§ 13-0311 — Digger's permit to take shellfish for commercial purposes; when not required

§ 13-0311. Digger's permit to take shellfish for commercial purposes;\n when not required.\n 1. Subject to the provisions of this article, a person may take\nshellfish from under water lands in the state for commercial purposes,\nincluding the culling, sorting or tagging of such shellfish, only upon\nfirst obtaining a digger's permit from the department, provided,\nhowever, that the application for such permit by a person sixteen years\nof age or under shall be signed by his parent or legal guardian, who\nshall thereby consent to the issuance of the permit.\n 2. The department shall prescribe and furnish forms for application\nfor such permit.\n 3. The fee for such permit shall be fifty dollars for a person\ndomiciled within the state. The fee for persons not domiciled within the\nstate shall be one hundred fifty dollars. Such permit shall expire on\nDecember 31 of the year of issue. If it appears in the public interest,\nthe department may, after hearing held on ten day's notice, suspend or\ncancel such permits, except that in case of a taking from an uncertified\narea such suspension or cancellation may be without prior notice.\n 4. The holder of such permit shall not ship or sell shellfish, except\nto a holder of a valid Class A, B, or E shipper's permit, issued\npursuant to section 13-0315 of this title, who has a place of business\nin the county of Nassau or Suffolk, without first obtaining a shipper's\npermit as provided in subdivision 1 of section 13-0315.\n 5. Subject to the provisions of this article, a person may, without\npermit, take not more than a total of four pecks (one bushel) of\nshellfish other than bay scallops and not more than four pecks of bay\nscallops (Argopecten irradians) in any one day for the use of such\nperson or such person's family. Within the one bushel total limit of\nspecies, other than bay scallops, which may be taken in one day the\nfollowing species-specific limits shall apply:\n a. Hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria). Not more than one hundred\nindividual organisms.\n b. Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Not more than two pecks.\n c. Oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Not more than two pecks.\n d. Soft Clams (Mya arenaria). Not more than two pecks.\n 6. The holder of such digger's permit shall carry the permit assigned\nto such holder while engaged in the permitted activities, and the\nfailure by such holder to exhibit the permit to any shellfish inspector,\nenvironmental conservation officer, health official, peace officer,\nacting pursuant to such officers' special duties, police officer or\nmagistrate shall be presumptive evidence that no valid digger's permit\nhas been issued to the person who fails to produce such permit.\n 7. No person shall take shellfish or assist another in the taking of\nshellfish in any quantity, including the culling, sorting or tagging of\nsuch shellfish, during the time that such person's digger's permit\nprivileges have been revoked or suspended.\n 8. Endorsed vessels. a. Upon application to the department on forms\nfurnished by the department, a shellfish digger's permit may be endorsed\nfor use on a vessel, in which case such permit shall authorize all\npersons on board such vessel to engage in the taking of hard clams\n(Mercenaria mercenaria) and oysters (Crassostrea virginica), including\nthe culling, sorting, and tagging of such shellfish. Each application\nshall include a copy of one of the following documents as proof of\nvessel length: the certificate of documentation for the vessel issued by\nthe United States government, or the registration for the vessel issued\nby any state government within the United States.\n b. The fee for endorsing a shellfish digger's permit to a vessel shall\nbe fifty dollars for a vessel that is forty feet or less in registered\nlength, and one hundred dollars for a vessel that is greater than forty\nfeet in registered length. Such fee shall be in addition to the permit\nfee provided for in subdivision three of this section.\n c. Not more than one rake, tong or other shellfish harvesting device\nshall be used for the taking of hard clams and oysters at any given time\npursuant to a digger's permit which has been endorsed to a vessel.\n d. A shellfish digger's permit which has been endorsed to a vessel\nshall not cover any person whose shellfish digger's permit privileges\nhave been revoked or suspended.\n e. The holder of a shellfish digger's permit which has been endorsed\nto a vessel shall be on board such vessel at all times when the vessel\nis being used for the taking of hard clams and oysters.\n f. The holder of a shellfish digger's permit which has been endorsed\nto a vessel shall be liable for all violations of this title that occur\non such vessel.\n g. If the holder of a shellfish digger's permit which has been\nendorsed to a vessel is a corporation, the operator of such vessel shall\npossess a separate shellfish digger's permit issued in the operator's\nname, and such operator shall be liable for all violations of this title\nthat occur on such vessel.\n h. A shellfish digger's permit shall not be endorsed to more than one\nvessel at any one time.\n i. The holder of a shellfish digger's permit which has been endorsed\nto a vessel shall maintain a daily log indicating the names and\naddresses of individuals covered by such permit for each day the vessel\nis used for taking hard clams and oysters and shall make such log\navailable to the department upon request.\n