Title 49, Conservation and Ecology

(1) It is unlawful for any person to sell, barter or trade or to offer for sale, barter or trade any game fish enumerated in this chapter. (2) Cobia may be sold in this state if the cobia is purchased from a state in which it may lawfully be caught and sold. Any individual, partn…

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to catch, take or carry away any saltwater fish by or with any trammel nets, purse seines, seines, fish traps or other like contrivances except permitted eel traps, in any area of the State of Mississippi within one hundred (…

(1) (a) It is unlawful for a person to use a gill net, trammel net, entanglement net, or like contrivances for the taking of finfish in marine waters within one-half (½) mile of the shoreline.(b) For the purposes of this section, the phrase “like contrivances” means any net that …

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to use or attempt to use a purse seine for the taking of fish or to have such seine in the water within one (1) mile of the shoreline of the County of Jackson, Hancock or Harrison in the State of Mississippi. The Boards of Su…

(1) (a) All vessels to be used in catching or transporting fish in the waters of the State of Mississippi for commercial purposes shall, before beginning operations, obtain an annual license from the commission and pay a license fee according to the following schedule:(i) All res…

(1) The term “saltwater minnow” as used in this section shall mean any species within the families Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae or Poeciliidae. (2) Before beginning operations to catch or transport saltwater minnows for sale, fishermen must obtain a saltwater live bait license and…

Nothing in Sections 49-15-71 through 49-15-81 shall be interpreted to circumvent or diminish the powers of the commission in the exercise of its jurisdiction and authority as provided under this chapter.

(1) The department shall coordinate with the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in the development of an ordinance for the purpose of taking Callinectes sapidus (blue crab) or allied species. The ordinance shall include provisions for the establishment of size limits for individual o…

(1) The commission may establish a closed season for the use of crab traps in the public waters of this state. The commission may designate the closed season as not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days per year. Any crab trap remaining in the public waters after…

(1) Each vessel used in catching or taking any saltwater crabs in the waters of the State of Mississippi for commercial purposes shall obtain a license from the department and shall pay an annual resident license fee of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) or an annual nonresident licen…

(a) “Peeler crab” means a blue crab having a new soft shell fully developed under the hard shell and having a definite white, pink or red line or rim on the outer edge of the back fin or flipper. (b) “Soft-shell crab” means a peeler crab which has recently shed its hard shell.

It shall be unlawful for any person to catch, destroy, confine, hold or have in his possession, whether for individual use or for market, any of the genus callinectes sapidus (blue crab) or allied species, of a smaller size than five (5) inches measured from the tip of one (1) la…

The sole right of planting, cultivating in racks or other structures, and gathering oysters and erecting bathhouses and other structures in front of any land bordering on the Gulf of Mexico or Mississippi Sound or waters tributary thereto belongs to the riparian owner and extends…

The commission may establish a maximum number of crab pots allowable per licensee.

(1) Any person who steals, takes and carries away crab traps or the property of another used to catch saltwater crabs, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for not more than ninety (…

Any person violating any provision of Sections 49-15-83 through 49-15-91 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided by Section 49-15-63, Mississippi Code of 1972.

It is unlawful for any person to use a purse seine to catch mullet during the roe mullet season. A violation of this subsection is punishable by the penalties provided in Section 49-15-100(2) for the unlawful use of gill or trammel nets.

(1) It is unlawful to use brill and cast nets greater than twelve (12) feet in radius in the marine waters of the state. (2) The commission shall not prohibit the use of brill and cast nets in the waters designated in subsection (1) of this section. No person shall catch more tha…

Vessels licensed under Section 49-15-64.5 may keep in whole, for personal consumption only the following types of fish which are caught in the shrimp nets or trawls of the vessel: white trout; croaker, black drum, and ground mullet (Family Sciaenidae); sheepshead (Family Sparidae…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any commercial fisherman, firm or corporation to operate a vessel during the hours of sunset to sunrise when the season or time for such fishing is closed or in an area that is closed to fishing without using or displaying lights which comply with all…

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

In pursuance of Article III of said compact there shall be three (3) members (hereinafter called commissioners) of the Gulf States Marine Commission (hereinafter called commission) from the State of Mississippi. The first commissioner from the State of Mississippi shall be presid…

All officers of the State of Mississippi are hereby authorized and directed to do all things falling within their respective provinces and jurisdiction necessary or incidental to the carrying out of said compact in every particular, it being hereby declared to be the policy of th…

