MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Conservation and Water Resources

By: Representative Ellington

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL DEVELOP ARTIFICIAL REEFS; TO AMEND SECTION 49-15-96, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY FAMILY NAMES OF CERTAIN FISH; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 49-15-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-3. As used in this chapter, the term:

(a) "Commission" means the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources.

(b) "Department" means the Department of Marine Resources.

(c) "Domicile" means a person's principal or primary place of abode in which a person's habitation is fixed and to which the person, whenever absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure of absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of the absence. The burden of proving domicile in the State of Mississippi shall be on the person claiming that status. A person holding a current driver's license shall be deemed to be domiciled within the state issuing the license. If a person does not hold a current driver's license the following evidence may be considered in establishing, but is not necessarily determinative of domicile: residence for income or other tax purposes, homestead exemption receipt or other means prescribed by the commission. In the case of minors, domicile of the parents shall be used as evidence of the minor's domicile.

(d) "Game fish" means cobia, also known as ling or lemonfish (rachycentron canadum). The cobia is classified as game fish.

(e) "Illegal oysters" means:

(i) All untagged shell stock;

(ii) Shell oysters obtained from uncertified shops or dealers or from an unlicensed catcher;

(iii) Oysters obtained from waters not declared safe and sanitary by the department, except those oysters caught by the commission for re-laying or under private leases pursuant to Section 49-15-27;

(iv) Shucked oysters obtained from uncertified shops or repackers.

(f) "Inspector" means the chief inspector, the assistant chief inspector or any deputy inspector employed by the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

(g) "Natural reefs" means any bottom under the jurisdiction of the commission of one or more acres on which oysters grow naturally, or have grown naturally, in a quantity sufficient to warrant commercial fishing as a means of livelihood, or have been used in such a manner within a period of ten (10) years next preceding the time the bottoms may come up for determination by the commission.

(h) "Resident" means a person, firm or corporation that is domiciled in this state.

(i) "Seafood" means all oysters, saltwater fish, saltwater shrimp, diamondback terrapin, sea turtle, crabs and all other species of marine or saltwater animal life existing or living in the waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi.

(j) "Tonging reefs" means any bottom under the jurisdiction of the commission designated by the commission as an area in which oysters may only be taken by use of hand tongs.

(k) "Beach seine" means a single panel of netting to which each end is attached to handles, that is pulled exclusively by hand through the shallow water. Floats are attached to the upper portion of the net and weights attached to the bottom portion of the net, keeping the mouth of the net open and prevent the fish to escape.

(l) "Butterfly net (wing net)" means a trawl with a rigid frame holding open the trawl mouth rather than using trawl doors.

(m) "Cast net" means any cast net or brille net or any circular or conical weighted net designed to be thrown downward by hand and withdrawn by an attached line.

(n) "Crab trap (pot)" means an enclosed framework of wire with six (6) sides and with two (2) or more funnel shaped openings where crabs enter to eat the bait and becoming entrapped. The trap is baited from the bottom and is lowered to the water bottom by an attached line, a float is attached to the line to mark the location of the trap in the water.

(o) "Dip net" means a deep mesh bag which is fixed on a frame and attached to a handle and used exclusively by hand.

(p) "Dredge" means any device which has metal frames and a webbing of heavy rope or wire, the dredge is attached to a chain or cable and pulled from a boat or vessel digging shellfish from the sea bottom.

(q) "Drop net" means any device constructed of mesh attached to a frame and forms a net basket, which is baited and used to catch crabs.

(r) "Gig" means a fishing spear with or without barbs propelled by hands.

(s) "Gill net" means any net, of one or more layers, not customarily used for shrimp or menhaden fishing, with a mesh of such size and design as to be used primarily to catch or entangle fish by the gills or other bony projections.

(t) "Hook and line" means any device which is used to entice fish by edible or artificial bait or lures to become caught by a hook.

(u) "Limited commercial hook and line fisherman license" limits the fishermen to selling no more than fifty (50) fish per day and the fisherman is restricted to all applicable recreational finfish length, bag and possession limits.

(v) "Minnow trap" means any device used to catch any euryhaline species of minnow in the family Cyprinodontidae.

(w) "Purse seine" means any net or device commonly known as a purse seine and/or ring net that can be pursed or closed by means of a drawstring or other device that can be drawn to close the bottom of the net, or the top of the net, or both. Such nets are constructed of mesh of such size and design as not to be used primarily to entangle commercial size fish by the gills or other bony projections.

(x) "Push trawl" means a trawl that is spread by poles suspended in a "V" configuration from the bow of the trawler.

(y) "Seine" means any net used to enclose or entrap fish either in a bag or where its ends are pulled together on a vessel or a shore and constructed with a mesh of such size and design as not to be used primarily to ensnare or entangle commercial size fish by the gills or other bony projections.

(z) "Spear" means any device which has a long sharply pointed shaft and is propelled by hand, rubber bands or compressed air through the water. Used by skin or scuba divers to spear fish and retain the fish by wounding or killing.

