Deadline for the removal of ice fishing shanties has been issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The Agency has asked anglers to move remaining shanties on Lake St. Clair as mandatory ice shanty removal dates are approaching.

As per an announcement by the DNR, the temperature is increasing and it is becoming very difficult for the ice to hold shanties, so anglers are requested to remove shanties as soon as possible. The deadline by the agency shows that people have about 24 days to remove ice shanties from the Michigan-Wisconsin boundary waters. The Upper Peninsula counties will have extra half month to remove shanties. All counties in the area must remove shanties by March 31, the DNR announced.

For anglers who have ice shanties on Lake St. Clair, the deadline is Sunday. Shanties in the region must be removed by sunset on Sunday, as per the agency. Northern Lower Peninsula counties can remove shanties by midnight Tuesday, March 15, the DNR said.

Counties in the Northern Lower Peninsula are: Alpena, Grand Traverse, lcona, Bay, Antrim, Benzie, Manistee, Arenac, Clare, Charlevoix, Mason, Gladwin, Cheboygan, Iosco, Crawford, Mecosta, Wexford, Emmet, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Ogemaw, Isabella, Missaukee, Montmorency, Roscommon, Osceola, Otsego, Oscoda, Midland, Presque Isle, Oceana and Newaygo.

The DNR also said that the deadline for the counties at the Michigan-Wisconsin boundary is also the midnight of March 15, while the Upper Peninsula counties will remove their shanties by March 31.

“Shanty owners whose structures fall through the ice are subject to penalties of up to 30 days in jail, fines of $100 to $500, or both”, the agency said. If government officials remove an angler’s shanty, the country may ask the owner to pay for the removal. The cost in that case the owner has to pay is more than three times the actual cost of the removal.