Purse Seine Licenses
Resident - $1501.00
Nonresident - $3001.00

Download Gillnet Regulation: Gillnet_reg.pdf in Acrobat .pdf format.
Gill Net Regulation Changes and Maps

Permits
Permits expire September 30 of each year.
Recreational nets shall not exceed 300' in length; commercial nets shall not exceed 2400' in length (main top line).
Resident Recreational - $51.00
Resident Commercial - $301.00 plus additional $501.00 for roe mullet and Spanish mackerel permit.
Nonresident Commercial - $1501.00 plus additional $2501.00 for roe mullet and Spanish mackerel permit.
Nonresident Recreational - pays the same fee as that charged Alabama resident to conduct same activity in applicant's state of residence, provided nonresidents pay no less than twice the cost for license that Alabama residents pay. For complete non-resident fee schedules go here.

Permits for commercial net and seine permits shall only be issued to persons who purchased such licenses in two of five years from 1989 through 1993 and who have proof of 50% of their gross income from fishing or persons who purchased such a license in all five years and have filed annual income tax returns in all years.

All nets and seines must be licensed except seines used for taking bait. Bait seines shall not exceed 25' in length or 4' in depth. A license made out to an individual is not transferable; licensee must be present when net is in use. A seafood dealers license is also required if fish are sold to other than an Alabama seafood dealer. 

Restrictions

It shall be unlawful to use purse seines for the taking or attempting to take fishes of other than those of the families Clupeidae (menhaden and herrings) and Engraulidae (anchovies). The starting date for the commercial menhaden season in the territorial waters of Alabama shall be the third Monday in April and the closing date shall be November 1 of each year (both dates inclusive). The taking of menhaden by purse seine shall be permitted only in those waters of Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico as described: Mississippi Sound South and west of a line extending from the eastern tip of the South Rigolets (30º 21’.120N, 088º 23’.490W) Westward to the charted position of  Bayou la Batre channel marker number  “19”, then running due south to its intersection with Dauphin Island, except those waters lying within one (1) mile of the shoreline of Dauphin Island shall be closed.  The Gulf of Mexico for a distance of three (3) miles, except those waters lying within one (1) mile of the Gulf Beaches shall be closed.

Gill nets must be marked every 100 feet with a color contrasting float and every 300 feet with the fisherman's permit number.

Recreational nets must be marked with the licensee's name and license number. The allowable depth of commercial gill nets, trammel nets, and other entangling nets may vary by area.

During the period January 1 through October 1 of each year, gill nets, trammel nets, and other entangling nets used to catch any fish in gulf water in Alabama's territorial jurisdiction must have a minimum mesh size of 1 3/4" bar (knot to knot). A minimum mesh size of 1 7/8" bar is required for such nets used to take mullet during the period October 24 through December 31 of each year for all Alabama's coastal waters under the jurisdiction of the MRD, and only strike nets may be used in certain waters of Bon Secour Bay during this period. Any person using a 1 7/8" or larger bar mesh net during the period October 24 through December 31 of each year shall be considered a roe mullet fisherman and must possess a roe mullet permit. The minimum mesh for nets used in these excepted areas shall be generally the same as previously described by season for other coastal waters.

The use of purse seines to catch mullet is prohibited. Commercial and recreational gill net fishermen may use only one net at any time; however, commercial fishermen may possess more than one such net. No hook and line device may contain more than five hooks when used in Alabama waters under the jurisdiction of MRD.

Gill nets, trammel nets, seines, purse seines, and other entangling nets are prohibited in any marked navigational channel, Theodore Industrial Canal, Little Lagoon Pass, or any man-made canal; within 300 feet of any man-made canal or the mouth of any river, stream, bayou, or creek; and within 300 feet of any pier, marina, dock, boat launching ramp, or certain "relic" piers. Recreational gill nets may not be used beyond 300 feet of any shoreline, and they may not extend into the water beyond the end of any adjacent pier or block ingress or egress from any of the aforementioned structures.

From January 1 through October 1 of each year, gill nets, trammel nets, seines, haul seines, and other entangling nets are prohibited within 0.25 miles offshore, except (and subject to other provisions) waters east of longitude 87°59' which will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. each day from March 15 through the Thursday before Memorial Day. From October 2 through December 31 only mullet may be caught, with 1 7/8" minimum mesh nets in these waters during these hours.

From January 1 through the day after Labor Day of each year, entangling nets are prohibited in certain waters in and around Dauphin Island. From the first day after Labor Day through October 23 of each year, possession of mullet aboard a boat with net gear is prohibited in Bon Secour Bay and Mobile Bay north of the Intracoastal Waterway.
It is illegal to remove the roe or otherwise process roe mullet aboard any boat or vessel in Alabama. All nets must be constantly attended by the licensee, and no dead fish or other dead seafood maybe discarded within three miles of the gulf beaches, 500 feet of any shoreline, or into any river, stream, bayou, or creek.