Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1)
Florida Statutes restrict the take, possession, disturbance, mutilation,
destruction, selling, transference, molestation, and harassment of marine
turtles, nests, or eggs. Protection is also afforded to marine turtle habitat.
A specific authorization from Commission staff is required to conduct
scientific, conservation, or educational activities that directly involve
marine turtles in or collected from Florida, their nests, hatchlings or parts
thereof, regardless of the applicant's possession of any federal permit. The
authorization may be in the form of a conservation permit, a loan agreement, or
a consent permit, as described in Rule
68E-1.0041, F.A.C.
(2) Whenever the Commission determines that a
request to conduct research, conservation, or educational activities with
marine turtles, their nests, or hatchlings is in the public interest and will
advance marine turtle recovery or protect marine turtles, their nests, or
habitat, it shall issue authorizations, upon such terms, conditions, or
restrictions as are necessary to ensure that the intentions of Sections
379.2431(1)(c) and
(d), F.S., are not violated.
(3) Under agreement with the federal
government, the issuance of a permit or other authorization by the Commission
may satisfy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit requirements for research,
conservation, or educational activities involving Florida marine turtles. An
additional permit from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration might be required for in-water work.
(4) Permits may not be issued for head
starting, the practice of collecting marine turtle eggs or hatchlings solely
for the purpose of raising them until they attain a larger size and then
releasing them.
(5) For the
purposes of this rule, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Applicant" means the individual, firm or
corporation who applies for a Marine Turtle Permit from the
Commission.
(b) "Authorized
personnel" means all individuals listed under a permit holder, named on their
permit, and who are authorized to conduct marine turtle conservation activities
at the direction of the permit holder or the lead qualified
individual.
(c) "Conservation
purpose" means an act carried out solely for the purpose of maintaining life or
habitat of any marine turtle, their nests, hatchlings, or promoting the
recovery of marine turtle populations.
(d) "Educational facility" means public or
non-public colleges or universities, or nature centers, museums, zoos, aquaria,
or similar institutions. Educational facilities must be regularly opened to the
public for the primary purpose of providing an educational
experience.
(e) "Educational
purpose" means to hold marine turtles to exhibit, inform and instruct the
public in their biology, habitat, or conservation needs.
(f) "Handbook" means the FWC Marine Turtle
Conservation Handbook.
(g)
"Hatchery" means an area of beach where authorized individuals have placed
marine turtle nests in aggregated clusters in one location, with or without
restraining or protective walls.
(h) "Hatchling" means any species of marine
turtle, within or outside of a nest, that has recently hatched from an
egg.
(i) "Marine turtle" means any
marine-dwelling reptile of the families Cheloniidae or Dermochelyidae found in
Florida waters or using the beach as nesting habitat, including the species:
Caretta caretta (loggerhead turtle), Chelonia
mydas (green turtle), Dermochelys coriacea
(leatherback turtle), Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill
turtle), and Lepidochelys kempii (Kemp's ridley turtle) or
hybrids of these species. For purposes of this rule, marine turtle is
synonymous with sea turtle.
(j)
"Monitoring" means either gathering information using a predetermined sampling
plan to collect baseline information on marine turtle distributions, nesting,
and productivity or assessing impacts from a state-authorized activity as
required by a state or federal regulatory permit.
(k) "Nest" means an area where marine turtle
eggs have been naturally deposited or subsequently relocated.
(l) "Nest relocation" means the practice of
collecting eggs or excavating a nest following deposition and reburying all
intact eggs.
(m) "Permit Holder"
means the individual, firm or corporation authorized to conduct marine turtle
conservation activities under the provisions of this chapter.
(n) "Prudent peer review standards" means
criteria or processes arising from scientific methods established or generally
accepted by the scientific community to evaluate deductive models, experiments,
research proposals, and results that are directed toward the validation of
hypotheses or advancement of scientific knowledge.
(o) "Qualified individual" means the
individual who has been approved by FWC as having the appropriate experience
and knowledge as specified in this chapter for the authorized
activity.
(p) "Regulatory permit or
authorization" means a permit, water quality certificate, or authorization
issued pursuant to Chapter 161 or 373, F.S.
(q) "Scientific purpose" means for the
purposes of conducting research or analysis using prudent experimental
protocols to gain scientific knowledge and to advance conservation, population
management, or biological understanding of marine turtles.
(r) "Scientific research" means an activity
that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures
of observation, measurement, and experiment to obtain reliable and pertinent
data.
(s) "Special Activity
License" or "SAL" means a license issued pursuant to Chapter 68B-8,
F.A.C.
Rulemaking Authority
379.2431(1),
379.244(2) FS.
Law Implemented 379.2431(1),
379.244(2)
FS.
New 12-9-07, Amended
11-23-16.