There is hereby granted to the commission and the commissioners thereof all the powers provided in the said compact and all the powers necessary or incidental to the carrying out of said compact in every particular. Said powers shall be regarded as in aid of and supplemental to a…

The commissioner shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements and shall report to the Governor and the Legislature of the State of Mississippi on or before the tenth day of February in each year, setting forth in detail the transactions conducted by it during th…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 49-15-207, when any property is seized pursuant to Section 49-15-21 or 59-21-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, proceedings under this section shall be instituted promptly. The seizing law enforcement agency may, in the sound exercise of dis…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 49-15-207, an owner of property that has been seized pursuant to Section 49-15-21 or 59-21-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall file an answer within thirty (30) days after the completion of service of process. If an answer is not filed,…

(1) All other property which is forfeited under Sections 49-15-201 through 49-15-207, and except as provided in subsections (2), (5) and (6) of this section, shall be liquidated and, after deduction of court costs and the expenses of liquidation, the proceeds shall be divided and…

(1) When any property the value of which does not exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), is seized pursuant to Section 49-15-21 or 59-21-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, the property may be forfeited by the administrative forfeiture procedures provided for in this section. (2) Th…

(1) The Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources is hereby established and full power is vested in the advisory commission to advise the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources on all matters pertaining to all saltwater aquatic life and marine resource…

(a) The advisory commission shall have the following powers and duties:(a) To advise the department regarding marine resources within the jurisdiction of the department;(b) To advise the executive director on whether to execute contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with an…

The department, with the advice of the advisory commission, may adopt, modify or repeal rules or regulations to utilize, manage, conserve, preserve and protect the flora, fauna, tidelands, coastal wetlands, coastal preserves, marine waters and any other matter pertaining to marin…

(1) The Governor shall appoint the Executive Director of the Department of Marine Resources, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Governor. The executive director shall be knowledgeable and experienced in marine resources mana…

(a) The department shall have the following powers and duties:(a) To implement the policy of the department regarding marine resources within the jurisdiction of the department;(b) To apply for, receive and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, devises, beque…

(1) The department is hereby authorized and directed to establish and maintain a saltwater recreational fishing record list of marine fish taken in the state. (2) The department shall direct fisheries biologists of the department to seek records from fishing rodeos, tournaments o…

The department may obtain and pay on coverage for physical loss and liability upon any vehicle or aircraft owned or under control of the department. The department may determine the limits of each insurance policy.

(1) Any resident between the ages of sixteen (16) and sixty-five (65) years, as defined in Section 49-7-3, fishing in the marine waters of the state, shall obtain a saltwater sports fishing license for a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00). A resident sixty-five (65) years of age or olde…

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to engage in commercial harvesting of crabs, oysters, shrimp, bait shrimp or saltwater fish in the marine waters north of the CSX bridge in the three (3) coastal counties, except for the following:(a) A person may take any eu…

Any charter or recreational fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico over twenty-four (24) hours before returning to land may fillet any fish caught by its charter or recreational fishermen. The commission shall not adopt any rule or ordinance prohibiting or unduly restricting the fill…

(1) Any charter or recreational fishing boat which will be in the Gulf of Mexico over twenty-four (24) hours shall file a float plan with the department prior to departure. (2) If a float plan is not filed, the fish on such boat shall not be filleted.

The commission is hereby authorized to establish sanctuaries to protect the state’s fishing resources. The establishment of a sanctuary shall be based on overall public interest and prudent fisheries management and research. The commission shall establish nursery grounds in the e…

If any violation of any marine resources law or regulation is alleged to have been committed in the Gulf of Mexico outside of the state’s territorial waters where the state has jurisdiction over the recreational or commercial fishing vessel, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con…

(1) The commission is authorized to suspend any license issued to any person under this chapter for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 93-11-153. The procedure for suspension of a license for being out of compliance with an order for support,…

It is the purpose of this article to establish an administrative hearing procedure for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources to enforce the rules and regulations set forth in Title 22 of the Administrative Code and Sections 49-15-1 through 49-15-321, 49-27-1 through 49-2…

(1) When any allegation or charge in the form of a complaint has been made against a person for violations pursuant to the authorities outlined in Section 49-15-401 and such matter has been brought before the department for administrative penalty processing, the department shall:…

(1) If the alleged violator requests a formal hearing within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the finding and imposed fine, or within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the executive director’s decision following the information settlement, the executive director shall des…