68B-56.002. Commercial Licensing Requirements; Appeals

(1) Beginning September 1, 2003, no person shall engage in the directed harvest of ballyhoo for commercial purposes with a lampara net unless such person possesses a valid saltwater products license with both a purse seine endorsement and a lampara net endorsement.

(2) Application for issuance of a lampara net endorsement shall be made on a form provided by the Commission (Form DMF-SL4000 (5-03), incorporated herein by reference). Persons shall be issued a lampara net endorsement on their saltwater products license based on the following criteria:

(a) The applicant must possess a saltwater products license (SPL) with a purse seine endorsement during the 2002-2003 license year.

(b) The applicant must have documented landings of at least 10,000 pounds of ballyhoo or 55,000 individual ballyhoo, pursuant to Commission trip ticket records generated under the provisions of Rule Chapter 68E-5, F.A.C., during any one license year between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2002, or during the period between July 1, 2002, and November 21, 2002. Only trip tickets received by the Commission by January 31, 2003, shall be considered for qualification for a lampara net endorsement pursuant to this paragraph.

(c) An applicant who possesses both an individual SPL and a vessel SPL shall be considered to have only one SPL for the purpose of issuing a lampara net endorsement. Landings reported on both the applicant’s individual SPL and vessel SPL shall be combined for determining if the applicant meets the criteria for receiving a lampara net endorsement specified in paragraph (b).

(d) In lieu of the requirements specified in paragraph (b), a person who has purchased another ballyhoo fisher’s vessel between July 1, 2001, and May 1, 2003, shall receive a lampara net endorsement, provided that the seller’s entire ballyhoo landing history was specifically part of the sale-purchase agreement and the seller’s landings are sufficient to meet the criteria in paragraph (b). Additional proof of purchased ballyhoo landings history is a copy of a contract or bill of sale specifically identifying the seller’s ballyhoo landings history as one of the items included in the sale of the vessel, or a letter from the seller to the Commission describing what specifically was included in the sale of the vessel.

(3) Effective July 1, 2010, no new lampara net endorsements will be issued, and no lampara net endorsements will be renewed or replaced except those that were issued pursuant to subsection (2).

(a) Beginning in the 2004-2005 license year and in subsequent license years, persons, corporations, or other entities holding a lampara net endorsement or an immediate family member of that person must request renewal of the lampara net endorsement before September 30 of each year. Failure to renew the lampara net endorsement by September 30 of each year will result in forfeiture of the endorsement.

(b) No person, firm, or corporation shall hold more than two lampara net endorsements at any one time.

(c) A lampara net endorsement cannot be applied to more than one of an applicant’s saltwater products licenses at any one time.

(d) No saltwater products license will be issued with more than one lampara net endorsement.

(e) In the event of death or permanent disability of a person holding an active lampara net endorsement, the endorsement may be transferred by the person or the executor of the person’s 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.

(f) Until such time that a fee is required for a lampara net endorsement, lampara net endorsement holders shall continue to renew their purse seine endorsement, as specified in Section 379.361(1), F.S.

(4) Requalification. Lampara net endorsements shall not be renewed if the endorsement holder does not land and document at least 10,000 pounds of ballyhoo or 55,000 individual ballyhoo per lampara net endorsement in any one of the three most recent license years prior to application for renewal of the endorsement. Once requalified, the endorsement will be valid for three license years, but must still be renewed annually as required by subsection (3).

(5) Appeals. The Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, or one or more designees of the director, shall consider disputes and other problems arising from the initial denial of lampara net endorsements. The Director shall submit a recommendation to the Executive Director of the Commission for resolution of the appeal, which will recommend either allocation of an endorsement to the appellant or upholding the denial of an endorsement.

(a) An appeal of the initial denial of a lampara net endorsement is initiated by submission of a completed appeals form (Form DMF-SL4050 (5-03), incorporated herein by reference) to the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries before October 1, 2003.

(b) The burden of proof shall be on an appellant to demonstrate, through copies of trip tickets or other proof of landings, legitimate sales to a licensed wholesale dealer that were not reported by the dealer during the qualifying years or included in the agency landings database as of January 31, 2003.

(c) The Executive Director of the Commission may accept or disapprove the recommendation of the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, with notice given in writing to each party in the dispute explaining the reasons for the final decision. The action of the Executive Director of the Commission constitutes final agency action, and is appealable pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 120, F.S.

(6) Leasing Prohibited. The leasing or renting of lampara net endorsements is prohibited.

(7) Transferability. Lampara net endorsements are transferable upon approval of the Commission under the following conditions:

(a) A lampara net endorsement may be sold to an otherwise qualified buyer at fair market value.

(b) The buyer must hold a valid saltwater products license with a valid purse seine endorsement.

(c) A person who wishes to transfer an endorsement shall submit a notarized statement of intent within 72 hours of the final notarized signature, that has been signed by both parties to the transaction, hand delivered, or sent by United States Postal Service certified mail, return receipt requested, 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 statement of intent shall include the following information:

1. The name, address, and SPL number of seller;

2. The name, address, and SPL number of buyer; and,

3. The selling price.

(d) A lampara net endorsement shall not be transferred or issued 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.

(e) Upon receipt of a lampara net endorsement, the transferee has three license years, including the current license year, to produce qualifying ballyhoo landings pursuant to subsection (4), in order to requalify the endorsement. Once requalified, the endorsement will be valid for three license years, but must still be renewed annually as required by subsection (3).

Rulemaking Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History–New 5-1-03, Amended 7-1-10, 5-1-11.