The Florida Senate

370.063  Special recreational crawfish license.--There is created a special recreational crawfish license, to be issued to qualified persons as provided by this section for the recreational harvest of crawfish (spiny lobster) beginning August 5, 1994.

(1)  The special recreational crawfish license shall be available to any individual crawfish trap number holder who also possesses a saltwater products license during the 1993-1994 license year. A person issued a special recreational crawfish license may not also possess a trap number.

(2)  The special recreational crawfish license is required in order to harvest crawfish from state territorial waters in quantities in excess of the regular recreational bag limit but not in excess of a special bag limit as established by the ¹Marine Fisheries Commission for these harvesters before the 1994-1995 license year. Such special bag limit does not apply during the 2-day sport season established by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

(3)  The holder of a special recreational crawfish license must also possess the recreational crawfish permit required by s. 370.14(10) and the license required by s. 370.0605.

(4)  As a condition precedent to the issuance of a special recreational crawfish license, the applicant must agree to file quarterly reports with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in such form as the commission requires, detailing the amount of the licenseholder's crawfish (spiny lobster) harvest in the previous quarter, including the harvest of other recreational harvesters aboard the licenseholder's vessel.

(5)  The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall issue special recreational crawfish licenses. The fee for each such license is $100 per year. Each license issued in any license year must be renewed by June 30 of each subsequent year by the initial individual holder thereof. Noncompliance with the reporting requirement in subsection (4) or with the special recreational bag limit established under subsection (6) constitutes grounds for which the commission may refuse to renew the license for a subsequent license year. The number of such licenses outstanding in any one license year may not exceed the number issued for the 1994-1995 license year. A license is not transferable by any method. Licenses that are not renewed expire and may be reissued by the commission in the subsequent license year to new applicants otherwise qualified under this section.

(6)  To promote conservation of the spiny lobster (crawfish) resource, consistent with equitable distribution and availability of the resource, the commission shall establish a spiny lobster management plan incorporating the special recreational crawfish license, including, but not limited to, the establishment of a special recreational bag limit for the holders of such license as required by subsection (2). Such special recreational bag limit must not be less than twice the higher of the daily recreational bag limits.

(7)  The proceeds of the fees collected under this section must be deposited in the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund and used as follows:

(a)  Thirty-five percent for research and the development of reliable recreational catch statistics for the crawfish (spiny lobster) fishery.

(b)  Twenty percent for administration of this section.

(c)  Forty-five percent to be used for enforcement of this section.

History.--ss. 7, 8, ch. 93-223; s. 216, ch. 94-356; s. 29, ch. 96-321; s. 152, ch. 99-13; s. 43, ch. 99-245.

¹Note.--Transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by s. 3, ch. 99-245.