SHARKS AND RAYS 68B-44.002 Definitions.-- As used in this rule chapter: (1) "Harvest" means the catching or taking of a marine organism by any means whatsoever, followed by a reduction of such organism to possession. Marine organisms that are caught but immediately returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed are not harvested. (2) "Harvest for commercial purposes" means the taking or harvest of a marine organism for purposes of sale or with intent to sell. (3) "Finning" means removing the fins of a shark and returning the remainder of the shark to the water. (4) "Land," when used in connection with the harvest of marine organisms, means the physical act of bringing the harvested organism ashore. (5) "Ray" means any species of the Order Rajiformes, or any part thereof. (6) "Shark" means any of the following species or any part thereof (excluding fins unattached as authorized in this chapter): (a) Large coastal species: 1. Great hammerhead - Sphyrna mokarran. 2. Scalloped hammerhead - Sphyrna lewini. 3. Smooth hammerhead - Sphyrna zygaena. 4. White shark - Carcharodon carcharias. 5. Nurse shark - Ginglymostoma cirratum. 6. Bignose shark - Carcharhinus altimus. 7. Blacktip shark - Carcharhinus limbatus. 8. Bull shark - Carcharhinus leucas. 9. Caribbean reef shark - Carcharhinus perezi. 10. Dusky shark - Carcharhinus obscurus. 11. Galapagos shark - Carcharhinus galapagensis. 12. Lemon shark - Negaprion brevirostris. 13. Narrowtooth shark - Carcharhinus brachyurus. 14. Night shark - Carcharhinus signatus. 15. Sandbar shark - Carcharhinus plumbeus. 16. Silky shark - Carcharhinus falciformis. 17. Spinner shark - Carcharhinus brevipinna. 18. Tiger shark - Galeocerdo cuvieri. 19. Bigeye sand tiger - Odontaspis noronhai. 20. Sand tiger shark - Odontaspis taurus. (b) Small coastal species: 1. Atlantic angel shark - Squatina dumerili. 2. Bonnethead - Sphyrna tiburo. 3. Atlantic sharpnose shark - Rhizoprionodon terraenovae. 4. Blacknose shark - Carcharhinus acronotus. 5. Caribbean sharpnose shark - Rhizoprionodon porosus. 6. Finetooth shark - Carcharhinus isodon. 7. Smalltail shark - Carcharhinus porosus. (c) Pelagic species: 1. Bigeye sixgill shark - Hexanchus vitulus. 2. Sevengill shark - Heptranchias perlo. 3. Sixgill shark - Hexanchus griseus. 4. Longfin mako - Isurus paucus. 5. Porbeagle shark - Lamna nasus. 6. Shortfin mako - Isurus oxyrinchus. 7. Blue shark - Prionace glauca. 8. Oceanic whitetip shark - Carcharhinus longimanus. 9. Bigeye thresher - Alopias superciliosus. 10. Thresher shark - Alopias vulpinus. (7) "Spearing" means the catching or taking of a fish by bow hunting, gigging, spearfishing, or by any device used to capture a fish by piercing the body. Spearing does not include the catching or taking of a fish by a hook with hook and line gear, or by snagging (snatch hooking). Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, Amended 1-1-98, Formerly 46-44.002. 68B-44.003 Bag Limit Applicable to State Waters, Gear Restriction.-- (1) No person shall harvest in or from the waters of the state more than one shark per day; provided, however, that the possession of more than two sharks harvested from state waters aboard any vessel with two or more persons is prohibited. (2) The harvest or attempted harvest of any shark in or from state waters by spearing is prohibited. Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, Amended 1-1-98, Formerly 46-44.003. 68B-44.004 Practice of Finning Prohibited; Removal of Fins from Sharks Harvested in State Waters Prohibited; Compliance With Federal Requirements, Filleting Prohibited.-- (1) No person shall engage in the practice of finning. (2) No person shall remove any fin of any shark harvested in state waters while in or on such waters or prior to the shark being landed. (3) Persons returning from federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters adjacent to state waters with sharks or shark fins harvested there shall not stop in state waters to fish and shall land any shark or shark fins in the proportion specified in 50 C.F.R. §678.21(a)(2). (4) No person shall fillet any shark while in or on state waters. The possession while in or on state waters of any shark that has been sliced, divided, filleted, ground, skinned, scaled, or deboned, is prohibited. Mere evisceration or "gutting" of such fish, mere removal of gills, or removal of the heads and tails, is not prohibited. Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, Amended 2-14-94, 1-1-98, Formerly 46-44.004. 68B-44.005 Commercial Harvest of Sharks: Federal Permit Required.-- No person shall harvest sharks in or from the waters of the state for commercial purposes or sell any shark harvested from such waters unless such person is in possession of a valid federal annual vessel permit for sharks issued pursuant to 50 C.F.R. §678.4 or written authorization of such harvest or sale from the Regional Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service pursuant to 50 C.F.R. §678.27. Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, Amended 2-14-94, Formerly 46-44.005. 68B-44.006 Commercial Season; Season Closure; Prohibition of Sale.-- (1) All persons harvesting sharks for commercial purposes shall have a season that begins on July 1 of each year and continues through June 30 of the following year, unless closed earlier pursuant to subsection (2). (2)(a) If at any time during the period beginning on July 1 and continuing through December 31 each year, the harvest of large or small coastal sharks for commercial purposes in waters of the federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to Florida waters is closed, the season for harvest of all sharks for commercial purposes in state waters shall be closed from the date of such federal closure until the following January 1. (b) If at any time during the period beginning on January 1 and continuing through June 30 each year, the harvest of large or small coastal sharks for commercial purposes in waters of the federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to Florida waters is closed, the season for harvest of all sharks for commercial purposes in state waters shall be closed from the date of such federal closure until the following July 1. (c) Notice of state waters commercial season closure shall be given by the Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the manner provided in §120.81(5), Florida Statutes. (3) During the period of any state waters closure pursuant to subsection (2), the harvest of any shark for commercial purposes in or from state waters is prohibited. (4) During any state waters commercial closure pursuant to subsection (2) and continuing until harvest of sharks for commercial purposes is allowed no person shall purchase, sell, or exchange any shark or shark fin harvested from state waters, except that such prohibition shall not apply to trade in shark carcasses or fins that were harvested, offloaded, and purchased, sold, or exchanged prior to the notice of state waters closure given by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (2)(c) of this rule. The purchase, sale, or exchange prohibition shall be announced in such notice. Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, Amended 2-14-94, 1-1-98, Formerly 46-44.006. 68B-44.008 Protected Species: Sawfishes, Basking Shark, Whale Shark, White Shark, Sand Tiger Shark, Bigeye Sand Tiger Shark, Manta Ray, and Spotted Eagle Ray; Prohibition of Harvest, Landing, and Sale.-- (1) Pursuant to Section 370.027(2)(f), Florida Statutes, the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), whale shark (Rhincodon typus), white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), sand tiger shark (Odontaspis taurus), bigeye sand tiger (Odontaspis noronhai), manta ray (species of the genus Manta and Mobula), and spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) are hereby declared and designated protected species. The purposes of this designation are to increase public awareness of the need for extensive conservation action in order to prevent these resources from becoming endangered and to encourage voluntary conservation practices. (2) No person shall harvest, possess, land, purchase, sell, or exchange any smalltooth sawfish, largetooth sawfish, basking shark, whale shark, white shark, sand tiger shark, bigeye sand tiger shark, manta ray, or spotted eagle ray, or any part of any of these species. Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const. History - New 4-8-92, 1-1-98, Formerly 46-44.008.