink ribbon or whatever you want to do and you video it the next time you sink a trotline so you can show where it's at, where your tags are and document it. Okay? That's what my suggestion is to you.”

“Put your trotline in the river. Put it in there very secure, mark it completely.”

“Video it so you know you've got it marked.”

Likewise, the Judge advised the kayak instructor to teach kayakers and raft guides about trotlines and how to respect the rights of fishermen.

“Mr. Fisher, I don't know why you cut that line. I don't know what your feelings are about trotlines, but you've got an absolute right to use that river from side to side. You've got the right to use that [river] if you're training people in swift water rescue, then congratulations to you and thanks to you for doing that. But what you're not allowed to do though is cut a trotline that does not interfere with your use of that river…”

“If you go down there and you see a trotline, probably one of the smart things to do as a teacher of the guides, is to point it out. You know this is a trophy [fishing] river.”

“Teach them. Point out to them the signs of trotlines and what to do to avoid them. Okay? And cut them only in the most extreme circumstances. That's how you co-exist with one awesome resource this county has.”

During the 2021 Tennessee General Assembly, ACA Tennessee advocated for changes to Tennessee's trotline regulations—running a Fishermen's Rights and Responsibilities Bill intended to preserve the rights of Tennessee anglers, to make Tennessee waterways with trotlines as safe as possible for other recreational users, and to align Tennessee's currently threadbare trotline regulations with those of neighboring states. Advocates have noted that we have already had one fatality and one near miss due to trotlines in Tennessee's waters, and we would like to avoid unnecessary problems in the future. In response, the Unicoi County District Attorney Kenneth C. Baldwin sent a letter in March 2022 to support the proposed amendments to the trotline regulations.

With all of this in mind, ACA Tennessee would like your help asking Tennessee's regulators and legislators to update the state's trotline regulation to be more mindful of the safety and consideration of other user groups, as Judge Street suggested, and to further clarify the regulation for effective law enforcement, as District Attorney Baldwin supported.

We know this trotline case was not the first user-group conflict along Tennessee's waterways and will not be the last. In 2019, ACA Tennessee and Harpeth Conservancy lobbied TWRA to create the Tennessee Paddlesports Advisory Board. The Paddlesports Advisory Board was intended to provide a forum for all the user groups and stakeholders to come to the table to discuss emerging issues, heal points of friction between various well-intended recreational users, and prevent disagreements and misunderstandings from escalating into law enforcement issues and court cases. Although that provision did pass into law, TWRA opted to diverge from the legislation's original purpose by outsourcing this Advisory Board to an association representing flatwater outfitters and canoe/kayak liveries, where it has been buried.

Tennesseans who enjoys our state's rivers deserve a forum that is proactive, rather than entirely reactive, and that provides a better use of resources than letting these issues fester until they go to court. As Judge Street pondered during Scott Fisher's trial:

“This court is a criminal court. We handle murders, rapes, kidnappings, statutory rapes, aggravated robberies, all the way down to moonshiners and apparently cutting of trotlines.”

“My question though, is this the proper venue – is it a proper use of this Court's time to hear a C misdemeanor about this cutting of a trotline when a murder case could have been tried today?”

We are calling on TWRA to update the trotline regulation to allow all outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy our rivers safely, and to either revive the Tennessee Paddlesports Advisory Board as it was originally intended or to create a new forum where all of the waterways stakeholders can come together several times each year to address emerging issues and user group conflicts.

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Dear [elected official],

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Everyone should be able to kayak, fish, boat or swim on Tennessee waterways without fear that another recreational user has set a potentially lethal booby trap. Tennessee has already had one fatality and one near miss due to unmonitored or abandoned trotlines. It’s up to us to create standard operating procedures that allow folks to enjoy the river without endangering others.

The recent trotline case, State of Tennessee v. Fisher, underscores this need and demonstrates that some fishermen have been placing bank-to-bank trotlines on a whitewater river – an action unlikely to catch many fish but still within the bounds of the current regulation – which then snagged a student who had traveled to Tennessee to take a kayaking class from one of our state’s many exemplary instructors. Thankfully, everyone ended up safe that time, but the situation could have easily become lethal if the student had been hooked somewhere different on his body, had been less skilled, or had not been surrounded by seasoned professionals. We need to learn from this situation and prevent a recurrence.

Tennessee’s regulations for trotlines are some of the oldest and most anemic in the region; they are long overdue for an update. I join District Attorney Kenneth Baldwin in asking you to impress upon TWRA to revise Tennessee’s trotline regulations to find the middle ground that preserves anglers’ rights to set trotlines but also protects the safety of everyone else, whether local or tourist, who enjoys our state’s many rivers. You can read Mr. Baldwin’s letter in support of the Fishermen’s Rights and Responsibilities Bill here:  https://tinyurl.com/transcript-letter

Updating the trotline regulations also aligns with Judge Stacy L. Street’s ruling in the recent trotline case where he also asked that fishermen go above and beyond the current regulation so everyone can safely enjoy the river. You can read Judge Street’s ruling here:  https://tinyurl.com/transcript-letter

Please consider changing the regulation to better reflect trotline safety practices used in neighboring states. You can read our Fisherman’s Rights and Responsibilities Bill here:  https://www.nolilearn.org/post/fishermen-s-rights-and-responsibilities-drafting-a-trotline-bill

To better understand this issue, please watch an educational video from Tennessee’s own national whitewater expert and ACA Instructor Trainer, Scott Fisher, on the dangers improperly set trotlines pose to other river users, especially on whitewater rivers: https://tinyurl.com/trotlineeducationalvideo

Also, I join ACA Tennessee and Harpeth Conservancy is asking TWRA for a forum to bring all of the recreational waterways stakeholders together, in the way the Tennessee General Assembly intended when they passed the law in 2019 creating the Tennessee Paddlesports Advisory Board. TWRA needs to use this Board as it was intended, to address emerging issues and user group conflicts so these issues do not necessarily have to escalate to regulation, law enforcement, court cases or other unnecessary drama. We can find solutions by working together in the structure provided by this Advisory Board.

CC: Tennessee Senate Energy, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; Tennessee House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; TWRA Public Comment on Fishing Regulations

Sincerely, [Your information here]