Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-13.008 - Gear, Trap Construction, Commercial Trap Marking Requirements, Trap Working Regulations, Trap Transfer
(1) Gear. It is
unlawful to use any device in the taking of stone crabs that can puncture,
crush, or injure the crab body, such as spears, grains, grabs, hooks, or
similar devices.
(2) Trap
Construction. No person, firm, or corporation shall transport on the water,
fish with, or cause to be fished with, set, or placed, in the harvest of stone
crabs, any trap which does not meet the following requirements:
(a) Each trap shall be constructed of either
wood, plastic, or wire.
(b) Traps
shall have a maximum dimension of 24 inches, by 24 inches, by 24 inches or a
volume of 8 cubic feet.
(c)
1. The throat or entrance to all wood and
plastic traps shall be located on the top horizontal section of the trap.
a. The use of round throats is prohibited in
state and federal waters off Collier, Monroe, and Miami-Dade counties. In state
and federal waters off Collier, Monroe, and Miami-Dade counties, the smallest
inside opening of the throat shall not exceed 5 1/2 inches in the longer
dimension and shall not exceed 3 1/8 inches in the shorter dimension.
b. For traps fished anywhere other than state
or federal waters off Collier, Monroe, or Miami-Dade counties, if the throat is
longer in one dimension, the throat size in the longer dimension shall not
exceed 5 1/2 inches and in the shorter dimension shall not exceed 3 1/2 inches.
If the throat is round, the throat size shall not exceed 5 inches in
diameter.
2. Each throat
(entrance) in any wire trap used to harvest stone crabs shall be horizontally
oriented. The width of the opening where the throat meets the vertical wall of
the trap and the opening of the throat at its farthest point from the vertical
wall, inside the trap, shall be greater than the height of any such opening. No
such throat shall extend farther than 6 inches into the inside of any trap,
measured from where the throat opening meets the vertical wall of the trap to
the throat opening at its farthest point from the vertical wall, inside the
trap.
3. Each wire trap used to
harvest stone crabs shall have at least three unobstructed escape rings, each
with a minimum opening diameter of 2 3/8 inches. One such escape ring shall be
located adjacent to each crab retaining chamber.
4. Each plastic and wood trap used to harvest
stone crabs must have at least one unobstructed escape ring with a minimum
opening diameter of 2 3/16 inches, and by October 5, 2024, such escape ring
must be located within a vertical exterior trap wall.
5. Each plastic or wire trap used to harvest
stone crabs shall have a degradable panel.
a.
A plastic trap shall be considered to have a degradable panel if it contains at
least one sidewall with a rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension
than that of the throat. This opening must be obstructed with a cypress or
untreated pine slat or slats no thicker than 3/4 inch. When the slat degrades,
the opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be obstructed.
b. A wire trap shall be considered to have a
degradable panel if one of the following methods is used in construction of the
trap:
(I) The trap lid tie-down strap is
secured to the trap at one end by a single loop of untreated jute twine. The
trap lid must be secured so that when the jute degrades, the lid will no longer
be securely closed.
(II) The trap
lid tie-down strap is secured to the trap at one end with a corrodible loop
composed of non-coated steel wire measuring 24 gauge or thinner. The trap lid
must be secured so that when the loop degrades, the lid will no longer be
securely closed.
(III) The trap lid
tie-down strap is secured to the trap at one end by an untreated pine dowel no
larger than 2 inches in length by 3/8 inch in diameter. The trap lid must be
secured so that when the dowel degrades, the lid will no longer be securely
closed.
(IV) The trap contains at
least one sidewall with a rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension
than 6 inches in height by 3 inches in width. This opening must be laced, sewn,
or otherwise obstructed by a single length of untreated jute twine knotted only
at each end and not tied or looped more than once around a single mesh bar.
When the jute degrades, the opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer
be obstructed.
