Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 68B-8.008 - Florida Marine Science Educators Association Certification
(1) The Florida
Marine Science Educators Association (FMSEA) Certification provides a
streamlined process to accommodate members of the educational community with
smaller collecting needs to allow them to conduct educational activities with
aquatic organisms. A FMSEA Certification holder is exempt from a number of
saltwater and freshwater resource regulations to allow the holder to collect
and possess aquatic organisms for educational purposes.
(2) Eligibility - FMSEA Certification may be
issued only to the following:
(a) An
instructor employed by, or under sponsorship of, an elementary or secondary
school.
(b) An instructor employed
by, or under sponsorship of, another educational institution or organization
with courses of biological or aquatic studies.
(c) An individual who teaches in a home
education program maintained in accordance with Section
1002.41, F.S.
(d) A representative of a home education
program association.
(3)
Workshop Curriculum - FMSEA Certification requires successful completion of a
training workshop. The primary workshop objective must be to promote best
practices in the collection and maintenance of aquatic organisms for
educational activities. The curriculum must include but is not limited to:
(a) Rationale for collecting aquatic
organisms.
(b) Alternatives to the
collection of live aquatic organisms.
(c) Collection methods.
(d) Minimization of environmental
impacts.
(e) Minimization of
aquatic organism mortality.
(f)
Regulatory concerns.
(g)
Appropriate gear deployment and use.
(h) Establishment of collecting
teams.
(i) Collection and
documentation of field data.
(4) Certification Documentation - Upon
successful completion of the training workshop, a participant receives a
certification that is authorized by both FMSEA and Commission representatives.
The certification:
(a) Authorizes the harvest
of certain fresh and saltwater organisms and specifies bag and possession
limits.
(b) Authorizes the use of
specific scientific, educational, and recreational harvesting gears.
(c) Specifies the fresh and saltwater areas
in which harvest of aquatic organisms is allowed.
(d) Provides an exemption from local laws
when harvesting in a designated saltwater area.
(5) Certification Period - The certification
period for a FMSEA Certification may not exceed 3 years (36 months).
(6) Authorized Personnel -
(a) The number of 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.
(b) A third party
contractor may not conduct activities authorized pursuant to a FMSEA
Certification.
(7)
General Conditions and Restrictions - The holder of a FMSEA Certification is
subject to the General Conditions and Restrictions in subsections
68B-8.003(1) through
(8), F.A.C.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const.
New 7-1-04, Amended 11-19-09.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(1) PURPOSE. This section describes a Commission partnership with the Florida Marine Science Educators Association (FMSEA) that provides an alternative to the formal SAL application process to conduct educational activities with aquatic organisms. The FMSEA Certification is a more streamlined process designed to cater to the smaller collecting needs of the educational community as opposed to the larger and more complex collecting needs of SAL holders. A FMSEA Certification holder is exempt from a number of saltwater and freshwater resource regulations to allow him or her to collect and possess aquatic organisms for educational purposes.
(2) ELIGIBILITY. FMSEA Certification may be issued only to the following:
(a) An instructor employed by, or under sponsorship of, an elementary or secondary school.
(b) An instructor employed by, or under sponsorship of, another educational institution or organization with courses of biological or aquatic studies.
(c) An individual who teaches in a home education program maintained in accordance with Section 1002.41, F.S.
(d) A representative of a home education program association.
(3) WORKSHOP CURRICULUM. FMSEA Certification requires successful completion of a training workshop. The primary workshop objective is to promote best practices in the collection and maintenance of aquatic organisms for educational activities. A curriculum has been established to achieve the primary workshop objective and includes but is not limited to:
(a) Rationale for collecting aquatic organisms.
(b) Alternatives to the collection of live aquatic organisms.
(c) Collection methods.
(d) Minimization of environmental impacts.
(e) Minimization of aquatic organism mortality.
(f) Regulatory concerns.
(g) Appropriate gear deployment and use.
(h) Establishment of collecting teams.
(i) Collection and documentation of field data.
(4) CERTIFICATION DOCUMENTATION. Upon successful completion of the training workshop, a participant receives a certification that is authorized by both FMSEA and Commission representatives. The certification:
(a) Authorizes the harvest of certain fresh and saltwater organisms and specifies bag and possession limits.
(b) Authorizes the use of specific scientific, educational, and recreational harvesting gears.
(c) Specifies the fresh and saltwater areas in which harvest of aquatic organisms is allowed.
(d) Provides an exemption from local laws when harvesting in a designated saltwater area.
(5) GENERAL CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS. The holder of a FMSEA Certification is subject to the General Conditions and Restrictions in paragraphs 68B-8.003(1)(a), (2)(b), subsections (3), (4), (5), paragraph (6)(b), subsections (7), (8), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), and (15), F.A.C.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const.
New 7-1-04, Amended 11-19-09.