68B-45.004: Regulation and Prohibition of Certain Harvesting Gear
68B-45.0045: Closed Seasons
68B-45.007: Blue Crab Limited Entry Endorsement Program
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of these rule amendments is to modify the Commission’s Blue Crab Rule in order to improve the commercial effort management program and to modify the closed seasons to the harvest of blue crabs from traps in order to lessen their impact on the commercial fishery and improve the removal of lost and abandoned blue crab traps from state waters. Most of these rule amendments were discussed and recommended by the Blue Crab Advisory Board, which is a board that considers and advises the Commission on the blue crab effort management program and issues in the commercial fishery. The purpose of modifying Rule 68B-45.004, F.A.C., is to widen the scope of the commercial trap pulling petition to allow the use of a harvester’s own vessel in the case of equipment failure. The purpose of modifying Rule 68B-45.0045, F.A.C., is to lessen the impact of the trap harvest closures on commercial crabbers and concentrate the effort in each region by holding the closures every other year. Finally, the purpose of modifying Rule 68B-45.007, F.A.C., is to allow commercial harvesters to transfer their endorsements for a longer period throughout the year, to allow trap tags to be ordered at any time and to clarify confusing rule language regarding holding multiple soft shell endorsements.
SUMMARY: Rule 68B-45.004, F.A.C., (Regulation and Prohibition of Certain Harvesting Gear) would be amended by changing the language regarding the commercial trap pulling petition, which allows a harvester to designate another individual to pull their traps on a short, temporary basis, due to illness or equipment failure. The rule would be amended to allow a commercial harvester to designate another of their own vessels from which their traps may be pulled. Rule 68B-45.0045, F.A.C., (Closed Seasons) would be amended by modifying the frequency of the blue crab 10-day trap harvest closures so they occur every other year by coast versus holding all closures statewide annually. Rule 68B-45.007, F.A.C., (Blue Crab Effort Management Program) would be amended by creating a transfer window where blue crab license endorsements may be transferred, from May 1 through the end of February each year. Additionally, the section would be amended by rewording the language regarding ordering tags by stating an endorsement holder could order trap tags at any time of the year and that only up to two soft shell blue crab endorsements can be held at one time.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: The agency has determined that this rule will ____or will not _X__have an impact on small business. A SERC has ____ or has not _X_ been prepared by the agency.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: During the regular meeting of the Commission, December 1-2, 2010, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., each day
PLACE: Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center, 250 Racquet Club Road, Weston, FL
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 5 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: The ADA Coordinator, at (850)488-6411. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Mark Robson, Director, Division of Marine Fisheries Management, 2590 Executive Center Circle East, Suite 201, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, and (850)487-0554
THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:
68B-45.004 Regulation and Prohibition of Certain Harvesting Gear.
(1) through (9) No change.
(10) During any time of the year when it is legal to transport blue crab traps, a harvester may seek permission from the Division of Law Enforcement to allow the use of another vessel owned by the same harvester or another person to transport, deploy, pull, or retrieve his or her traps. Permission will be granted upon receipt of a written statement signed by both the commercial harvester seeking to have his or her traps pulled and by the person designated to pull the traps, if applicable, which statement also shall contain the following:
(a) The reason the harvester needs to have his or her traps pulled;
(b) The numbers of the saltwater products license and blue crab endorsement of both the harvester seeking to have the traps pulled and the person or other vessel who will be pulling the traps;
(c) The buoy colors of the harvester seeking such permission;
(d) The name and number of the vessel to be used by the person who will be pulling the traps;
(e) The general locations of the pulling activity of the vessel to be engaged in pulling the traps; and
(f) The dates the other person or vessel will be transporting, deploying, pulling or retrieving the traps.
Permission to pull traps in this manner shall be obtained daily by telephone from the Division of Law Enforcement for a maximum of 5 days without renewal or extension of the request. Permission to have traps pulled using another vessel owned by the same harvester or by another person for a longer period of time must be based on extraordinary circumstances such as severe personal or family illness or accident or major equipment problem, and shall be obtained through petition to the Division of Law Enforcement on Commission Form DMF-SL4590 (01-11) (01-06) (Blue Crab Trap Pulling Petition), herein incorporated by reference, and will be granted upon such conditions as the Division deems appropriate for the protection of the resource. It shall be the responsibility of the commercial harvester, or a member of the harvester’s immediate family, to petition the Division. The petition shall include a complete description of the extraordinary circumstances with corroborating documentation, the amount of additional time requested, the number of traps to be pulled, and if designating another person a signed statement from the other person, attesting to his/her willingness and ability to pull these traps during this time period as well as an awareness of all rules governing the blue crab fishery. If the person designated to pull the petitioner’s traps does not possess a saltwater products license with restricted species and a blue crab endorsement, the petitioner, as the license holder of record must possess a vessel saltwater products license and shall be held accountable for the designee’s compliance with all regulations governing the blue crab fishery.
