Sec.26-159a-10. Summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus)

(a) Definitions.

(1) "Commissioner" means commissioner of Environmental Protection.

(2) "Department" means Department of Environmental Protection.

(3) "Qualifying fishing gear" means commercial hook, gill net, pound net, trawl net, scallop dredge or fish pot.

(4) "Qualifying landings" means summer flounder or scup landings made in Connecticut and taken by qualifying fishing gear as indicated in reports submitted under authority of section 26-157b of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(5) "Qualifying period" means June 1, 1995 through May 31, 2003, inclusive.

(6) "1994 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter" means a summer flounder license endorsement letter for Connecticut waters issued by the commissioner which attests that the license holder:

(A) recorded finfish landings in Connecticut taken by commercial finfishing methods between January 1, 1985 and January 1, 1994 as indicated in reports submitted under authority of section 26-157b of the Connecticut General Statutes, in commercial fishery landing records of the U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service, or in a notarized copy of a dealer or wholesaler receipt; or

(B) purchased, or was constructing or rerigging a commercial fishing vessel between January 26, 1990 and January 1, 1994 for purposes of fishing with commercial finfishing gear, to be based on written proof of such activity.

(b) Commercial Fishing Moratorium.

(1) No holder of a license or registration issued under authority of Section 26-142a of the Connecticut General Statutes, shall possess, or shall have possessed summer flounder unless said person:

(A) is in immediate possession of a 2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter for Connecticut Waters, herein referred to as the "2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter," issued by the commissioner pursuant to this section which attests that:

(i) the license holder held a 1994 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter or a 1997 Scup License Endorsement Letter as specified in subsection (a) of section 26-159a-15 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and made qualifying landings during the qualifying period and reported said landings to the department in accordance with section 26-157b-1 of the regulations of Connecticut State Agencies; or

(ii) the vessel owner held a 1994 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter or a 1997 Scup License Endorsement Letter as specified in subsection (a) of section 26-159a-15 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and purchased, or was constructing or rerigging a commercial fishing vessel between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2003 for purposes of fishing with qualifying fishing gear, to be based on more than one form of verifiable written proof of such activity, provided said vessel owner has or will have made and reported qualifying landings with that vessel no later than 12 months immediately succeeding the effective date of this regulation; or

(iii) the vessel owner held a 1994 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter or a 1997 Scup License Endorsement Letter as specified in subsection (a) of section 26-159a-15 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and an operator of that vessel made qualifying landings with the vessel during the qualifying period and said landings were reported to the department in accordance with section 26-157b-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies; or

(iv) the license holder is the recipient of a license transferred under section 26-142b of the Connecticut General Statutes, such license was transferred with a 1994 or 2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter issued under this section or a 1997 or 2003 Scup License Endorsement Letter issued under section 26-159a-15 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, and such license holder made qualifying landings during the qualifying period and reported said landings to the department in accordance with section 26-157b-1 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies or has or will have made and reported qualifying landings in the 12 months immediately succeeding the date of the license transfer, whichever is later; or

(B) is operating a vessel owned by a license holder who has qualified for an endorsement letter under subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection. During the operation of such vessel said endorsement letter shall remain on such vessel as authorization of the operator to possess summer flounder and shall not be used to authorize the possession of summer flounder on any additional vessel, except that said license holder shall be allowed to use said endorsement letter to authorize possession of summer flounder on any vessel said license holder owned prior to January 1, 1994 and that said license holder still owns.

(2) 2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letters will automatically be issued without application. Any person who does not receive a 2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter, or is denied said Endorsement Letter, may appeal in writing to the commissioner. The only grounds for appeal is that the Commissioner erred in concluding that the license holder did not meet the criteria in subclause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) of subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(3) No person shall take summer flounder with a trawl net if the qualifying landings for which the 2003 Summer Flounder License Endorsement Letter was issued and under which that person is fishing did not indicate the taking of summer flounder or scup by trawl net.

(4) No person who has transferred a commercial fishing license according to the provisions of section 26-142b of the Connecticut General Statutes, with an endorsement letter issued under this section, shall qualify for a 2003 Summer Flounder Endorsement Letter based on the landings history for which the transferred endorsement letter was issued.

(c) Commercial Fishery Possession Limit.

(1) No holder of any commercial fishing or landing license or registration permitted to take summer flounder from the waters of this state or to land summer flounder in Connecticut, regardless of where such fish are taken, shall possess summer flounder in excess of the following possession limits that are based on Connecticut's summer flounder quota specified in the Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, herein referred to as "the plan":

(A) between January 1 and January 21, inclusive, 150 pounds;

(B) between January 22 through April 30, inclusive, 1,500 pounds, until a total of 45% of the Connecticut quota specified in the plan has been landed in Connecticut, at which time the limit shall be 50 pounds until a total of 50% of said quota has been landed, at which time the limit shall be zero pounds;

(C) between May 1 and October 31, inclusive, 75 pounds until a total of 97% of the Connecticut quota specified in the plan has been landed in Connecticut, at which time the limit shall be zero pounds until October 31;

(D) between November 1 and December 31, inclusive, 500 pounds, unless or until a total of 97% of the Connecticut quota specified in the plan has been landed in Connecticut, at which time the limit shall be 75 pounds;

(E) notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraphs (C) and (D) of this subdivision, if on or after October 1, the Connecticut quota specified in the plan is projected not to be landed in Connecticut by the end of the quota period, the commercial fishery possession limit shall be calculated as Q(0.14 / W), rounded up to the nearest 100 pounds, where W is the number of weeks remaining in the quota period and Q is the amount of the annual quota remaining, provided that when 97% of said Connecticut quota is projected to be landed in Connecticut, the possession limit shall be 50 pounds;

(F) when 100% of the Connecticut quota is landed the possession limit shall be zero pounds.

(2) When the summer flounder possession limit will change based on the status of landings relative to the quota threshold percentages specified in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Department shall mail a notice of such change to all persons who possess a 2003 Summer Flounder Endorsement Letter as defined in subsection (b)(1)(A) of this section and to all seafood dealers licensed under section 26-142a of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(3) The possession limits specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall apply to the aggregate of all persons on board the vessel per trip or per day whichever is the longer period of time. Transfer of summer flounder between vessels at sea is prohibited.

(4) Any summer flounder taken contrary to this section shall, without avoidable injury, be returned immediately to the water from which taken and no person fishing under the provisions of this section shall also, during the same trip, possess any summer flounder taken under section 26-159a-7 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

(5) When a possession limit specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection is in effect that is 1,500 pounds or greater, no commercial vessel shall possess or land summer flounder on more than two trips per weekly period that begins Sunday morning at 0000 hours and ends the following Saturday night at 2400 hours.

(6) All commercial vessel operators, prior to departing on any trip in which summer flounder will be possessed and that would be subject to a possession limit of 1,500 pounds or greater, shall inform the Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Conservation Police of the vessel's departure and provide information that shall include, but not be limited to, the vessel's name, captain's name, departure date and time, estimated return date and time and the port of landing.

(Effective July 26, 1996; Amended June 27, 1997; Amended October 23, 1997; Amended June 26, 1998; Amended July 21, 1999; Amended September 29, 1999; Amended December 27, 2000; Amended January 28, 2002; Amended March 31, 2003; Amended December 4, 2003; Amended August 26, 2005; Amended September 27, 2007)