Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) ELIGIBILITY.
(a) A SAL or FMSEA Certification will not be
issued to a person and no person shall conduct activities under a SAL if,
during the 36-month period prior to the application or activity, that person
has been charged with a violation of a rule in Title 68, F.A.C.; Chapter 370,
372 or 379, F.S.; or 50 CFR Parts 622, 635, 640, 648, 654, 660, or 679 unless
that person has received a final disposition of acquittal or dismissal of such
charged violation.
(b) A Stock
Collection and Release SAL, an Aquaculture Broodstock Collection SAL, or a
Snook SAL will not be issued to a person and no person shall conduct activities
under such SAL, if that person has been charged with a violation of a provision
of Section 597.004, F.S., or Chapter 5L-3,
F.A.C.
(c) A SAL will not be issued
for an activity that is allowed under the marine recreational fishing
regulations, with the exception of an Aquaculture Broodstock Collection
SAL.
(d) A SAL will not be issued
to a third party contractor.
(2) APPLICATION, ISSUANCE, AND LICENSE
PERIODS.
(a) A person may apply for and be
issued a SAL at any time and a SAL shall be valid for 12 months from the date
of issuance with the following exceptions:
1.
The period of validity of a Scientific Research SAL will be based on the
duration of the proposed activity, provided that the duration is no longer than
is necessary to achieve its stated purpose and it does not exceed 36 months
from the date of issuance. The period of validity for a Scientific Research SAL
issued for prohibited species shall not exceed 12 months from the date of
issuance.
2. An
Education/Exhibition SAL involving the collection of prohibited species may
only be applied for April 1 through April 30 or October 1 through October
31.
3. An Aquaculture Broodstock
Collection SAL is only valid so long as the SAL holder also holds a valid
aquaculture certificate of registration issued pursuant to Section
597.004, F.S., and Chapter 5L-3,
F.A.C.
4. The period of validity of
a Governmental Purpose SAL will be based on the duration of the proposed
activity, provided that it is no longer than is necessary to achieve its stated
purpose.
5. The period of validity
of a Nonprofit SAL is 36 months.
(b) A person may apply for and shall be
issued a FMSEA Certification upon completion of workshop training and a FMSEA
Certification is valid for 36 months.
(3) TRANSFERABILITY OF LICENSE OR
CERTIFICATION. A SAL or FMSEA Certification is not transferable. If a SAL or
Certificate holder changes his or her affiliation, the SAL or Certificate is no
longer valid and must be amended or re-issued.
(4) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY. A SAL or FMSEA
Certification does not authorize any activity outside of state waters, within
zoned areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, or within the
boundaries of any federal park. For purposes of this subsection, "zoned areas
of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary" means Sanctuary Preservation
Areas, Special Use Areas, Research Only Areas, and Ecological
Reserves.
(5) LAW ENFORCEMENT
NOTIFICATION. The holder of a SAL or FMSEA Certification must notify the
nearest Commission Law Enforcement Dispatch Center not later than 24 hours
prior to conducting activities under a SAL or FMSEA Certification. Notification
shall consist of a float plan detailing locations, dates, and times of
activities. Deviations from the float plan are permitted only after 24-hour
advance notification to the nearest Commission Law Enforcement Dispatch Center.
Float plans are valid for the duration of the SAL or FMSEA Certification unless
rescinded by the SAL or FMSEA Certification holder.
(6) AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL.
(a) No more than 10 individuals shall be
authorized to conduct activities pursuant to a SAL unless justification for
additional personnel is provided by the applicant and additional personnel are
necessary to achieve the stated purpose of the SAL.
(b) Authorized personnel on a FMSEA
Certification will be limited to the certification holder, teaching assistants,
and up to 100 students per collecting trip. Both the teaching assistants and
students must be operating under the direct supervision of the Certification
holder and there must be at least one adult per ten
students.
(7) RELEASE OF
MARINE ORGANISMS. No marine organism that has been maintained in captivity
shall be released unless the release is authorized by a SAL or FMSEA
Certification or the release is conducted in accordance with the "Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission Policy on the Release of Marine Organisms,
September 2009" which is hereby adopted as a rule of the Commission and is
incorporated herein by reference. However, the release restrictions of this
subsection do not apply to:
(a)
Catch-and-release activities that occur during the course of recreational
fishing.
(b) The use of a marine
organism for bait.
