Section 27-4-151. Use of crab traps; identification of boats or vessels; closure of salt waters authorized.

   (a) For purposes of crabbing, that portion of the St. Marys River and the Satilla River System (including the Satilla River and White Oak Creek) which is seaward of the points at which the Seaboard Coastline Railroad crosses such streams and that portion of the Altamaha River System which is seaward of the points at which U.S. Highway I-95 crosses the streams of that system shall be considered salt water. It shall be unlawful to place any crab trap in the waters of this state other than that described as salt water in Code Section 27-4-1 or by this subsection.

(b) It shall be unlawful to set or place any commercial crab trap in the salt waters of this state which does not have attached a float which is made of a substance visible from a distance of 100 feet in clear weather at slack tide. For the purposes of this Code section, "slack tide" means that portion of the tidal current characterized by slowness, sluggishness, and lack of energy and which occurs approximately midway between maximum flood-tide and maximum ebb-tide currents and between maximum ebb-tide and maximum flood-tide currents.

(c) It shall also be unlawful to set or place in the salt waters of this state any commercial crab trap which does not have attached a float with such identification as is assigned by the department to the owner of the trap. Such identification shall be at least one inch in height, of a color which contrasts with the color of the float, of block character, and spaced so as to be readable from left to right. The identification shall be assigned by the department to the owner of the trap when the owner is issued his or her commercial crabbing license. For subsequent years, the same identification shall be assigned to such commercial crab fisherman.

(d) (1) When the float of a commercial crab trap has been identified as provided in this Code section, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than the licensed commercial crab fisherman or a sole individual licensed as required in subsection (b) of Code Section 27-4-150 and carrying on his or her person written permission from the licensed commercial crab fisherman if the department has been previously notified in writing of such permission, to pull such trap or to take crabs from such trap or intentionally to damage, destroy, remove from the water any crab trap or float thereof, or to use such a float for any purpose. It shall also be unlawful for any person to use such a float for any purpose other than to mark a submerged crab trap. For purposes of determining the number of crab traps a person is employing, it shall be conclusively presumed that a crab trap is tethered to each such float.

   (2) In addition to the penalty provided by Code Section 27-1-38, any person convicted of violating the provisions of this subsection shall be penalized as follows:

      (A) On a first offense, his or her crabbing license shall be suspended for a period of three months, during which time the person shall be ineligible to apply for a new license and upon the completion of which he or she may renew the license;

      (B) On a second offense, his or her crabbing license shall be suspended for a period of six months, during which time the person shall be ineligible to apply for a new license and upon the completion of which he or she may renew the license; and

      (C) On a third or any subsequent offense, his or her crabbing license shall be permanently revoked and the person shall be prohibited from purchasing a license in the future.

(e) It shall also be unlawful for any person to engage in commercial crabbing with a boat or vessel unless there is displayed on each side of the forward third of the boat or vessel so as to be readable from the water such identification as is assigned by the department to such person. The identification shall be at least eight inches in height, of a color which contrasts with the color of the background, of block character, and spaced so as to be readable from left to right. The assigned identification of the boat or vessel being utilized shall correspond to the identification of the float of the trap from which crabs are being taken. No boat or vessel shall be assigned more than one identification in any license year unless such boat or vessel is transferred to another licensed commercial fisherman and such transfer is registered with the department. A crabbing boat or vessel may only employ traps marked with floats with identification issued by the department corresponding to the identification of the boat or vessel being utilized. No identification may be assigned to more than one boat or vessel in any license year, except for replacement vessels as provided in subparagraph (g)(1)(B) of this Code section; provided, however, that one identification number may be assigned to a licensed crabber's primary and alternate vessels, only one of which may be operated for crabbing at any time.

(f) It shall be unlawful for any person to catch crabs for commercial purposes within 100 feet of the dock of any other person. It shall also be unlawful to place or set commercial crab traps in the channel of any stream when such channel has been marked by a lawfully established system of waterway markers.

