Title XXVIII, Natural Resources; Conservation, Reclamation, and Use

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall establish a marine information system in conjunction with the licensing program to gather marine fisheries data.History.—s. 6, ch. 89-270; s. 211, ch. 94-356; s. 239, ch. 99-245; s. 64, ch. 2008-247; s. 19, ch. 2017-5.Note.—Form…

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is authorized to establish weight equivalencies when minimum lengths of saltwater fish are established by law, in those cases where the fish are artificially cultivated.(2) A special activity license may be issued by the commissio…

The power to regulate the taking or possession of saltwater fish, as defined in s. 379.101, is expressly reserved to the state. This section does not prohibit a local government from prohibiting, for reasons of protecting the public health, safety, or welfare, saltwater fishing f…

1No person shall take any food fish from the waters under the jurisdiction of the state for the purpose of making oil, fertilizer, or compost therefrom. Purse seines may be used for the taking of nonfood fish for the purpose of making oil, fertilizer, or compost.History.—s. 2, ch…

1(1) ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF SEINES AND NETS.—No person may have in his or her custody or possession in any county of this state any fishing seine or net, the use of which for fishing purposes in such county is prohibited by law. Such possession shall be evidence of a violation of …

(1) It is unlawful to take or harvest, or to attempt to take or harvest, any marine life in Florida waters with any net that is not consistent with the provisions of s. 16, Art. X of the State Constitution.(2)(a) Beginning July 1, 1998, it is also unlawful to take or harvest, or …

(1) This section applies to all vessels containing or otherwise transporting in or on Florida waters any gill net or other entangling net and to all vessels containing or otherwise transporting in or on Florida waters any net containing more than 500 square feet of mesh area the …

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is authorized to implement a trap retrieval program for retrieval of spiny lobster, stone crab, blue crab, and black sea bass traps remaining in the water during the closed season for each species. The commission is authorized to cont…

1(1) For the purposes of this section, “spearfishing” means the taking of any saltwater fish through the instrumentality of a spear, gig, or lance operated by a person swimming at or below the surface of the water.(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided by commission rule or order, s…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Land” means the physical act of bringing a harvested organism, or any part thereof, ashore.(b) “Shark” means any species of the orders Carcharhiniformes, Lamniformes, Hexanchiformes, Orectolobiformes, Pristiophoriformes, Squaliformes, Sq…

(1) PROTECTION OF MARINE TURTLES.—(a) This subsection may be cited as the “Marine Turtle Protection Act.”(b) The Legislature intends, pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, to ensure that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has the appropriate authority and reso…

It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission request the necessary funding and staffing through a general revenue budget request to ensure that manatees receive the maximum protection possible. The Legislature recognizes that strong manatee protection depends upon cons…

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall implement and administer an enhanced manatee protection study designed to increase knowledge of the factors that determine the size and distribution of the manatee population in the waters of the state. The enhanced study sh…

(1) OWNERSHIP OF FISH, SPONGES, ETC.—All fish, shellfish, sponges, oysters, clams, and crustacea found within the rivers, creeks, canals, lakes, bayous, lagoons, bays, sounds, inlets, and other bodies of water within the jurisdiction of the state, and within the Gulf of America a…

(1) Within 3 days after the commencement of the closed season for the taking of spiny lobster, each and every seafood dealer, either retail or wholesale, intending to possess whole spiny lobster, spiny lobster tails, or spiny lobster meat during closed season shall submit to the …

1(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is authorized to take title in the name of the state to any vessel or vessels suitable for use in carrying out the inspection and patrol of the Tortugas Bed which may be offered as a gift to the state by any person, firm, corpora…

1(1) DEFINITIONS.—When used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(a) “Inland waters” means all creeks, rivers, bayous, bays, inlets, and canals.(b) “Sample” means one or more shrimp taken from an accurately defined part of the area defined.(c) “Series” m…

1(1) NONRESIDENT LICENSE; SPONGE FISHING.—Any nonresident of the state, who desires to engage in the business or occupation of sponge fishing, either for that person or any other person, shall, before entering into said business or occupation, procure a nonresident saltwater prod…

(1) An artificial reef program is created within the commission to enhance saltwater opportunities and to promote proper management of fisheries resources associated with artificial reefs for the public interest. Under the program, the commission may provide grants and financial …

(1) The commission is authorized to establish the Florida Ships-2-Reefs Program, a matching grant program, for the securing and placement of United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) and United States Navy decommissioned vessels in state or federal waters seaward of the state…

It is unlawful for any person to bring to port, sell, or offer to sell any saltwater life landed in violation of the provisions of this chapter. Any person committing such a violation and docking his or her vessel at any port in the state, whether or not such product was landed i…

Effective July 1, 1988, persons wishing to lease state-owned water bottoms for the purpose of growing oysters and clams shall no longer be required to apply under the provisions of s. 379.2525; such leases shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of ss. 253.67-253.75.History.—s…

