The Florida Senate

¹370.135  Blue crab; regulation.--

(1)  No person, firm, or corporation shall transport on the water, fish with or cause to be fished with, set, or place any trap designed for taking blue crabs unless such person, firm, or corporation is the holder of a valid saltwater products license issued pursuant to s. 370.06 and the trap has a current state number permanently attached to the buoy. The trap number shall be affixed in legible figures at least 1 inch high on each buoy used. The saltwater products license must be on board the boat, and both the license and the crabs shall be subject to inspection at all times. Only one trap number may be issued for each boat by the department upon receipt of an application on forms prescribed by it. This subsection shall not apply to an individual fishing with no more than five traps. It is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, for any person willfully to molest any traps, lines, or buoys, as defined herein, belonging to another without permission of the licenseholder.

(2)  A buoy or a time release buoy shall be attached to each trap or at each end of a weighted trot line and shall be of sufficient strength and buoyancy to float and of such color, hue, and brilliancy to be easily distinguished, seen, and located. Such color and trap number shall also be permanently and conspicuously displayed on the boat used for setting and collecting said traps and buoys, in the manner prescribed by the Division of Law Enforcement, so as to be readily identifiable from the air and water. This subsection shall not apply to an individual fishing with no more than five traps.

(3)  It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any eggbearing blue crabs. Except when authorized by a special activity license issued by the department pursuant to s. 370.06 for the soft-shell crab or bait trade, it is unlawful for any person to possess for sale blue crabs measuring less than 5 inches from point to point across the carapace in an amount greater than 10 percent of the total number of blue crabs in that person's possession. Traps may be worked during daylight hours only, and the pulling of traps from 1 hour after official sunset until 1 hour before official sunrise is prohibited.

(4)  Upon the arrest and conviction for a major violation involving blue crabs, the licenseholder shall show just cause why his or her saltwater products license should not be suspended or revoked. This subsection shall not apply to an individual fishing with no more than five traps. For the purposes of this subsection, a "major violation" means a major violation as prescribed in s. 370.021(2)(c) for illegal blue crabs, any single violation wherein 50 or more illegal blue crabs are involved, or any combination of violations in any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than 100 illegal blue crabs in the aggregate are involved.

History.--s. 1, ch. 73-26; s. 1, ch. 76-105; s. 2, ch. 77-142; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-143; s. 2, ch. 80-299; s. 6, ch. 83-134; s. 2, ch. 84-121; ss. 16, 17, ch. 85-234; s. 5, ch. 86-219; ss. 10, 19, ch. 86-240; s. 558, ch. 95-148; s. 11, ch. 95-414.

¹Note.--Section 6, ch. 83-134, as amended by s. 2, ch. 84-121; by s. 5, ch. 86-219; and by s. 19, ch. 86-240, repealed the then-existing section effective July 1, 1984, and further provided that if the Governor and Cabinet had not adopted appropriate rules by July 1, 1984, this section would remain in force until such rules were effective. Section 9, ch. 83-134, provided that, prior to the adoption of rules amending, readopting, or repealing those provisions set forth in s. 6, the Marine Fisheries Commission would hold a public hearing thereon, and no such amendment, readoption, or repeal would be acted upon until it had been determined, based upon appropriate findings of fact, that such action would not adversely affect the resource.