Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-37.007 - Purchase and Sale Prohibitions

Sale of spotted seatrout shall adhere to the following restrictions.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), a seafood dealer in a closed region may only possess or sell spotted seatrout within the first 30 days after the close of the applicable regional commercial spotted seatrout season specified in subsection 68B-37.005(2), F.A.C., provided that such spotted seatrout were legally harvested during the commercial open season. The burden shall be upon any seafood dealer possessing spotted seatrout to establish the chain of possession from the initial transaction after harvest, by appropriate receipt(s), bill(s) of sale, or bill(s) of lading. Seafood dealers shall maintain such documentation and promptly produce same at the request of any duly authorized law enforcement officer.

(2) For purposes of this rule, the following counties are included in the regions:

(a) Northeast Region includes Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties;

(b) Central East Region includes Brevard, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Seminole, St. Lucie, and Volusia counties;

(c) South Region includes Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pinellas, Polk, and Sarasota counties;

(d) Big Bend Region includes Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Marion, Pasco, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Wakulla counties.

(e) Western Panhandle Region includes Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington counties.

(3) A seafood dealer may import spotted seatrout from outside Florida during the open or closed commercial season. However, the burden shall be upon any person possessing imported spotted seatrout to establish the chain of possession from the initial transaction after harvest, by appropriate receipt(s), bill(s) of sale, or bill(s) of lading, and to show that such spotted seatrout originated from a point outside Florida, and entered the state in interstate commerce. Failure to maintain such documentation or to promptly produce same at the request of any duly authorized law enforcement officer shall constitute a violation of this rule.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-37.007

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const.

New 9-1-13, Amended by Florida Register Volume 46, Number 028, February 11, 2020 effective 2/26/2020.

New 9-1-13, Amended 2-26-20.