68B-31.0155. Northeast Florida Shrimping: Closed Season; Allowable Harvest Days; Commercial Food Shrimp Production License and Transferability; Closed Areas

The following provisions shall apply in all inland waters of Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler, and Clay counties.

(1) No person shall harvest any shrimp during the months of April and May each year.

(2) The use of a trawl by either a live bait shrimp producer or food shrimp producer shall be limited to the daylight hours.

(3) Notwithstanding the prohibitions contained in Sections 379.247(4)(c) and (7)(a), F.S.,

(a) The taking of food shrimp shall not take place on Saturdays or Sundays.

(b) Except for the Friday after Thanksgiving, the taking of food shrimp shall not take place on legal state holidays. For the purposes of this subsection, “legal state holidays” means the paid holidays observed by all state agencies pursuant to Section 110.117(1), F.S.

(4) Commercial Food Shrimp Production License – In addition to the license requirements provided in Rule 68B-31.009, F.A.C., a person acting as a food shrimp producer within the inland waters of Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler, or Clay Counties shall also possess a valid Commercial Food Shrimp Production License, issued pursuant to Section 379.247, F.S.

(a) The number of Food Shrimp Production Licenses issued by the Commission in any one year shall be limited to those active in the base year, 1976, and renewed annually since 1976.

(b) Renewal requirement – Failure to renew or transfer the Commercial Food Shrimp Production License by June 30 of each year will result in forfeiture of the license.

(c) Transferability – Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Section 379.247(4)(d), F.S., a Commercial Food Shrimp Production License shall be transferable upon approval of the Commission under the following conditions:

1. A person who wishes to transfer the Commercial Food Shrimp Production License shall submit a notarized Commercial Food Shrimp Production License Transfer Form that has been signed by both parties to the transaction and postmarked and sent by United States Postal Service certified mail or hand delivered within 72 hours of the final notarized signature, to the Commission between May 1 and the end of February. Requests received by the Commission before May 1 or postmarked after the end of February of the current license year will not be processed. The Commercial Food Shrimp Production License Transfer Form (Form DMF-FSP 1000 (November 2019)), is incorporated herein by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-11185.

2. A Commercial Food Shrimp Production License shall not be transferred or renewed until all license fees, surcharges, and any other outstanding fees, fines, or penalties owed to the Commission by either party to the transaction have been paid in full. The seller must surrender the license to the Commission to complete the transfer.

3. In the event of the death or permanent disability of a person holding a Commercial Food Shrimp Production License, the license may be transferred by the license holder or the executor of the estate to a member of his or her immediate family within 12 months of the date of death or disability and upon payment of all outstanding fees, fines, or penalties to the Commission in full.

(5) No person shall harvest any shrimp in any tributary of the following named waterbodies in Nassau and Duval Counties. Shrimp harvest is allowed in each waterbody proper.

(a) St. Mary’s River.

(b) Bells River.

(c) Jolly River.

(d) Amelia River.

(e) Jackson Creek.

(f) Nassau River.

(g) Back River.

(h) South Amelia River.

(i) Lanceford Creek.

(j) Tiger Creek and Tiger Basin, easterly of 81°30' 08'' W. Longitude.

(k) North fork of Alligator Creek.

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 10-3-94, Formerly 46-31.0155, Amended 12-15-19.