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2024 Florida Statutes

Title XXVIII NATURAL RESOURCES; CONSERVATION, RECLAMATION, AND USE
Chapter 379 FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Entire Chapter
SECTION 101
Definitions.
F.S. 379.101
379.101 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) “Commercial harvester” means any person, firm, or corporation that takes, harvests, or attempts to take or harvest saltwater products for sale or with intent to sell; that is operating under or is required to operate under a license or permit or authorization issued pursuant to this chapter; that is using gear that is prohibited for use in the harvest of recreational amounts of any saltwater product being taken or harvested; or that is harvesting any saltwater product in an amount that is at least two times the recreational bag limit for the saltwater product being taken or harvested.
(6) “Commission” shall mean the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
(7) “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.
(8) “Coon oysters” are oysters found growing in bunches along the shore between high-water mark and low-water mark.
(9) “Department” shall mean the Department of Environmental Protection.
(10) “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.
(11) “Exhibit” means to present or display upon request.
(12) “Finfish” means any member of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, or Osteichthyes.
(13) “Fish and game” means all fresh and saltwater fish, shellfish, crustacea, sponges, wild birds, and wild animals.
(14) “Fish management area” means a pond, lake, or other water within a county, or within several counties, designated to improve fishing for public use, and established and specifically circumscribed for authorized management by the commission and the board of county commissioners of the county in which such waters lie, under agreement between the commission and an owner with approval by the board of county commissioners or under agreement with the board of county commissioners for use of public waters in the county in which such waters lie.
(15) “Fish pond” means a body of water that does not occur naturally and that has been constructed and is maintained primarily for the purpose of fishing.
(16) “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.
(17) “Fresh water,” except where otherwise provided by law, means all lakes, rivers, canals, and other waterways of Florida, to such point or points where the fresh and salt waters commingle to such an extent as to become unpalatable and unfit for human consumption because of the saline content, or to such point or points as may be fixed by order of the commission by and with the consent of the board of county commissioners of the county or counties to be affected by such order. The Steinhatchee River shall be considered fresh water from its source to mouth.
(18) “Freshwater fish” means all classes of pisces that are native to fresh water.
(19) “Fur-bearing animals” means muskrat, mink, raccoon, otter, civet cat, skunk, red and gray fox, and opossum.
(20) “Game” means deer, bear, squirrel, rabbits, and, where designated by commission rules, wild hogs, ducks, geese, rails, coots, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, wild turkeys, grouse, pheasants, quail, and doves.
(21) “Guide” shall include any person engaged in the business of guiding hunters or hunting parties, fishers or fishing parties, for compensation.
(22) “Marine fish” means any saltwater species of finfish of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and Osteichthyes and marine invertebrates of the classes Gastropoda and Bivalvia, the subphylum Crustacea, or the phylum Echinodermata; however, the term does not include nonliving shells or echinoderms.
(23) “Molest,” in connection with any fishing trap or its buoy or buoy line, means to touch, bother, disturb, or interfere or tamper with, in any manner.
(24) 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.
(25) “Nongame” means all species and populations of native wild vertebrates and invertebrates in the state that are not defined as game.
(26) “Nonresident alien” shall mean those individuals from other nations who can provide documentation from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services evidencing permanent residency status in the United States. For the purposes of this chapter, a “nonresident alien” shall be considered a “nonresident.”
(27) “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.
(28) “Private hunting preserve” includes any area set aside by a private individual or concern on which artificially propagated game or birds are taken.
(29) “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.
(30) “Resident” or “resident of Florida” means:
(a) For purposes of part VII, a citizen of the United States who has continuously resided in this state for 1 year before applying for a hunting, fishing, or other license. However, for purposes of ss. 379.363, 379.364, 379.3711, 379.3712, 379.372, 379.373, 379.374, 379.3751, 379.3752, 379.3761, and 379.3762, the term means a citizen of the United States who has continuously resided in this state for 6 months before applying for a hunting, fishing, or other license.
(b) For purposes of part VI:
1. A member of the United States Armed Forces who is stationed in the state and his or her family members residing with such member; or
2. A person who has declared Florida as his or her only state of residence as evidenced by a valid Florida driver license or identification card that has both a Florida address and a Florida residency verified by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or, in the absence thereof, one of the following:
a. A current Florida voter information card;
b. A sworn statement manifesting and evidencing domicile in Florida in accordance with s. 222.17;
c. Proof of a current Florida homestead exemption; or
d. For a child younger than 18 years of age, a student identification card from a Florida school or, if accompanied by his or her parent at the time of purchase, the parent’s proof of residency.
(31) “Resident alien” means a person who has continuously resided in this state for at least 1 year and can provide documentation from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services evidencing permanent residency status in the United States. For the purposes of this chapter, a “resident alien” is considered a “resident.”
(32) “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. 379.361 if the law or rule prohibits the sale of the species.
(33) “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.
(34) “Saltwater fish” means:
(a) Any saltwater species of finfish of the classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, or Osteichthyes and marine invertebrates of the classes Gastropoda and Bivalvia, the subphylum Crustacea, or the phylum Echinodermata; however, the term does not include nonliving shells or echinoderms; and
(b) All classes of pisces, shellfish, sponges, and crustaceans native to salt water.
(35) “Saltwater license privileges,” except where otherwise provided by law, means any license, endorsement, certificate, or permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
(36) “Saltwater products” means any species of saltwater fish, marine plant, or echinoderm, except shells, and salted, cured, canned, or smoked seafood.
(37) “Shellfish” shall include oysters, clams, and whelks.
(38) “Take” means taking, attempting to take, pursuing, hunting, molesting, capturing, or killing any wildlife or freshwater or saltwater fish, or their nests or eggs, by any means, whether or not such actions result in obtaining possession of such wildlife or freshwater or saltwater fish or their nests or eggs.
(39) “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; s. 7, ch. 2003-143; s. 34, ch. 2004-5; s. 1, ch. 2006-304; s. 3, ch. 2008-247; s. 8, ch. 2010-185; s. 3, ch. 2013-194; s. 12, ch. 2014-136; s. 9, ch. 2022-142.
Note.—Former s. 370.01.