28.2-241 - Registration of commercial fishermen required; exemption; penalty.
§ 28.2-241. Registration of commercial fishermen required; exemption; penalty.
A. On and after January 1, 1993, holders of gear licenses, except thoseissued pursuant to § 28.2-402, issued January 1, 1992, through December 31,1992, shall register as commercial fishermen as provided for in regulation.
B. [Repealed.]
C. On and after January 1, 1993, fishermen not registered as commercialfishermen but who desire to sell their catch shall apply to the Commissionfor registration as commercial fishermen. The effective date of status as acommercial fisherman shall be two years from the date the application isapproved by the Commission. A person whose registration as a commercialfisherman is not effective shall not sell, trade or barter his catch or givehis catch to another in order that it may be sold, traded or bartered.
D. For purposes of this section and §§ 28.2-242, 28.2-243 and 28.2-244,"commercial fisherman" means any person who fishes in tidal waters usingany gear and who sells, trades or barters his catch or gives his catch toanother in order that it may be sold, traded or bartered. The Commissionshall provide, by regulation, for exemptions from the definition of"commercial fisherman" those persons who independently sell, trade orbarter minnows and who are not part of, hired by, or engaged in a continuingbusiness enterprise as may be defined by the Commission. Such regulation mayinclude, but is not limited to, limits on the quantity of minnows that may besold, traded or bartered by a person that may be exempted from the definitionof commercial fisherman.
E. The cost of registration as a commercial fisherman shall be $150 annually,due no later than the effective date of registration; however, the cost ofregistration for a person seventy years of age or older shall be seventy-fivedollars. All fees collected from the registration of commercial fishermenshall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the Marine FishingImprovement Fund as established in § 28.2-208. The Commission maysubsequently revise the cost of licenses in this section pursuant to §28.2-201.
F. Registrations of commercial fishermen shall not be transferable.
G. Whenever a court finds that a defendant has violated any of the provisionsof this section, the court shall assess a civil penalty of $500. All civilpenalties assessed pursuant to this section shall be paid into the MarineFishing Improvement Fund as established in § 28.2-208.
H. Only commercial fishermen with valid registrations may purchase licensespursuant to §§ 28.2-301, 28.2-501 and 28.2-702.
I. Persons who have obtained a recreational gear license pursuant to §28.2-226.1 or § 28.2-302.1 are exempt from the provisions of this section.
(1992, cc. 493, 503; 1993, c. 219; 1994, c. 121; 1996, c. 277; 2009, c. 9.)