(c) The
temporary possession of bycatch or of a marine organism that is temporarily
retained in order to conduct directed commercial fishing activities, provided
that the marine organism is not retained any longer than is necessary to
accomplish the directed harvest.
(8) TAGGING OF MARINE ORGANISMS. No marine
organism shall be tagged unless such tagging activity has been authorized
pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA Certification. The tagging restrictions of this
subsection do not apply to directors of a fishing tournament or their designee,
who may tag up to five (5) fish per tournament for purposes of awarding prizes
to tournament participants. For purposes of this section, a "tag" means any
internal or external device or other marking, placed in or on an organism for
the purpose of identification.
(9)
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Required reporting documentation must be submitted
within 30 days after expiration of the SAL.
(10) TRANSFERABILITY OF MARINE ORGANISMS.
(a) A SAL or FMSEA Certification is not
required if a marine organism harvested pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA
Certification is being moved through formal transfer or loan between facilities
that meet the eligibility requirements in subsection
68B-8.003(1),
F.A.C., and that are certified aquaculture facilities or are conducting
scientific research, education, or exhibition activities. A marine organism
authorized for sale under subsection
68B-8.003(11),
F.A.C., is not considered a transfer or loan. In lieu of a SAL or FMSEA
Certification, documentation must be permanently maintained by a facility that
possesses a marine organism harvested pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA Certification
and transferred or loaned to that facility. The documentation must include the
following:
1. A copy of the SAL or FMSEA
Certification authorizing the harvest of the marine organism.
2. The chain of possession from initial
harvest to current possession.
3.
If the transfer or loan involves a certified aquaculture facility, a copy of
the aquaculture facility's valid certification.
4. A detailed description of each marine
organism being transferred or loaned including common name, scientific name,
size, and sex.
5. Number of each
type of marine organism being transferred or loaned.
6. Date of transfer, or beginning and ending
date of loan.
7. Name, address, and
contact person for the transferring facility and for the receiving
facility.
8. Signatures from
representatives of the transferring and receiving facilities acknowledging that
the transfer was completed or the loan was initiated.
(b) The receiving facility is responsible for
maintaining a marine organism in its possession in accordance with any terms
and conditions set forth by the SAL or FMSEA Certification that authorized the
harvest of the marine organism.
(11) POSSESSION AFTER LICENSE OR
CERTIFICATION EXPIRATION. The Commission recognizes that a marine organism
collected pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA Certification may need to be retained for
a period of time that extends beyond the expiration date of the SAL or FMSEA
Certification issued for its harvest. For this purpose, the following
conditions must be met for marine organisms collected pursuant to a SAL or
FMSEA Certification to be legally possessed beyond the expiration of a SAL or
FMSEA Certification:
(a) All documentation
required for reporting must be submitted to the Commission within 30 days of
expiration of the SAL.
(b)
Following the expiration date of the SAL or FMSEA Certification, the original
SAL or FMSEA Certification or a copy is sufficient documentation to authorize
possession of a marine organism harvested pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA
Certification. Such documentation must be promptly produced at the request of
an authorized law enforcement officer.
(12) SALE OF MARINE ORGANISMS. A marine
organism harvested pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA Certification shall not be sold
or consumed unless it was harvested pursuant to a Gear Innovation SAL,
Governmental Purpose SAL, Dredge SAL, or a Nonprofit Corporation SAL, and the
sale was conducted in accordance with any condition of sale required by such
SAL.
(13) CONSUMPTION OF MARINE
ORGANISMS. A marine organism harvested pursuant to a SAL or FMSEA Certification
shall not be consumed unless the marine organism was harvested pursuant to a
Gear Innovation SAL, Governmental Purpose SAL, or Dredge SAL.
(14) ISSUANCE AND RENEWAL. A SAL or FMSEA
Certification issued pursuant to this chapter will not be issued or renewed
unless all conditions of a prior SAL or FMSEA Certification held by the
applicant were met, and the reporting requirements for the prior SAL were
submitted.
(15) SUSPENSION AND
REVOCATION. The Commission will suspend or revoke a SAL or FMSEA Certification
if it finds that the SAL or FMSEA Certification holder has violated any
provision in Chapter 379, F.S., Commission rules or orders, or terms or
conditions of the SAL or FMSEA Certification, or has submitted false or
inaccurate information in his or her application. Suspensions and revocations
will be imposed in accordance with Chapters 120 and 379,
F.S.
Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law
Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla.
Const.
New 7-1-04, Amended
11-19-09.