(V) The trap
contains at least one sidewall with a rectangular opening no smaller in either
dimension than 6 inches in height by 3 inches in width. This opening must be
obstructed with an untreated pine slat or slats no thicker than 3/8 inch. When
the slat degrades, the opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be
obstructed.
(VI) The trap contains
at least one sidewall with a rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension
than 6 inches in height by 3 inches in width. The opening may either be laced,
sewn, or otherwise obstructed by non-coated steel wire measuring 24 gauge or
thinner or be obstructed with a panel of ferrous single-dipped galvanized wire
mesh made of 24 gauge or thinner wire. When the wire or wire mesh degrades, the
opening in the sidewall of the trap will no longer be obstructed.
(VII) The trap contains at least one sidewall
with a rectangular opening no smaller in either dimension than 6 inches in
height by 3 inches in width. The opening may be obstructed with a rectangular
panel made of any material, fastened to the trap at each of the four corners of
the rectangle by galvanized staples 16 gauge or thinner, rings made of
non-coated 24 gauge or thinner wire or single strands of untreated jute twine.
When the corner fasteners degrade, the panel will fall away and the opening in
the sidewall of the trap will no longer be
obstructed.
(3) Commercial Trap Marking Requirements.
(a) Each trap used must have the trap owner's
stone crab endorsement number permanently attached. In addition, the stone crab
endorsement number shall be affixed in legible figures at least two inches high
on each buoy used. A valid commercial saltwater products license with the
corresponding stone crab endorsement number must be on the boat and the license
and stone crab claws shall be subject to inspection at all times. Except as
provided in paragraph (4)(c), of this rule, no more than two stone crab
endorsement numbers shall be used on a single vessel.
(b) A buoy or time release buoy shall be
attached to each trap or at each end of a weighted trap trotline. The buoy
shall be constructed of styrofoam, cork, molded polyvinyl chloride, or molded
polystyrene, be of sufficient strength and buoyancy to float, and be of such
color, hue, and brilliancy as to be easily distinguished, seen, and located.
Buoys shall be either spherical in shape with a diameter no smaller than 6
inches or some other shape so long as it is no shorter than 10 inches in the
longest dimension and the width at some point exceeds 5 inches. No more than 5
feet of any buoy line attached to a buoy used to mark a stone crab trap or
attached to a trotline shall float on the surface of the water.
(c) The buoy color and endorsement number
shall also be permanently and conspicuously displayed on any vessel used by a
person harvesting for commercial purposes for setting and collecting said 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 approved by the Commission shall be displayed and be permanently affixed
to the uppermost structural portion of the vessel and displayed horizontally
with the painted design up. The display shall exhibit the harvester's approved
buoy design, unobstructed, on a circle 20 inches in diameter, outlined in a
contrasting color, together with the endorsement number permanently affixed
beneath the circle in numerals no smaller than 10 inches in height.
2. From the Water - The buoy design approved
by the Commission shall be displayed and be permanently affixed vertically to
both the starboard and port sides of the vessel near amidship. The display
shall exhibit the harvester's approved buoy design, unobstructed, on a circle 8
inches in diameter, outlined in a contrasting color, together with the
endorsement number permanently affixed beneath the circle in numerals no
smaller than 4 inches in height.
(4) Trap Working Regulations.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to place
traps in the navigation channels of the intracoastal waterways, or in
navigation channels maintained and marked by the Corps of Engineers, Coast
Guard, State of Florida, or any county or municipal government.
(b) Traps may be worked during daylight hours
only, and the pulling of traps from one hour after official sunset until one
hour before official sunrise is prohibited.
(c) During any time of the year when it is
legal to transport stone crab traps, a harvester shall obtain permission from
the Division of Law Enforcement to allow another person to transport, deploy,
pull, or retrieve his or her traps.
1.
