Published on: 20077659. The purpose and effect of this rule development notice is to address possible rule amendments for local laws in the 2018 calendar year resulting from management or enforcement requirements, or to address amendments resulting from the agency’s comprehensive review of Division 68B.
Published on: 14868371. The purpose of this rule development is to repeal the Special Act of Local Application for Gilchrist County. The Special Act pre-dates the statewide regulation of marine fisheries and was originally enacted by the Legislature as local fishing laws. As part of its comprehensive marine fisheries rule review, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, with input from affected counties, is evaluating all Special Acts to determine which ones are still necessary.
The Special Act of Gilchrist County, Chapter 21254, allows for the year-round sale of saltwater fish in the county, provided the seller is properly licensed. Current, statewide license requirements govern the sale of saltwater fish, thus the Gilchrist County Special Act is obsolete.
The effect of these rules will be to remove a series of outdated or redundant local saltwater fishing rules and to conform the regulations for these counties to statewide saltwater fishing rules, improving enforceability and public understanding of Florida’s fishing regulations and creating additional fishing opportunities.
Published on: 14637511. The purpose of this rule development is to repeal the Special Acts of Local Application (Special Acts) for Gilchrist and Indian River.
Chapter 21254 allowed the year round sale of saltwater fish in Gilchrist County, provided the seller is properly licensed. Chapter 21305 prohibited nets and limits the type of gear that can be used to take fish in the Indian River channel or its banks. Chapter 77-572 limited the type of fishing gear that can be used to take fish near the bridges of the Indian River and Sebastian Inlet or the canals of Indian River County. It also prohibited throwing cast nets from most Indian River County bridges. Chapter 79-480 prohibited shellfish harvest on submerged lands within 75 feet of the shore, with allowances for shellfish harvest on privately owned submerged lands or docks. These Special Acts will be repealed in order to ensure that current relevant statewide rules apply in these Counties, creating greater consistency among saltwater fishing regulations.
The effects of this rule will be to repeal a series of outdated and/or redundant saltwater fishing regulations, eliminate confusion, and increase consistency with current statewide regulation. The repeal of Chapter 21254, Gilchrist County Special Acts will have no effect on fishing regulations because the provisions of these Special Acts are already provided for elsewhere in Florida Statutes, the Florida Constitution and Florida Administrative Code. The repeal of Chapters 21305, 77-572 and 79-480, Indian River County Special Acts, will create greater consistency among Florida fishing regulations by ensuring that existing statewide gear regulations and regulations on oyster harvest are applied in Indian River County.