(g) (1) (A) The first time after July 1, 1998, that a person obtains or renews a commercial crabbing license, he or she shall obtain a permit from the department establishing the maximum number of traps he or she may deploy at any given time during that license year. Such permits shall be issued in 50 trap increments up to a maximum of 200 traps. The licensee shall pay a fee of $2.00 per trap for the permit, and the permit shall be for the same duration and shall be renewed at the same time as the commercial crabbing license.

      (B) No crab trap permit may be sold or transferred to another person except as provided in this subparagraph. Such a permit may be transferred along with the transfer of the licensed commercial crabber's nontrawler license to a replacement vessel if the transfer of the permit and the license is registered with the department. Such a permit may be transferred to the purchaser of a commercial crab boat along with the commercial crabber's license and the commercial crabber's nontrawler license if the transfer of the permit, the commercial crabber's license, and the commercial crabber's nontrawler license are recorded with the department and a new permit fee is paid to the department.

      (C) No crab trap permit may be amended to permit the use of more traps except at the time of license renewal. The licensee shall have the trap permit in his or her possession at all times while crabbing.

   (2) It shall be unlawful for any licensed commercial crab fisherman or a person designated by such licensee as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section to employ more crab traps than the number allowed by his or her crab trap permit at any time. It shall be unlawful for any person to exercise harvest permission as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section from more than one licensed commercial crab fisherman at any time.

   (3) Any person violating the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000.00 or incarceration for not longer than one year or both. In addition to such criminal penalty, any person found guilty of employing more than the permitted number of crab traps shall pay a civil fine of $100.00 for each excess trap. In addition to such criminal and civil penalties, the license of any person found guilty of employing more than 50 excess crab traps shall be suspended for one year, during which time the person shall be ineligible to apply for a new license and upon the completion of which he or she may renew the license. Upon a second or subsequent such offense, the person's license shall be revoked for one year, and at the end of that time such person must apply for a new license as if he or she had never before been in possession of a license; provided, however, that such individual shall not be eligible to receive a license through transfer pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (e) of Code Section 27-4-150.

   (4) Whenever the commissioner or his or her designee has reason to believe that any person has violated the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection or any rule or regulation promulgated to implement such subsection, he or she may request and shall receive a hearing before an administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings acting in place of the Board of Natural Resources, as provided by Code Section 50-13-41. Upon finding that such person has violated this Code section, the administrative law judge shall impose a civil penalty in the amount of $100.00 for each trap in excess of the permitted number. The decision of the administrative law judge shall constitute a final decision in the matter, and any party to the hearing, including the commissioner, shall have the right of judicial review thereof in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act."

(h) Any commercial crab trap in violation of this Code section is declared to be contraband and subject to seizure by conservation rangers, sheriffs, and other peace officers authorized to enforce this title.

(i) Nothing in this title shall be construed to require any individual to obtain a commercial fishing license or a commercial crabbing license when such person is deploying six or fewer crab traps in the salt waters of this state to take crabs for personal consumption; provided, however, that each crab trap measures 2 feet by 2 feet or smaller; a float clearly marked with the owner's name and address is attached to each crab trap; the quantity of crabs taken or possessed by such person does not exceed one bushel per person or two bushels per boat when the boat is occupied by more than one person; and the crabs are not sold.

(j) The commissioner shall have the power to close all or any portion of the salt waters of this state to commercial and recreational fishing for blue crabs or any component of the blue crab fishery, including peeler, soft, or sponge crabs. Any determination to close the salt waters pursuant to this subsection or to reopen such waters shall be made in accordance with current, sound principles of wildlife research and management as provided by Code Section 27-4-130.

Ga. L. 1956, p. 590, § 10; Code 1933, § 45-909, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 893, § 7; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1629, § 5; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1729, § 7; Ga. L. 1995, p. 156, §§ 4, 5; Ga. L. 1997, p. 444, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1647, § 3; Ga. L. 1999, p. 785, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 136, § 27; Ga. L. 2002, p. 805, § 2; Ga. L. 2008, p. 163, § 2/HB 1016; Ga. L. 2012, p. 958, § 2/SB 464.