La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § VII-525

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section VII-525 - Commercial Oyster Seed Ground Vessel Permit

A. Policy. For license year beginning 2009 any oysters taken for commercial purposes from the public natural reefs or the oyster seed grounds or reservations, except those in Calcasieu Lake or Sabine Lake, shall be placed only on a vessel which has an oyster seed ground permit issued exclusively by the department. The permit does not grant any rights to the oyster resource or any rights to harvest oysters from the waters of the state and shall not be sold, exchanged, or otherwise transferred. No new applications for vessel permits shall be accepted after December 31, 2009. The permit shall be valid for up to one calendar year beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31 of the same year, but may be made available for purchase beginning on November 15 for the immediately following license year.

B. Eligibility. Only vessel owners meeting the eligibility requirements outlined in R.S. 56:433.1 shall be issued a permit. Permit applicants must provide to the Licensing Section of the department proof of vessel ownership by submitting the current certificate of registration or certificate of documentation with the United States Coast Guard to the Licensing Section of the department.

C. Proof of Participation: In addition to the requirement in Subsection B herein, applicants must meet either Paragraph 1, 2 or 3 below to be issued a permit:

1. applicant owned a vessel that was properly licensed and registered in applicant's name during a time in which department trip ticket records demonstrate that the vessel had commercial oyster landings in the state of Louisiana between January 1, 2004 and May 31, 2007;

2. for applicants who purchased or constructed a vessel and licensed that vessel for commercial fishing in the state of Louisiana between January 1, 2004 and April 30, 2008, and department trip ticket records demonstrate that oysters were landed on that vessel in the state of Louisiana between the time of the vessel's purchase or construction and July 1, 2008;

3. for applicants with a newly constructed vessel or a vessel under construction, the vessel has not been previously registered in any state or foreign country or issued a USCG documentation number, and the applicant presents to the Licensing Section of the department:

a. a signed, dated, and notarized verification from a marine surveyor qualified and accredited by NAMS (National Society of Marine Surveyors) or SAMS (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors) that construction of the vessel for which the permit will be issued was at least 50 percent complete by July 1, 2008, or

b. a signed, dated, and notarized verification from the corporation that built the vessel that construction of the vessel for which the permit will be issued was at least 50 percent complete by July 1, 2008.

D. Applications. Applications for the initial permit shall only be accepted by the department from such persons who meet eligibility requirements as outlined in R.S. 56:433.1 and this rule. Applications shall only be made on forms supplied by the department. No new applications for vessel permits shall be accepted after December 31, 2009. Only permit holders who held a valid permit during the prior year shall be eligible to purchase a permit for the following license year.

E. Operations

1. Permits are non-transferable and only the vessel listed on the permit can be used with the permit and only one vessel is allowed per permit. The original valid permit must be onboard at all times while operating under the permit.

2. Permits cannot be assigned or transferred or used by any other vessel than the one to which permit was issued.

3. Vessels engaged in an activity for which this permit is required must have onboard the vessel the valid original permit and shall show the permit upon demand to a duly authorized agent of the department.

4. The secretary shall have the authority to require the use of a vessel monitoring system (VMS) for use by a vessel taking oysters for commercial purposes under the authority of the oyster seed ground vessel permit in accordance with R.S. 56:433.1. All equipment, installation, and service costs associated with this requirement shall be paid for by the department. The secretary shall review this requirement annually for management needs and funding availability and may, at his sole discretion, make the determination to continue the requirement.

a. All vessels operating under the authority of the oyster seed ground vessel permit will be required to have a VMS on board which is fully operable and recording data while vessel is fishing on public oyster seed grounds.

i. In instances where funding is limited, the secretary may choose a sub-sample of vessels through use of a random selection process, geographic area, and/or trip ticket landings data.

b. Owners of vessels requiring the use of VMS will be notified of such requirement by certified mail at the address listed on their permit.

c. Notwithstanding applicable requirements pursuant to provisions in LAC 76:VII.371, any vessel required to use VMS under this provision must use the VMS system provided by the department.

d. Presumption. If a VMS unit fails to record or transmit the required signal of a vessel's position (identified by the indicator light), the vessel shall be deemed to have incurred a VMS violation, for as long as the unit fails to record or transmit a signal, unless a preponderance of evidence shows that the failure to transmit was due to an unavoidable malfunction, or disruption of the transmission that occurred while the vessel was declared out of the fishery, as applicable, or was not at sea. If the indicator light is on, then the unit is presumed to be functioning properly; however, if the indicator light is off then the unit is presumed to not be recording or transmitting. The permit holder shall have an affirmative duty to immediately notify the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) if the VMS fails to record or transmit the required signal or if the indicator light indicates such a failure.

e. Replacement. If the indicator light on the VMS unit is not working, then upon notification to LDWF, a new unit shall be re-installed in no later than seven days. During the period without a functional VMS unit, it is the affirmative duty of the permit holder to report daily to LDWF, prior to departure, the vessel's anticipated fishing location and estimated time on water, and upon return, the vessel's actual fishing location and time on water.

f. Access. All vessel owners shall allow the LDWF, and their authorized wildlife enforcement agents or designees access to the vessel's VMS unit and data, if applicable, and location data obtained from its VMS unit, if required, at the time of or after its transmission to the vendor or receiver, as the case may be.

g. Tampering. Tampering with a VMS, a VMS unit, or a VMS signal, is prohibited. Tampering includes any activity that is likely to affect the unit's ability to operate properly, signal, or accurately compute the vessel's position fix.

h. Violation. Failure to abide by any regulation set forth by this Section regarding the use or operation of a VMS by a vessel taking oysters for commercial purposes under the authority of the oyster seed ground vessel permit, shall be a violation of the Louisiana Revised Statutes and shall result in immediate revocation of the permit governed herein and shall constitute a class 1 violation under the authority of R.S. 56:23. All fish taken or possessed by a person in violation of these rules shall be deemed illegally taken and possessed. The provisions of this Section do not exempt any person from any other laws, rules, regulation, and license requirements for this or other jurisdictions.

F. Appeals. An applicant may appeal a decision of the department denying a permit to the Oyster Seed Ground Vessel Permit Appeals Board. An appeal must be received by the department no later than 30 days after the date of denial by the department on a form prescribed by the department. The appeal must include a statement as to why the applicant believes the department incorrectly determined the applicant ineligible for the permit or why the applicant is entitled to a permit based on a determination of hardship. The appeal shall include any documentation in support thereof.

1. The board's decision shall be limited to a determination of whether the department incorrectly determined that the applicant was ineligible for a permit or a determination that the applicant should be issued a permit based on determination of hardship.

2. The board shall review all information provided and after deliberation determine whether an applicant should be issued a permit. A decision to issue a permit shall be upon favorable vote of the majority of the appointed members of the board. The board shall issue a written decision which clearly states the rationale for the decision.

3. The board shall make a decision within 60 days of the date of appeal.

G. Enforcement. The taking of oysters for commercial purposes from public natural reefs or oyster seed grounds or reservations without an oyster seed ground permit is a Class 2 violation and upon conviction will require use of a vessel monitoring system for that vessel.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § VII-525

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 34:2681 (December 2008), amended LR 38:1998 (August 2012), Amended LR 49514 (3/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 36:610(L), R.S. 56:6, R.S. 56:23, and R.S. 56:433.1.