(g) If designating another vessel, the vessel must be commercially registered and the following vessel marking requirements apply: The buoy color and license number shall be conspicuously displayed on the vessel used for setting the traps and buoys, so as to be readily identifiable from the air and water, in the following manner:
1. From the Air – The buoy design shall be displayed on the uppermost structural portion of the vessel and displayed horizontally, unobstructed, with the painted design up on a circle 20 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 10 inches in height.
2. From the Water – The buoy design shall be displayed and affixed vertically to both the starboard and port sides of the vessel near amidship. The display shall exhibit the buoy design, unobstructed, on a circle 8 inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the permit numbers beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 4 inches in height.
PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE: January 26, 2011.
Rulemaking Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 12-14-93, Amended 6-1-94, 1-1-95, 10-4-95, 9-30-96, 1-1-98, 6-1-99, Formerly 46-45.004, Amended 2-28-02, 10-21-04, 3-1-05, 3-30-06, 9-21-06, 10-15-07, 1-26-11.
68B-45.0045 Closed Seasons.
(1) In order to facilitate the identification and removal of lost and abandoned traps the following restrictions shall apply.
(a) The use of traps to harvest blue crabs is prohibited for a period of up to ten days annually in the following regions:
1. All waters of the St. Johns River, its associated lakes and tributaries from west of the St. Johns River’s intersection with the Intracoastal Canal through and including Lake Hellen Blazes from January 16 through January 25 of even numbered years;
2. All waters of Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler, and Volusia counties from August 20 through August 29 of even numbered years, however, not including waters listed in subparagraph (1)(a)1. of this paragraph;
3. All waters of Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties from August 10 through August 19 of even numbered years, however, not including waters listed in subparagraph (1)(a)1. of this paragraph;
4. All waters of Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Collier, Lee, Charlotte, DeSoto, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties from July 10 through July 19 of odd numbered years;
5. All waters of Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, and Hernando counties and including all waters of the Ochlockonee River and Ochlockonee Bay from July 20 through July 29 of odd numbered years;
6. All waters of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, and Franklin counties from January 5 through January 14 of odd numbered years, however, excluding all waters of the Ochlockonee River and Ochlockonee Bay.
(b) through (e) No change.
(2) through (3) No change.
PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE: January 26, 2011.
Rulemaking Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 7-1-09, Amended 1-26-11.
68B-45.007 Blue Crab Effort Management Program.
(1) through (4) No change.
(5)(a) through (e) No change.
(f) No single V-S endorsement number holder may hold more than two V-S endorsement numbers at any one time.
(6) No change.
(7)(a) through (c) No change.
(d) Each person who possesses a blue crab effort management endorsement number shall must annually submit a blue crab effort management endorsement trap tag order application form (DMF-SL4520 (05-05), incorporated herein by reference) within the time frame specified in paragraph (e) stating the number of tags they wish to receive, up to the maximum specified in subsection (4) or (5) from February 1 through March 15 to ensure receipt of tags before the beginning of the next license year. However, tags ordered after this time period may not be available prior to the beginning of the next license year.
(e) Blue crab effort management endorsement trap tag order applications for each license year will only be accepted from February 1 through March 15 of the prior license year, except as specified in paragraph (f).
(e)(f) Trap tags Additional authorized trap tags not ordered within the time frame specified in paragraph (e) may only be ordered in blocks of 50 tags.
(g) through (i) renumbered (f) through (h) No change.
(8) through (14) No change.
(15)(a) through (b) No change.
(c) A person who wishes to transfer an endorsement number shall submit a notarized statement of intent within 72 hours of the final notarized signature, that has been signed by both parties to the transaction, hand delivered, or sent by United States Postal Service certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Commission between May 1 and the end of February. Requests received by the Commission before May 1 or postmarked after the end of February of the current license year will not be processed. The statement of intent (Form DMF-SL 4560 (09-06), incorporated herein by reference), shall include the following information:
1. The name, address, and SPL number of seller;
2. The name, address, and SPL number of buyer; and
3. The selling price.
(d) No change.
(16) through (18) No change.
PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE: January 26, 2011.
Rulemaking Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 5-26-05, Amended 3-30-06, 9-21-06, 7-31-07, 1-26-11.
BE ADVISED THAT THESE PROPOSED RULES MAY BE FILED FOR ADOPTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOLLOWING THE COMMISSION MEETING AT WHICH THEY ARE CONSIDERED IF THE RULES ARE NOT CHANGED. IF CHANGED, THE RULES MAY BE FILED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE OF CHANGE IN THE F.A.W.