(aa) "Shrimp trawl" means a conical shaped net dragged along the bottom.

(bb) "Shoreline" means any point of land exposed at mean low tide. shoreline shall refer to the mainland of Mississippi and not any of the barrier islands in Mississippi's marine waters.

(cc) "Skimmer trawl" means a trawl that extends from the outrigger of a vessel with a cable and a lead weight holding the trawl mouth open.

(dd) "Trammel net" means any device composed of layers of netting material attached to one or more float lines or one or more weighted bottom lines, with the layers of netting being constructed of fine mesh and of larger mesh so that a fish attempting to pass through the device pushes the smaller mesh through the larger mesh creating a pocket or compartment in which the fish is entrapped, entangled, or restricted.

(ee) "Trawl" means any net which is funnel shaped pulled through the water or over the bottom with boards or other means to spread the mouth of the net open while being fished.

(ff) "Tong" means a device to which rakes or heads are attached to the ends of long handles or stays and operated by hand.

SECTION 2. Section 49-15-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-15. (1) In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the commission shall have the following powers and duties regarding the regulation of seafood:

(a) To exercise full jurisdiction and authority over all marine aquatic life and to regulate any matters pertaining to seafood, including cultivated seafood;

(b) To adopt, promulgate, amend or repeal, after due notice and public hearing, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law and subject to the limitations in subsection (2) of this section, rules and regulations authorized under this chapter, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations necessary for the protection, conservation or propagation of all shrimp, oysters, commercial fish and crabs in the waters under the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi and for the regulation of gill net and purse seine fishermen. All public hearings under this chapter concerning the regulation of marine resources shall be held in Hancock, Harrison or Jackson counties. Each rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter shall immediately be advertised one (1) time in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in counties affected by that regulation. A regulation shall become effective at 6:00 a.m. on the day after its publication;

(c) To regulate all seafood sanitation and processing programs. In the three (3) coastal counties, the sanitation program regulating processing plants and seafood sold in retail stores operating in conjunction with a processing plant or seafood market that primarily deals with seafood is under the exclusive authority of the commission. The commission may also inspect and regulate those areas of any seafood processing plant which process freshwater species at any site where the department inspects seafood processing plants. To effectively and efficiently implement the state seafood sanitation program, the State Health Officer and the executive director of the department shall enter into a memorandum of understanding, which at a minimum, clearly specifies the responsibilities of each agency in implementing the seafood sanitation program, as well as the sharing of information and communication and coordination between the agencies;

(d) To set standards of measure;

(e) To set requirements for employment of nonenforcement commission employees whose compensation shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board;

(f) To acquire and dispose of commission equipment and facilities;

(g) To keep proper records of the commission, including an official ordinance book which contains all rules and regulations promulgated by the commission under this chapter;

(h) To enter into advantageous interstate and intrastate agreements with proper officials, which directly or indirectly result in the protection, propagation and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi, or continue any such agreements now in existence;

(i) To arrange, negotiate or contract for the use of available federal, state and local facilities which would aid in the propagation, protection and conservation of the seafood of the State of Mississippi;

(j) To authorize the operation of double rigs in the waters lying between the mainland coast and the island chain, and those rigs shall not exceed a length of twenty-five (25) feet at the cork line, and to prescribe the length at the lead line for each rig, net or try-trawl;

(k) To destroy or dispose of equipment or nets which have been lawfully seized by the commission and which are not sold under Section 49-15-65;

(l) To open, close and regulate fishing seasons for the taking of shrimp, oysters, fish taken for commercial purposes and crabs and set size, catching and taking regulations for all types of seafood and culling regulations for oysters, except as otherwise specifically provided by law;

(m) To utilize the resources of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory to the fullest extent possible; and

(n) To develop a resource management plan to preserve our seafood resources and to ensure a safe supply of these resources;

(o) To promote, construct, monitor and maintain artificial fishing reefs in the marine waters of the State of Mississippi and in federal waters adjacent thereto, and to accept grants and donations of money or materials from public and private sources for such reefs. The commission is further authorized to apply for any federal permits necessary for the construction or maintenance of artificial fishing reefs in federal waters.

(2) The commission shall not adopt rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to marine resources which are more stringent than federal regulations. In any case where federal laws and regulations are silent on a matter pertaining to marine resources, the laws and regulations of the State of Mississippi shall control. The commission shall review all marine resource ordinances for compliance with the no more stringent standard and revise any ordinances more stringent than this standard no later than December 31, 1992. This subsection shall not apply to rules, regulations or ordinances pertaining to the wild stock of marine finfish.

SECTION 3. Section 49-15-96, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-15-96. Vessels licensed under Section 49-15-64.5 may keep and clean, tenderloin or fillet, for personal consumption only the following types of fish which are caught in the shrimp nets or trawls of the vessel: white trout * * *, ground mullet (sciaenidae family) and flounder (bothidae and pleuronctide families).

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1999.