Florida Senate - 2014 SB 194
By Senator Latvala
20-00176-14 2014194__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to crustaceans; amending s. 379.407,
3 F.S.; providing that certain violations relating to
4 spiny lobsters and stone crabs are separate and
5 distinct offenses; conforming cross-references;
6 amending s. 379.2431, F.S.; conforming a cross
7 reference; providing an effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraph (d) of
12 subsection (3) of section 379.407, Florida Statutes, are amended
13 to read:
14 379.407 Administration; rules, publications, records;
15 penalties; injunctions.—
16 (1) BASE PENALTIES.—Unless otherwise provided by law:,
17 (a) A violation any person, firm, or corporation who
18 violates any provision of this chapter, or the rules any rule of
19 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation commission relating to the
20 conservation of marine resources is punishable, shall be
21 punished:
22 1.(a) Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment for a period
23 of not more than 60 days or by a fine of not less than $100 or
24 nor more than $500, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
25 2.(b) Upon On a second or subsequent conviction within 12
26 months, by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or by a fine
27 of not less than $250 or nor more than $1,000, or by both such
28 fine and imprisonment.
29 (b) Each spiny lobster or stone crab taken in violation of
30 this chapter or the rules of the commission constitutes a
31 separate and distinct violation.
32
33 Upon final disposition of an any alleged offense for which a
34 citation for a any violation of this chapter or the rules of the
35 commission has been issued, the court shall, within 10 days,
36 certify the disposition to the commission.
37 (2) MAJOR VIOLATIONS.—In addition to the penalties provided
38 in subsection (1) paragraphs (1)(a) and (b), the court shall
39 assess additional penalties against any commercial harvester
40 convicted of major violations as follows:
41 (a) For a violation involving more than 100 illegal blue
42 crabs, spiny lobster, or stone crabs, an additional penalty of
43 $10 for each illegal blue crab, spiny lobster, stone crab, or
44 part thereof.
45 (b)1. For a violation involving the taking or harvesting of
46 shrimp from a nursery or other prohibited area, or any two
47 violations within a 12-month period involving shrimping gear,
48 minimum size (count), or season, an additional penalty of $10
49 for each pound of illegal shrimp or part thereof.
50 2. A violation For violations involving the taking of food
51 shrimp in certain closed areas:
52 a. A Any person with a saltwater products license issued by
53 the commission who is convicted of taking food shrimp in Santa
54 Rosa Sound in violation of commission rule designating a closed
55 area shall have that license and the saltwater products license
56 of the boat involved in the violation revoked and shall be
57 ineligible to make application for such a license for a period
58 of 2 years from the date of such conviction. If a person who
59 does not have a saltwater products license is convicted
60 hereunder, that person and the boat involved in the violation is
61 shall not be eligible for such a license for 5 years.
62 b. A third or subsequent violation by a any person of the
63 designated closure to food shrimping in Santa Rosa Sound within
64 a 3-year period is a felony of the third degree, punishable as
65 provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
66 c. A second or any subsequent violation by a any person for
67 taking food shrimp in a food shrimp production closed area in a
68 portion of Monroe County designated by the commission is a
69 felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082
70 or s. 775.083.
71 d. A third or any subsequent violation by the owner or
72 master of any vessel engaged in food shrimp production in the
73 Tortugas Shrimp Beds closed area designated by the commission
74 within a 3-year period is a felony of the third degree,
75 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
76 e. This subparagraph does not apply to persons shrimping
77 for live bait shrimp in the designated closed area when such
78 persons are shrimping with a live bait shrimping license issued
79 by the commission.
80 3. The owner or master of any vessel not equipped with live
81 shrimp bait tanks dragging shrimp nets in the Tortugas Shrimp
82 Beds without a live bait shrimping license for this area is
83 subject to the base penalties in subsection (1) for a first or
84 second violation. A third or subsequent violation by any person
85 under this subparagraph within a 3-year period is a felony of
86 the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
87 775.083.
88 (c) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting of
89 oysters from nonapproved areas or the taking or possession of
90 unculled oysters, an additional penalty of $10 for each bushel
91 of illegal oysters.
92 (d) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting of
93 clams from nonapproved areas, an additional penalty of $100 for
94 each 500 count bag of illegal clams.
95 (e) For a violation involving the taking, harvesting, or
96 possession of any of the following species, which are
97 endangered, threatened, or of special concern:
98 1. Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum);
99 2. Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus);
100 3. Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis);
101 4. Atlantic loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta caretta);
102 5. Atlantic green turtle (Chelonia mydas mydas);
103 6. Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea);
104 7. Atlantic hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata
105 imbracata);
106 8. Atlantic ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempi); or
107 9. West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris),
108
109 an additional penalty of $100 for each unit of marine life or
110 part thereof.
111 (f) For a second or subsequent conviction within 24 months
112 for any violation of the same law or rule involving the taking
113 or harvesting of more than 100 pounds of any finfish, an
114 additional penalty of $5 for each pound of illegal finfish.
115 (g) For a any violation involving the taking, harvesting,
116 or possession of more than 1,000 pounds of any illegal finfish,
117 an additional penalty equivalent to the wholesale value of the
118 illegal finfish.
119 (h) A permit Permits issued to any commercial harvester by
120 the commission to take or harvest saltwater products, or a any
121 license issued pursuant to s. 379.361 or s. 379.362 may be
122 suspended or revoked by the commission, pursuant to the
123 provisions and procedures of s. 120.60, for any major violation
124 prescribed in this subsection:
125 1. Upon a first conviction, for up to 30 calendar days.
126 2. Upon a second conviction which occurs within 12 months
127 after a prior violation, for up to 90 calendar days.
