La. Admin. Code tit. 76 § VII-701

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

Section VII-701 - Permits

A. Purpose. Under Louisiana law, only gear which is legally sanctioned may be used in a fishery. All other types of gear require permits. These permits may be issued for the development of new fisheries, gear designed to harvest underutilized species and to persons who are interested in the development of experimental gear. The purpose of the permit system is to:

1. allow the department to closely supervise all fisheries not sanctioned by statutory law which may conflict with established fisheries or which may use gear prohibited by statutory law;

2. allow the permittee to develop experimental gear for fisheries development, while providing information of this activity to the department for scientific purposes.

NOTE: The following points delineate criteria used in the issuance of permits.

B. General Regulations

1. Permits will not be issued for species which are threatened or endangered. Permits will not be issued for fisheries, gear types or applications of otherwise legal gear which are specifically prohibited by law unless otherwise explicitly authorized by the secretary.

2. Possession of a permit does not exempt the bearer from laws or regulations except for those which may be specifically exempted by the permit. Violation of a fish or game law which carries a Class 2 penalty or greater shall constitute a violation of the permit.

3. Permits will be issued only for such time to allow the department to properly evaluate the fishery, gear or methods being used. The department may withdraw any permit because it has a deleterious effect, may withdraw any permit in order to conduct its own evaluation of the gear or fishery, may effect management regulations which render any permit inoperative or may extend any permit as a means of regulating the fishery until such time the fishery comes under statutory laws.

4. The secretary reserves the right to limit the number of permits issued each year. When the number is limited, permits will be granted on a first come, first served basis. A permit does not entitle the bearer the exclusive harvest of the resource.

5. Information gained by the department through the issuance of a permit is not privileged and may be disseminated to the public.

6. Applicants with a citation(s) pending for three years or less, which is a Class 2 fish or game violation(s) or greater shall be denied a permit until such time as the applicant appears before department officials for the purpose of reviewing the citation(s) issued. The secretary, after reviewing the proceedings, may issue or deny the permit.

7. Permits shall not be issued to any applicant who within three years of the date of his application, has been convicted or plead guilty to a Class 2 fish or game violation or greater, as defined in the laws pertaining to wildlife and fisheries.

8. Applicants found guilty of two or more Class 2 fish or game violations or greater within five years of the application date shall not receive a permit.

9. The bearer of a permit shall report monthly the catch and effort under the permit, even when catch or effort is zero. This report shall contain total catch, effort, and other parameters which may be required by the department. A report shall be received by the department no later than 30 days following the last day of each month.

10. Permitted vessel and permitted gear is the specific gear and vessel designated on the permit.

11. When a permit is issued, only the permitted specie(s) can be retained unless other provisions are specifically stated in the permit. All other species shall be immediately returned to waters from which they were caught. No other fish may be in the possession of the permittee and all fish on board the permitted vessel shall have the head and caudal fin (tail) intact.

12. The permittee shall have the permit in possession at all times when using permitted gear or harvesting permitted specie(s). Permit holder shall be on board permitted vessel when operating under conditions of permit. No permit is transferable without written permission from the department secretary.

13. When permitted gear is on board permitted vessel or in possession of permittee, permittee and vessel are assumed to be operating under conditions of the permit. No gear other than permitted gear may be on board or in possession of permittee unless specifically provided for in the permit.

14. If citation(s) are issued to any permittee for violation of a Class 2 fish or game law or conditions regulated by the permit, all permittee's permits shall be suspended until such time as the permittee appears before the department's officials for the purpose of reviewing the citation(s) issued. The secretary, after reviewing the proceedings, may reinstate or revoke the permit, and the permittee may lose all rights and privileges to participate in the program.

15. Any violation of the conditions of the permit shall result in the immediate suspension of the permit and forfeiture of the deposit and may result in the permanent revocation of the permit.

16. The department reserves the right to observe the operations taking place under the permit at any time and permittee shall be required to provide food and lodging on the permitted vessel for an observer at the request of the department.

17. All permittees shall notify the department prior to leaving port to fish under permitted conditions and immediately upon returning from permitted trip. The department shall be notified by calling a designated phone number.

18. If any permittee does not report monthly as required, his permit shall be suspended. If no report is received by January 31, following suspension, the deposit is forfeited.

19. The permitted boat used in the program shall have a distinguishing sign so that it may be identified. The sign shall have the word "EXPERIMENTAL" printed on it in at least 6-inch high letters on a contrasting background so as to be visible from low flying aircraft or from any other vessel in the immediate vicinity.

C. Permit Application

1. All permits shall be valid for the calendar year in which they are issued and expire December 31 following the date of issuance. Any permits issued on or after November 15 of each year shall be valid for the remainder of the current calendar year as well as the following calendar year.

2. Each applicant for a permit under this program will be assessed an administrative fee of $50 prior to the issuance of the permit. Each applicant who is a resident of Louisiana will be required to post a performance fee deposit of $1,000 payable by cashier's check. All nonresidents shall post a performance fee deposit of $4,000 also payable by cashier's check. These deposits are required prior to the issuance of the permit and are valid until expiration of the permit.

3. Permit requests for experimental gear shall include complete descriptions of the gear and methods used, including drawings or pictures, and the specie(s) to be fished. All potential permittees shall send requests to the Office of Fisheries permit manager. Proof of ownership or written permission from the owner of the proposed permitted vessel(s) shall be provided prior to the issuance of the permit. The person requesting a permit shall show proof that all applicable licenses have been acquired prior to the issuance of the permit. Proof of bona fide residency is also required prior to the issuance of the permit.

La. Admin. Code tit. 76, § VII-701

Promulgated by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 12:119 (February 1986), LR 12:847 (December 1986), amended by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Office of Fisheries, LR 15:1098 (December 1989), LR 28:1601 (July 2002), LR 29:49 (January 2003), amended by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 31:947 (April 2005), LR 40:545 (March 2014), Amended by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, LR 43 1558 (8/1/2017).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 56:571, R.S. 56:322.1, and R.S. 56:322.2.