21158336, 68B-14.0045 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

Home

Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services

Notice: 21158336

Notice of Proposed Rule

Department:

FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Division:

Marine Fisheries

Chapter:

REEF FISH

Overview

RULE:

68B-14.0045	Commercial Harvest Requirements; Licenses, Season Closures, Bag and Trip Limits
68B-14.0046	Commercial Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs)

PURPOSE:

There are two Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs for commercial harvest in the Gulf of Mexico: red snapper and grouper/tilefish. These are federal programs, but they apply to all commercial harvest of red snapper, groupers, and tilefishes in both Gulf state and federal waters. Gulf IFQ program participants must follow unique requirements and procedures such as real-time, electronic tracking of vessel location harvest and quota accounting; landing notification requirements; and restictions on where and when fish can be landed and offloaded. These requirements apply to Gulf IFQ program participants regardless of where they are fishing (federal or state waters). Currently, FWC rules require all commercial harvesters that harvest or possess any IFQ-managed species in the Gulf of Mexico to have a federal Gulf IFQ vessel account.

At its April 2018 meeting, the FWC Commission modified commercial regulations in Gulf state waters to be consistent with federal regulations for the commercial Gulf red snapper and Gulf grouper/tilefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs. The purpose of the proposed action is to add other important requirements for Gulf commercial red snapper and grouper/tilefish IFQ fisheries operations, dealer endorsements, landings, and transactions to FWC rule. This federal consistency action will allow FWC to enforce federal Gulf commercial IFQ regulations at the state level.

Rule 68B-14.0045 F.A.C. will be modified to reference federal Gulf IFQ regulations, which will be outlined in the new rule 68B-14.0046, F.A.C. These rules will take effect January 1, 2019.

SUMMARY:

Bud Vielhauer, General Counsel, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600, (850) 487-1764.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY:

Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution

LAW:

Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

11/14/2018 Vol. 44/222

COMMENTS:

From 11/14/2018 To 12/5/2018 (21 Days)
The public comment period for this notice has already expired.

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

No reference(s).

Under Florida law, E-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your E-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.