The Florida Senate

370.01  Definitions.--In construing these statutes, where the context does not clearly indicate otherwise, the word, phrase, or term:

(1)  "Authorization" means a number issued by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or its authorized agent, which serves in lieu of a license or permits and affords the privilege purchased for a specified period of time.

(2)  "Beaches" and "shores" shall mean the coastal and intracoastal shoreline of this state bordering upon the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and any part thereof, and any other bodies of water under the jurisdiction of the State of Florida, between the mean high-water line and as far seaward as may be necessary to effectively carry out the purposes of this act.

(3)  "Closed season" shall be that portion of the year wherein the laws or rules of Florida forbid the taking of particular species of game or varieties of fish.

(4)  "Coastal construction" includes any work or activity which is likely to have a material physical effect on existing coastal conditions or natural shore processes.

(5)  "Commission" shall mean the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

(6)  "Common carrier" shall include any person, firm, or corporation, who undertakes for hire, as a regular business, to transport persons or commodities from place to place offering his or her services to all such as may choose to employ the common carrier and pay his or her charges.

(7)  "Coon oysters" are oysters found growing in bunches along the shore between high-water mark and low-water mark.

(8)  "Department" shall mean the Department of Environmental Protection.

(9)  "Erosion control," "beach preservation," and "hurricane protection" shall include any activity, work, program, project, or other thing deemed necessary by the Department of Environmental Protection to effectively preserve, protect, restore, rehabilitate, stabilize, and improve the beaches and shores of this state, as defined above.

(10)  "Exhibit" means to present or display upon request.

(11)  "Finfish" means any member of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, or Osteichthyes.

(12)  "Food fish" shall include mullet, trout, redfish, sheepshead, pompano, mackerel, bluefish, red snapper, grouper, black drum, jack crevalle, and all other fish generally used for human consumption.

(13)  "Guide" shall include any person engaged in the business of guiding hunters or hunting parties, fishers or fishing parties, for compensation.

(14)  "Marine fish" means any saltwater species of finfish of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and Osteichthyes, and marine invertebrates in the classes Gastropoda, Bivalvia, and Crustacea, or the phylum Echinodermota, but does not include nonliving shells or Echinoderms.

(15)  A "natural oyster or clam reef" or "bed" or "bar" shall be considered and defined as an area containing not less than 100 square yards of the bottom where oysters or clams are found in a stratum.

(16)  "Nonresident alien" shall mean those individuals from other nations who can provide documentation from the Immigration and Naturalization Service evidencing permanent residency status in the United States. For the purposes of this chapter, a "nonresident alien" shall be considered a "nonresident."

(17)  "Open season" shall be that portion of the year wherein the laws of Florida for the preservation of fish and game permit the taking of particular species of game or varieties of fish.

(18)  "Reef bunch oysters" are oysters found growing on the bars or reefs in the open bay and exposed to the air between high and low tide.

(19)  "Resident" or "resident of Florida" includes citizens of the United States who have continuously resided in this state, next preceding the making of their application for hunting, fishing, or other license, for the following period of time, to wit: For 1 year in the state and 6 months in the county when applied to all fish and game laws not related to freshwater fish and game.

(20)  "Resident alien" shall mean those persons who have continuously resided in this state for at least 1 year and 6 months in the county and can provide documentation from the Immigration and Naturalization Service evidencing permanent residency status in the United States. For the purposes of this chapter, a "resident alien" shall be considered a "resident."

(21)  "Restricted species" means any species of saltwater products which the state by law, or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by rule, has found it necessary to so designate. The term includes a species of saltwater products designated by the commission as restricted within a geographical area or during a particular time period of each year. Designation as a restricted species does not confer the authority to sell a species pursuant to s. 370.06 if the law or rule prohibits the sale of the species.

(22)  "Salt water," except where otherwise provided by law, shall be all of the territorial waters of Florida excluding all lakes, rivers, canals, and other waterways of Florida from such point or points where the fresh and salt waters commingle to such an extent as to become unpalatable because of the saline content, or from such point or points as may be fixed for conservation purposes by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, with the consent and advice of the board of county commissioners of the county or counties to be affected.

(23)  "Saltwater fish" shall include all classes of pisces, shellfish, sponges, and crustacea indigenous to salt water.

(24)  "Saltwater license privileges," except where otherwise provided by law, means any license, endorsement, certificate, or permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

(25)  "Saltwater products" means any species of saltwater fish, marine plant, or echinoderm, except shells, and salted, cured, canned, or smoked seafood.

(26)  "Shellfish" shall include oysters, clams, and whelks.

(27)  "Transport" shall include shipping, transporting, carrying, importing, exporting, receiving or delivering for shipment, transportation or carriage or export.

History.--s. 2, ch. 28145, 1953; s. 1, ch. 63-40; s. 1, ch. 65-140; ss. 25, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 127, ch. 71-377; s. 1, ch. 78-56; s. 76, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 85-234; s. 1, ch. 87-116; s. 4, ch. 88-412; s. 1, ch. 89-270; s. 4, ch. 90-310; s. 4, ch. 93-223; s. 192, ch. 94-356; s. 979, ch. 95-148; s. 1, ch. 96-300; s. 2, ch. 98-203; s. 1, ch. 98-227; s. 94, ch. 99-245.