128 3. Upon a third conviction which occurs within 24 months
129 after a prior conviction, for up to 180 calendar days.
130 4. Upon a fourth conviction which occurs within 36 months
131 after a prior conviction, for a period of 6 months to 3 years.
132 (i) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major violation
133 involving stone crabs, the licenseholder must show just cause
134 why his or her license should not be suspended or revoked. For
135 the purposes of this paragraph, a “major violation” means a
136 major violation as prescribed for illegal stone crabs; any
137 single violation involving possession of more than 25 stone
138 crabs during the closed season or possession of 25 or more
139 whole-bodied or egg-bearing stone crabs; any violation for trap
140 molestation, trap robbing, or pulling traps at night; or any
141 combination of violations in any 3-consecutive-year period
142 wherein more than 75 illegal stone crabs in the aggregate are
143 involved.
144 (j) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major violation
145 involving spiny lobster, the licenseholder must show just cause
146 why his or her license should not be suspended or revoked. For
147 the purposes of this paragraph, a “major violation” means a
148 major violation as prescribed for illegal spiny lobster; any
149 single violation involving possession of more than 25 spiny
150 lobster during the closed season or possession of more than 25
151 wrung spiny lobster tails or more than 25 egg-bearing or
152 stripped spiny lobster; any violation for trap molestation, trap
153 robbing, or pulling traps at night; or any combination of
154 violations in any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than 75
155 illegal spiny lobster in the aggregate are involved.
156 (k) Upon the arrest and conviction for a major violation
157 involving blue crabs, the licenseholder shall show just cause
158 why his or her saltwater products license should not be
159 suspended or revoked. This paragraph shall not apply to an
160 individual fishing with no more than five traps. For the
161 purposes of this paragraph, a “major violation” means a major
162 violation as prescribed for illegal blue crabs, any single
163 violation wherein 50 or more illegal blue crabs are involved;
164 any violation for trap molestation, trap robbing, or pulling
165 traps at night; or any combination of violations in any 3
166 consecutive-year period wherein more than 100 illegal blue crabs
167 in the aggregate are involved.
168 (l) Upon the conviction for a major violation involving
169 finfish, the licenseholder must show just cause why his or her
170 saltwater products license should not be suspended or revoked.
171 For the purposes of this paragraph, a major violation is
172 prescribed for the taking and harvesting of illegal finfish, any
173 single violation involving the possession of more than 100
174 pounds of illegal finfish, or any combination of violations in
175 any 3-consecutive-year period wherein more than 200 pounds of
176 illegal finfish in the aggregate are involved.
177 (m) For a violation involving the taking or harvesting of
178 any marine life species, as those species are defined by rule of
179 the commission, the harvest of which is prohibited, or the
180 taking or harvesting of such a species out of season, or with an
181 illegal gear or chemical, or any violation involving the
182 possession of 25 or more individual specimens of marine life
183 species, or any combination of violations in any 3-year period
184 involving more than 70 such specimens in the aggregate, the
185 suspension or revocation of the licenseholder’s marine life
186 endorsement as provided in paragraph (h).
187
188 The penalty provisions of this subsection apply to commercial
189 harvesters and wholesale and retail dealers as defined in s.
190 379.362. Any other person who commits a major violation under
191 this subsection commits a Level Three violation under s.
192 379.401. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 948.01, no court
193 may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or
194 imposition of sentence for any major violation prescribed in
195 this subsection. The proceeds from the penalties assessed
196 pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the Marine
197 Resources Conservation Trust Fund to be used for marine
198 fisheries research.
199 (3) PENALTIES FOR USE OF ILLEGAL NETS.—
200 (d) Upon reinstatement of saltwater license privileges
201 suspended pursuant to a violation of this subsection, a licensee
202 owning or operating a vessel containing or otherwise
203 transporting in or on Florida waters any gill net or other
204 entangling net, or containing or otherwise transporting in
205 nearshore and inshore Florida waters any net containing more
206 than 500 square feet of mesh area shall remain restricted for a
207 period of 12 months following reinstatement, to operating under
208 the following conditions:
209 1. Vessels subject to this reinstatement period shall be
210 restricted to the corridors established by commission rule.
211 2. A violation of the reinstatement period provisions shall
212 be punishable pursuant to subsection (1) paragraphs (1)(a) and
213 (b).
214 Section 2. Paragraph (s) of subsection (2) of section
215 379.2431, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
216 379.2431 Marine animals; regulation.—
217 (2) PROTECTION OF MANATEES OR SEA COWS.—
218 (s) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, a any
219 person violating the provisions of this subsection or a any rule
220 or ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection commits a
221 misdemeanor, punishable as provided in s. 379.407(1)(a) or (b).
222 1. A Any person operating a vessel in excess of a posted
223 speed limit commits shall be guilty of a civil infraction,
224 punishable as provided in s. 327.73, except as provided in
225 subparagraph 2.
226 2. This paragraph does not apply to a person persons
227 violating restrictions governing “No Entry” zones or “Motorboat
228 Prohibited” zones, who, if convicted, commits shall be guilty of
229 a misdemeanor, punishable as provided in s. 379.407(1)(a) or
230 (b), or, if such violation demonstrates blatant or willful
231 action, may be found guilty of harassment as described in
232 paragraph (d).
233 3. A person may engage in an any activity otherwise
234 prohibited by this subsection or a any rule or ordinance adopted
235 pursuant to this subsection if the activity is reasonably
236 necessary in order to prevent the loss of human life or a vessel
237 in distress due to weather conditions or other reasonably
238 unforeseen circumstances, or in order to render emergency
239 assistance to a person persons or a vessel in distress.
240 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.