(1) All grants previously issued by the several boards of county commissioners under the authority of chapter 3293, 1881, Laws of Florida, shall be subject to provisions of s. 597.010, relating to the marking of such lands, the payment of rents, the cultivation of such lands and …

1Marine aquaculture producers shall be regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall adopt rules, by March 1, 2000, to regulate the sale of farmed red drum and spotted sea trout. These rules shall specificall…

(1) No wholesale or retail dealer, as defined in s. 379.362(1), shall sell any oysters produced outside this state unless they are labeled as such, or unless it is otherwise reasonably made known to the purchaser that the oysters were not produced in this state.(2) The Department…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Marine aquaculture facility” means a facility built and operated for the purpose of producing marine aquaculture products. Marine aquaculture facilities contain culture systems such as, but not limited to, ponds, tanks, raceways, cages, …

1(1) PROTECTION OF SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS.—(a) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall assist in protecting shellfish aquaculture products produced on leased or granted reefs in the hands of lessees or grantees from the state. Harvesting shellfish is prohibite…

(1) It is unlawful to import or possess any marine plant or marine animal, not native to the state, which, due to the stimulating effect of the waters of the state on procreation, may endanger or infect the marine resources of the state or pose a human health hazard, except as pr…

(1) No person shall import into the state or place in any of the fresh waters of the state any freshwater fish of any species without having first obtained a permit from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission is authorized to issue or deny such a permit upo…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation to cause any dyestuff, coal tar, oil, sawdust, poison, or deleterious substances to be thrown, run, or drained into any of the fresh running waters of this state in quantities sufficient to injure, stupefy, o…

A person may not throw or place, or cause to be thrown or placed, any dynamite, lyddite, gunpowder, cannon cracker, acids, filtration discharge, debris from mines, Indian berries, sawdust, green walnuts, walnut leaves, creosote, oil, or other explosives or deleterious substance o…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Commission” means the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.(b) “Commission-managed lands” means those lands owned by the commission, those lands owned by the state over which the commission holds management authority, or those priva…

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission of this state is neither authorized nor empowered to do the following as to the J. W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area in Palm Beach County or the Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area without the approval of the Board of Trustee…

It is a Level One violation under s. 379.401 for any person to hunt deer, or for any person to accompany another person hunting deer, during the open season for the taking of deer on public lands unless each person shall wear a total of at least 500 square inches of daylight fluo…

(1) There is created the “Voluntary Authorized Hunter Identification Program” to assist landowners and law enforcement officials in better controlling trespass and illegal or unauthorized hunting. Landowners wishing to participate in the program shall:(a) Annually notify the sher…

The powers and duties of the commission to implement the alligator management program do not supersede the regulatory authority or lawful responsibility of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Health, or any local governmental entity regarding th…

Whenever the sale, possession, or transporting of alligators or alligator skins is prohibited by any law of this state, or by the rules, regulations, or orders of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission adopted pursuant to s. 9, Art. IV of the State Constitution, the sale, …

Except as otherwise provided by rule of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the purpose of the limited collection of alligators in designated areas, the display or use of a light in a place where alligators might be known to inhabit in a manner capable of disclosing…

(1) Any person owning land in this state may establish, maintain, and operate within the boundaries thereof, a private preserve and farm, not exceeding an area of 640 acres, for the protection, preservation, propagation, rearing, and production of game birds and animals for priva…

(1) The commission shall promulgate rules defining Class I, Class II, and Class III types of wildlife. The commission shall also establish rules and requirements necessary to ensure that permits are granted only to persons qualified to possess and care properly for wildlife and t…

(1) Permits issued pursuant to s. 379.3761 and places where wildlife is kept or held in captivity shall be subject to inspection by officers of the commission at all times. The commission shall have the power to release or confiscate any specimens of any wildlife, specifically bi…

(1) The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may prescribe such other rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to prevent the escape of venomous reptiles or reptiles of concern, either in connection of construction of such cages or otherwise to carry out the intent of …

Rules of the commission shall be enforced by any law enforcement officer certified pursuant to s. 943.13.History.—ss. 2, 5, ch. 83-134; ss. 3, 17, ch. 85-234; ss. 16, 17, 18, ch. 93-213; ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 94-247; s. 8, ch. 98-203; s. 96, ch. 99-245; s. 3, ch. 2006-304; s. 113, ch.…

(1) The commission, the executive director and the executive director’s assistants designated by her or him, and each commission officer are constituted peace officers with the power to make arrests for violations of the laws of this state when committed in the presence of the of…

Any certified law enforcement officer of the commission, upon receiving information, relayed to her or him from any law enforcement officer stationed on the ground, on the water, or in the air, that a driver, operator, or occupant of any vehicle, boat, or airboat has violated any…

(1) Law enforcement officers of the commission are constituted law enforcement officers of this state with full power to investigate and arrest for any violation of the laws of this state and the rules of the commission, the department, the Board of Trustees of the Internal Impro…