Sec. 26-149. Commercial hatcheries. Fees.
Sec. 26-149. Commercial hatcheries. Fees. No person shall operate a commercial
hatchery to hold, hatch or rear finfish or crustaceans, including, but not limited to, lobsters and blue crabs, in this state unless such person has obtained a commercial hatchery
license from the Commissioner of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of
section 22-11h. The commissioner may issue such license to qualified applicants upon
the submission of an application, on forms provided by the commissioner, containing
such information as prescribed by the commissioner. There shall be an annual fee of
sixty-five dollars for each such license. Such license shall expire on the last day of
December next after the issuance thereof. All legally acquired finfish and crustaceans
hatched, reared or held in commercial hatcheries may be taken and sold at any time for
the purpose of stocking other waters, for bait or for food, except that lobsters or blue
crabs sold for any purpose other than for rearing in another commercial hatchery shall
not have ova or spawn attached and must meet the minimum legal length requirements
provided in subsection (a) of section 26-157a. Each owner or operator of any such
hatchery shall keep such records as are required by the commissioner on forms provided
by the commissioner which record shall be open to inspection by said commissioner or
the commissioner's authorized agents at any time and a copy of such records shall be
furnished to the commissioner by January thirty-first of the year following the year
covered by the report. Representatives of the commissioner may enter upon the premises
of any such licensed hatchery at any time to inspect any facility, equipment, impoundment or any finfish or crustaceans to determine the presence of disease or parasites.
In such case said commissioner, when so requested, may render such technical assistance
as is necessary and possible and may charge a reasonable fee for such services. In the
event that the presence of disease or parasites is confirmed in finfish or crustaceans
hatched, held or reared in such licensed hatchery said commissioner is authorized to
suspend or revoke any such commercial hatchery license and issue an order prohibiting
the sale, exchange or removal from such premises of such finfish or crustaceans, and
direct such disposition of such remaining finfish or crustaceans including the eggs of
such finfish or crustaceans as the commissioner determines would be in the public interest. Any person issued a license to operate a commercial finfish hatchery may charge
a fee for the privilege of fishing in the waters included under said license and may sell
any species of finfish removed therefrom, provided no sport fishing license shall be
required. Said commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions
of chapter 54, governing and prescribing the methods of taking such finfish and the
conditions under which such finfish may be sold, removed from the premises, possessed
and transported. Said commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, governing and prescribing the method of taking particular species
of finfish and the conditions under which such finfish may be removed from the premises, possessed and transported, without a sport fishing license, from artificial facilities
at fairs, sportsmen's shows and at such other place as said commissioner authorizes.
Persons operating such facilities shall not be required to pay a fee to said commissioner
and such persons may charge a fee for the privilege of fishing in such water, provided
any such facility and any finfish used in connection therewith may be inspected at any
time by any representative of the department to determine the presence of disease or
parasites. In the event the presence of disease or parasites is confirmed any such representative may issue a written order directing that such facility be immediately closed to the
public and directing such disposition of such remaining finfish as would be in the public
interest. Any person who violates any provision of this section or any regulation adopted
or order issued by the commissioner, or such representative, or any person who, without
proper authorization, takes or attempts to take any finfish or crustacean from any waters
described herein shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned for
not more than thirty days or both.
(1949 Rev., S. 4962; 1955, S. 2539d; 1959, P.A. 398, S. 19; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 320; P.A. 76-11, S. 1, 2; P.A. 82-91,
S. 25, 38; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 19, 21; P.A. 99-93, S. 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1.)
History: 1959 act raised license fee from $5 to $10 and required that proceeds from licenses be credited to general fund
rather than to fish fund; 1971 act replaced references to board of fisheries and game with references to environmental
protection commissioner; P.A. 76-11 clarified provisions and expanded scope of section to include hatcheries for finfish
or crustaceans, replacing references to "fish" hatcheries; P.A. 82-91 increased license fee to $50; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3 increased the fee for a commercial hatchery license to $65 and deleted a requirement that all moneys received by the
state therefor be deposited in the general fund; (Revisor's note: In 1993 an obsolete reference to repealed Sec. 26-156 was
deleted editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 99-93 transferred responsibility for commercial hatchery licensing from the
Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Agriculture; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189
repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and
Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.