Permission shall be granted upon receipt of a written statement signed by both
the commercial harvester seeking to have his or her traps pulled and the person
designated to pull the traps.
a. Such written
statement shall contain the following:
(I) The
reason the harvester needs to have his or her traps pulled,
(II) The numbers of the saltwater products
license and stone crab endorsement of both, the harvester seeking to have the
traps pulled and the person who will be pulling the traps,
(III) The buoy colors of the harvester
seeking such permission,
(IV) The
name and number of the vessel to be used by the person who will be pulling the
traps,
(V) The general locations of
the pulling activity of the vessel to be engaged in pulling the traps; and,
(VI) The dates the other person
will be transporting, deploying, pulling or retrieving the
traps.
b. 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.
2. Permission to have traps pulled 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-SL3030 (02-13) (Stone Crab Trap Pulling
Petition) found online at:
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02667,
herein incorporated by reference, and shall be granted upon such conditions as
the division deems appropriate for the protection of the resource.
a. It shall be the responsibility of the
commercial harvester, or a member of the harvester's immediate family, to
petition the division.
b. The
petition shall include:
(I) A complete
description of the extraordinary circumstances with corroborating
documentation,
(II) The amount of
additional time requested,
(III)
The number of traps to be pulled; and,
(IV) A notarized 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 stone crab
fishery.
3. The
person designated to pull the petitioner's traps is required to establish a
float plan with Division of Law Enforcement Dispatch for each day traps will be
pulled prior to pulling traps.
4.
If the person designated to pull the petitioner's traps does not possess a
saltwater products license with restricted species and stone crab endorsements,
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 stone crab fishery.
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e), of
this subsection, it shall be unlawful to transport on the water, fish with,
set, or place, or cause to be fished with, set, or placed, any trap or part
thereof during the closed stone crab season, except that traps may be placed in
the water and baited 10 days prior to the opening of the stone crab season and
shall be removed within five days after the close of the stone crab season.
However, the Division of Law Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission will grant an extension for the retrieval of traps for up to a
maximum of ten days after the expiration of the five-day grace period, or a
total of up to 15 days after the close of the stone crab season, upon the
following conditions:
1. The trap owner or the
owner's lawfully designated agent shall request, in writing, permission for an
extension of the grace period for retrieval of traps. The request shall specify
the owner's name and trap number, the name of the boat to be used for trap
retrieval, the boat owner's name, the period of additional time needed for trap
retrieval, and the reason(s) for the request.
2. On the day that trap retrieval commences,
and on each subsequent day that trap retrieval continues, the Division of Law
Enforcement must be advised in person or by telephone of the trap locations and
landing site.
3. Reasons for
granting an extension shall be limited to:
a.
Hazardous weather at the end of the season or during the trap retrieval
period.
b. Medical emergencies
which make it impossible for the owner to operate a boat.
c. Equipment breakdown.
4. Nothing herein shall authorize the landing
or sale of any stone crab or stone crab claw during the closed
season.
(e) Any traps,
floats or ropes in the water more than ten days prior to the opening of the
stone crab season or remaining in the water or otherwise abandoned during the
closed season (following the grace period and any extensions thereof for
retrieval of traps) are declared to be public nuisances and shall be disposed
of in a manner approved by the Division of Law Enforcement. This provision
shall be in addition to any penalty imposed by law.
(5) Trap Transfer. Ownership of stone crab
traps may be transferred to other persons, firms or corporations, so long as
the following conditions are met:
(a) The
person or entity acquiring ownership of such stone crab traps must notify the
Division of Law Enforcement within five days of acquiring ownership and prior
to placing or setting the traps in the water, as to the number of traps
purchased, the vendor and the endorsement number currently displayed on the
traps, and in addition, shall request issuance of a stone crab endorsement if
such person or entity does not currently have one.
(b) Buoys must be renumbered and recolored at
the first pulling of traps.
(c) The
new endorsement number must be permanently attached to the traps prior to
setting such traps in the following open season.
(d) The new owner must retain a valid bill of
sale.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const.
New 7-1-00, Amended 7-22-01, 7-15-04, 7-13-08, 6-19-13, 10-25-15, 10-1-20, 12-18-23.
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