Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-65.003 - [Effective 7/1/2025] Reporting Requirements

(1) Persons Responsible for Reporting - The following persons are required to report information on commercially harvested marine organisms to the Commission:
(a) A wholesale dealer who purchases a marine organism in Florida from a commercial harvester.
(b) A wholesale dealer who is also a commercial harvester and who harvests a marine organism and places such marine organism into their own wholesale dealer inventory in Florida.
(c) A wholesale dealer who does not purchase or receive a commercially harvested marine organism in Florida from a commercial harvester during a reporting period must report such information to the Commission for each applicable reporting period.
(d) A person who commercially harvested a marine organism and does not sell such marine organism to a wholesale dealer. This includes instances when a person donates a commercially harvested marine organism, retains a commercially harvested marine organism for personal use, or when a person is unable to sell a commercially harvested marine organism to a wholesale dealer.
(e) A person who commercially harvested a marine organism and sells the marine organism in a state other than Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Maine.
(2) Information to be Reported -
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person responsible for reporting information on commercially harvested marine organisms to the Commission pursuant to subsection (1) must submit a trip ticket with the following information for each trip:
1. Name and Saltwater Products License number of the commercial harvester who harvested the marine organism.
2. Wholesale Dealer License number of the wholesale dealer who purchased the marine organism from the commercial harvester.
3. Date of sale.
4. Information on where, when, and how the marine organism was harvested, including the gear used for harvest.
5. Landing location.
6. Quantity of each species of marine organism harvested.
7. Price paid per pound or per unit of measure for each species of marine organism purchased.
8. Species-level information.
(b) Exceptions.
1. A person required to report pursuant to paragraph (1)(d) must report the information in subparagraphs (2)(a)1., (2)(a)4., (2)(a)5., (2)(a)6., and (2)(a)8.
2. A wholesale dealer who does not purchase or receive a marine organism in Florida from a commercial harvester during a reporting period must report such information to the Commission in lieu of the information required by paragraph (2)(a).
(c) A person reporting information on commercially harvested marine organisms pursuant to this subsection may combine the information required by paragraph (2)(a) or by subparagraph (2)(b)1. for a single trip into one trip ticket report.
(d) A person reporting information on commercially harvested marine organisms pursuant to this subsection may not combine the information required by paragraph (2)(a) or by subparagraph (2)(b)1. for more than one trip into one trip ticket report.
(e) A commercial harvester who sells or donates a marine organism to a wholesale dealer in Florida must provide to the wholesale dealer, at the time of sale, accurate information pertaining to subparagraphs (2)(a)1., (2)(a)4., (2)(a)5., (2)(a)6., and (2)(a)8.
(3) Reporting Period - Reporting periods are weekly, beginning on Sunday and ending on the following Saturday.
(a) A wholesale dealer required to submit a report pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) must report a trip ticket for each purchase of marine organisms made during the reporting period.
(b) A person required to submit a report pursuant to paragraphs (1)(b), (1)(d), or (1)(e) must report a trip ticket for each fishing trip that landed commercially harvested marine organisms during the reporting period.
(4) Reporting Deadlines
(a) A person required to report to the Commission pursuant to this rule must submit all trip ticket reports no later than 11:59 p.m., local time, on the first Tuesday following the end of each reporting period.
(b) A person required to report to the Commission pursuant to subsection (1) may not possess a commercially harvested marine organism after the reporting deadline specified in paragraph (4)(a) has passed if the harvest of the marine organism has not been reported to the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirements established in this rule.
(5) Submission of Reports -
(a) A wholesale dealer required to report information on commercially harvested marine organisms pursuant to subsection (1) must submit reports to the Commission's Marine Fisheries Trip Ticket Program via the VESL software application published by Bluefin Data LLC, available online at: https://www.bluefindata.com.
(b) A person required to report information on commercially harvested marine organisms pursuant to paragraphs (1)(d) or (1)(e) must submit required reports to the Commission using one of the following methods:
1. If the commercial harvester is also a wholesale dealer, they must submit trip ticket reports to the Commission's Marine Fisheries Trip Ticket Program via the VESL software application published by Bluefin Data LLC, available online at: https://www.bluefindata.com.
2. If the commercial harvester is not a wholesale dealer, they must submit trip ticket reports to the Commission's Marine Fisheries Trip Ticket Program by completing and returning to the Commission a "Commercial Harvester-reported Landings Form" (Form DMF-CHRL2024, September 2024), incorporated herein by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?NO=Ref-17645.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-65.003

Rulemaking Authority Article IV, Section 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented 379.361, 379.362 FS.

Adopted by Florida Register Volume 51, Number 038, February 25, 2025 effective 7/1/2025.

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