Title 9 — Title 9

Closed Areas; Promulgation of Rules; Penalty; Enforcement. (a) The State Board of Health is authorized to inspect the waters of the state where oysters are grown and harvested. When the State Health Officer shall determine that the waters surrounding the oyster beds are unsafe fo…

Establishment of Artificial Fishing Reefs - Authorized; Disposition of Proceeds. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Resources, acting through the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, may undertake and provide for such condition…

Establishment of Artificial Fishing Reefs - Form and Approval of Transactions; Informal Solicitation of Bids. All sale or barter transactions that may be consummated for the purposes of this article by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall be reduced to wri…

REPEALED IN THE 2018 REGULAR SESSION BY ACT 2018-152 EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2018. THIS IS NOT IN THE CURRENT CODE SUPPLEMENT. History: (Acts 1973, No. 437, p. 629, §3.)

Reef Materials; Bond; Penalties. (a) Before any person, firm, corporation, or association constructs or attempts to construct an artificial fishing reef in the coastal waters of the State of Alabama as defined by Section 9-7-10, or waters approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engine…

The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall have authority to enter into agreements of reciprocity with conservation commissioners or directors and other proper officials of other states who have jurisdiction over the seafood laws and regulations of such states w…

Upon the entering of such reciprocal agreement, the license fees imposed upon nonresident fishermen and upon the owners of catching boats, freight boats or ice boats owned in whole or in part by such nonresidents shall be the same as for residents of the State of Alabama. History…

Alabama Laws, Etc. The fishing rights and privileges which may be granted by or through such reciprocal agreements shall be exercised in accordance with the laws of Alabama and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources of the …

The Governor of this state is hereby authorized and directed to execute a compact on behalf of the State of Alabama with any one or more of the states of Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, and with such other states as may enter into the compact legally therein in the for…

In pursuance of Article III of said compact there shall be three representatives from Alabama to the commission created therein to be selected as follows: The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall, ex officio, be a representative of the State of Alabama on said…

Any powers granted in this article to the commission shall be regarded as in aid of and supplemental to and in no case a limitation upon any of the powers vested in said commission by other laws of the State of Alabama or by the laws of the States of Florida, Texas, Mississippi, …

All necessary expenses incident to the membership of the State of Alabama in the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission shall be payable out of the Seafoods Fund upon the requisition of the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources. Such expenses shall include travel co…

There is hereby appropriated annually out of the Seafood Fund of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources the sum of $3,500.00 to the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission as the State of Alabama’s prorated share of said commission’s annual operating expenses as pro…

Resistance. Repealed by Act 2015-70 effective April 21, 2015. History: (Code 1852, §1128; Code 1867, §1308; Code 1876, §1616; Code 1886, §4721; Code 1896, §5576; Code 1907, §7497; Code 1923, §5105; Code 1940, T. 8, §166.)

All seafoods existing or living in the waters of Alabama not held in private ownership legally acquired and all beds and bottoms of rivers, streams, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds and inlets bordering on or connecting with the Gulf of Mexico or Mississippi Sound within the …

For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings described herein, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) ALLIGATOR FARM. An enclosed area not located on public lands or waters, constructed so as to prevent the ingress and egress of alligators fro…

Any person, firm, or corporation may engage in the business of propagating alligators on an alligator farm for restocking, propagation, and other commercial purposes by complying with the provisions of this article, and may thereafter sell either live alligators to other licensed…

Whoever desires to engage in the business of raising, exhibiting, and selling alligators on alligator farms shall apply to the department for a license to do so. If it appears that the application is made in good faith, upon payment of $1,000.00, an alligator farmer license may b…

Alligator farmer licenses shall expire on the thirtieth day of September of each year. On or before the first day of October of the following year, every licensee shall apply for a renewal of his license. In conjunction with this application, the licensee shall provide a report i…

Affidavit; Transportation of Carcass. Alligators raised on such licensed breeding farms may be sold alive to other licensed alligator farmers only, or taken for their skins or for food, according to such rules and regulations as the department may promulgate. All skins shall be t…

Whoever under the authority of this article has in his lawful possession any such alligators or parts thereof on such posted or fenced alligator farm shall have a property right therein and shall be the owner thereof. Whoever enters the alligator farm and catches, takes, or attem…

(a) Each alligator parts dealer shall secure an alligator parts dealer license from the department before commencing business. The license shall be secured annually and shall be furnished upon the payment of $100.00. (b) Each retailer selling canned alligator parts or purchasing …

(a) Any licensed alligator farmer may sell alligator carcasses or parts, provided he completes an official alligator parts transaction form, furnished by the department, for every alligator parts transaction. These forms shall be submitted to the department at 30-day intervals un…

Each alligator farmer shall tag with an official alligator parts tag, furnished by the department, all carcasses, meat, or nonedible alligator parts prior to sale and upon dissection from the carcass. This tag shall be completed in full and remain attached to the carcass or part …

All raw alligator skins shipped within this state shall be tagged so as to show the number and kinds of skins in the shipment, the consignor, shipping point, consignee, and destination. The department shall supply suitable tags to all shippers requiring them for actual shipments.…

A natural oyster reef is declared and defined as not less than one acre in continuous area of any bottoms of any bay, sound, bayou, creek, inlet or any other body of salt or brackish water on which oysters grow naturally, or have grown naturally, in quantity sufficient to warrant…

There is hereby levied a severance tax on each alligator skin taken from any alligator within this state, payable to the state through the department by the alligator farmer selling or shipping his skins within or without the state or taking his own catch out of state, at the rat…

Except as Provided; Applicability of Section; Penalty. No person shall take or possess the eggs of alligators, alligators, or their parts or skins in any county of this state except as provided for in this article, and the provisions of this section shall not apply to legal finis…

All license fees and taxes resulting from the provisions of this article shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the Game and Fish Fund of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. History: (Acts 1989, No. 89-874, p. 1749, §13.)

Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event the federal government places the alligator in an endangered species status, all licenses issued pursuant to this article shall be null and void upon the earlier of the following dates: (1) the expiration date of said …

License. Any person licensed as an alligator farmer under Section 9-12-202 convicted of violating any of the provisions of this article shall have his license cancelled and all alligators, alligator parts, and alligator skins in his possession shall be forfeited to the Department…

Oysters. All the beds and bottoms of the rivers, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds and inlets within the jurisdiction of the State of Alabama are the property of the State of Alabama to be held in trust for the people thereof, but the owners of land fronting on such waters whe…

Should any privately leased riparian bottoms be subsequently determined to be natural oyster reefs, said lease or leases shall be canceled by the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources; and, from the ruling so cancelling such lease or affecting the riparian rights, an…

For purposes of this article, the words Alabama salt and brackish waters means the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and any other salt and brackish bodies of water under the jurisdiction of the State of Alabama, whether coastal, intercoastal, or inland, and any part thereof. History:…

(a) The following nets or similar devices may be used in Alabama salt and brackish waters: (1) A landing net, which is a net commonly used to land fish while hook-and-line fishing. (2) A dip or crab net, which may not exceed three feet in diameter. (3) A minnow seine, which may n…

(a) The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall establish and administer a voluntary program to acquire and retire commercial gill net permits of saltwater commercial fishermen issued pursuant to Section 9-12-113. (b) Each resident Alabama saltwater commercial fish…

Effective for a period of five years following June 1, 2008, there is levied a surcharge of up to eight dollars ($8), as set by the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, on each annual resident and nonresident saltwater fishing license issued under…

(a) There is created in the State Treasury the Marine Resources Restoration Fund which shall receive funds from the additional surcharge on resident and nonresident saltwater fishing licenses levied pursuant to Section 9-12-233. In addition, the fund shall receive any state, fede…

Reefs; Cancellation and Forfeiture of Leases; Disposition of Proceeds from Leases. In addition to the powers heretofore enumerated, the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources shall have power to lease to any citizen of Alabama or firm or corporation organized under th…

for Protection of Rights of Lessees. Upon forfeiture of a lease, the lessee may, in the reasonable discretion of the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, be allowed additional time to remove from said leased parcel as may seem proper, upon such terms as may be pres…

(a) The Alabama Seagrass Restoration Task Force is established to lead and expedite formulating, testing, and developing innovative, effective, cost-efficient, and environmentally sustainable technologies to restore coastal seagrass ecosystems by building upon research and effort…

(a) The Dauphin Island Sea Lab shall be the fiscal agent for all funds appropriated to the task force to achieve the goals of the Alabama Seagrass Restoration Task Force. (b) The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, with the consent of the task force, may use funds appropriated to the task fo…

It shall be unlawful to drag any seines over the public reefs or private oyster grounds in this state. History: (Acts 1919, No. 259, p. 242, § 10; Code 1923, §2746; Code 1940, T. 8, §122.)

Purchase or Sale, Etc., of Nonstandard Measures for Oysters or Shrimp; Inspections. (a) A standard measure for oysters is established which shall consist of a tub or other round vessel of the following dimensions: It shall measure 17 inches in diameter, inside at the bottom, and …

The Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources may establish by rule oyster management stations to be used by persons or boats harvesting or landing oysters taken from the public reefs or public water bottoms of this state. The oyster management stations so established in…

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall provide the necessary patrol boats and shall appoint a deputy inspector for each patrol boat who shall be a seafaring man, competent to act as captain of the boat on which he may be assigned, and the Department of Conserv…

Arrests; Failure or Refusal to Aid Inspector Upon Request. It shall be the duty of every captain of every licensed vessel, when called upon by an inspector so to do, to assist that officer, both in person and with his boat and crew, in making any arrest for any violation of this …

The Director, Marine Resources Division, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is hereby authorized and it shall be his duty to patrol or cause to be patrolled from time to time as he may see fit all those areas in Alabama territorial waters upon which are located priv…

Investigate Compliance with Laws. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or its duly authorized agent or agents shall have authority to board any boat, barge or other watercraft which is engaged in the taking or catching of oysters or shrimp or to enter the place of…

Agents and Permittees; Agents and Permittees to Carry Permits. It shall be the duty of each owner or lessee of any private reef to have established an accurate survey by a registered surveyor of the bottoms, beds, or reefs under his or her control, and each corner shall be clearl…