§433.1. Oyster seed ground vessel permit

            A.(1)(a) 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 vessel permit issued exclusively by the department pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commission. The commission may establish a limit on the number of permits that may be issued each year after consultation with the Louisiana Oyster Task Force. The permit shall be issued in the name of the vessel owner and shall identify the vessel permitted by including the state registration number or the United States Coast Guard documented number. The permit shall identify the vessel that may possess and transport oysters taken from the public natural reefs and oyster seed grounds. 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. The permit is valid for one year, beginning on January first of each calendar year and expiring on December thirty-first of the same calendar year, and permit holders who hold a valid permit during the prior year may renew the permit at any time of the year for the current license year and from November fifteenth for the immediately following license year. The cost of the permit shall be fifty dollars per year for a resident and two hundred dollars per year for a nonresident.

            (b) In addition to the vessel permit fee, in order to harvest oysters from the public grounds, a person onboard the permitted vessel shall be in possession of a Public Oyster Seed Ground gear permit. The Public Oyster Seed Ground gear permit is an extension of the vessel permit and allows harvest of oysters from the public seed grounds using a single scraper, tongs, or by hand. The fee for the gear permit is two hundred dollars per year for a resident and eight hundred dollars per year for a nonresident. A second scraper may be used but requires an additional gear permit. No vessel shall use or possess more than two scrapers while harvesting on the public seed grounds.

            (c) After having been credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as required by Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, all revenues received from purchase of the permits provided for in this Subsection shall be deposited in the Oyster Resource Management Account, R.S. 56:10(B)(4).

            (2) Vessel owners, as listed in the official record of the department at the time of application, who meet the requirements of Subsection B of this Section shall have the right to submit to the department a new application for an oyster seed ground vessel permit. Except as authorized in Paragraph (B)(4) of this Section, no new applications for such vessel permits shall be accepted after December 31, 2012. A vessel owner shall be eligible for a permit only for each vessel which can be used to meet the qualifications for a permit under the provisions of Subsection B of this Section.

            (3) The taking of oysters from the public natural reefs or the oyster seed grounds or reservations without an oyster seed ground vessel permit shall be a class two violation subject to the penalties provided in R.S. 56:32 and to the requirements of R.S. 56:424.1.

            (4) In an effort to collect data to enable the department to better manage the public oyster resource, the commission may adopt rules and regulations which require the use of a vessel monitoring system for use by a vessel taking oysters for commercial purposes under the authority of the oyster seed ground vessel permit. Any data collected by the department shall be confidential and shall not be subject to the Public Records Law.

            B. The following vessel owners, as listed in the official records of the department at the time of application for the permit or who can, at the time of application, demonstrate to the department that ownership of that vessel has transferred to them, shall be eligible to receive an oyster seed ground vessel permit:

            (1) Any person who owned a vessel that was licensed at any time between January 1, 2004, and May 1, 2009, and can demonstrate through trip ticket submissions that that vessel had oyster landings in the state of Louisiana between January 1, 2004, and May 1, 2009.

            (2) Any person who purchased or constructed a vessel and licensed that vessel in the state of Louisiana between January 1, 2004, and May 1, 2009, and who can demonstrate through trip ticket submissions that oysters were landed on that vessel in the state of Louisiana between the time of the vessel's purchase or construction and May 1, 2009.

            (3) Any person who can provide evidence that he has a vessel that is under construction in the state of Louisiana that is at least fifty percent complete on May 1, 2009.

            (4)(a) Notwithstanding the application date limitation contained in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, a person who owns an oyster vessel and who has satisfactorily completed the requirements of a professionalism program may submit an application for an oyster seed ground vessel permit under the provisions of this Section.

            (b) The commission shall develop, establish, and monitor a professionalism program for the purpose of training vessel owners in the appropriate methods and practices of oyster harvest from the public seed grounds.

            C. Repealed by Acts 2021, No. 356, §5, eff. Nov. 15, 2021.

            D. Repealed by Acts 2021, No. 356, §5, eff. Nov. 15, 2021.

            E. Repealed by Acts 2016, No. 291, §2.

            Acts 2008, No. 922, §2, eff. July 14, 2008; Acts 2009, No. 376, §1; Acts 2011, No. 266, §2; Acts 2012, No. 85, §1; Acts 2013, No. 20, §1; Acts 2016, No. 291, §§1, 2; Acts 2019, No. 144, §1; Acts 2021, No. 356, §§2, 5, eff. Nov. 15, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 170, §1.