MONADNOCK REGION, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Ice anglers across New Hampshire have only a few weeks left to clear their fishing shanties from frozen lakes and ponds before the state’s annual removal deadline.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is reminding anglers that state law requires all bobhouses — commonly called ice shanties — to be taken off the ice by the end of the day on April 1. Officials say the deadline helps prevent the structures from sinking through weakening ice as spring approaches.

Conservation officers warn that ice conditions can deteriorate quickly as temperatures rise. Anglers are encouraged to pay close attention to ice thickness and weather forecasts and may need to remove their shelters before the deadline if conditions become unsafe.

After a bobhouse is taken off the ice, it cannot simply be left along the shoreline. The structure must be moved to the owner’s property or another location where the owner has permission to store it. Leaving a shanty on public land or someone else’s property without approval violates state law.

Lt. Robert Mancini of Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division said the rule exists to prevent abandoned shanties from becoming hazards on the water or debris along shorelines once the ice melts.

Anyone who fails to remove a bobhouse by the deadline could face penalties, including fines and a possible one-year suspension of their fishing license. Fish and Game officers also have the authority to confiscate shanties that remain on the ice after April 1, along with any items inside.

State officials say anglers with questions about the rules can contact a local conservation officer or Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division.