That sounds kind of fishy to me......if you catch a walleye or a bass you always bring it into the boat without a net to unhook it to release or keep it depending on the length. If fishing a walleye tourney and the fish is close to the 15" mark or whatever the lake min. is you'd be checking it.
I myself log my MI fish and get a measurement on all my fish no matter where it is, I bring them out of the water for a few seconds and measure them on my bump board.

Now mishandling the fish and it dies and undersized I'm sure you'd be getting a fine.
I've seen tons of undersized Chaut. fish pictures in my day, taken a good many myself too.