Before any person, firm, or corporation engages in the taking, catching, transporting, or selling of live saltwater bait and the transporting of dead saltwater bait for commercial purposes, he or she shall have in his or her possession a live saltwater bait dealers license. "Live saltwater bait" shall be defined by regulation promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The license shall be sold and issued by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to any live saltwater bait dealer upon payment of a fee of one hundred dollars ($100), which shall entitle the person to sell live saltwater bait from a place of business and operate one designated live bait catcher boat and one transport truck, or two hundred dollars ($200) for the right to sell live saltwater bait from a place of business and operate two designated live bait catcher boats and two transport trucks. Detailed records of transactions involving shrimp shall be maintained at the place of business by seafood dealer licensees and by live saltwater bait dealers who are party to the transaction. The records shall include the name and address of the seller, the date and time of purchase, the amount of purchase (by poundage of purchase), price paid per pound, and shrimp size. Transactions on sales of purchased shrimp shall be totaled daily. These records shall be immediately available for inspection by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and shall be maintained for a minimum of 30 days. If the licensee or dealer fails to keep these records, the licensee or dealer is subject to the penalties set forth in Section 9-12-54.7. If the licensee or dealer is found to have kept fraudulent records, the licensee or dealer shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources shall not issue a live saltwater bait dealers license until the applicant has furnished to the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources information as the commissioner may prescribe showing that the applicant has the necessary equipment and facilities to properly keep shrimp and other saltwater species alive for sale as bait. The commissioner, before the issuance of a license, shall cause an inspection of the gear and equipment, place of business, truck, or vessel of the applicant to ascertain if they meet the requirements as set by regulation for keeping bait shrimp and other saltwater species of bait alive. The live saltwater bait dealers license privileges may be suspended at any time during the issuing year that an agent of the Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources finds that equipment, gear, truck, or vessel of the licensee no longer meets the minimum requirements for keeping shrimp and other saltwater species alive for sale as bait. Any person who sells, exchanges, barters, or attempts to sell, barter, exchange, or otherwise dispose of live saltwater bait, shall be in violation of Sections 9-12-54.1 through 9-12-54.7 unless he or she first purchases the annual live saltwater bait dealers license.
Structure Code of Alabama
Title 9 - Conservation and Natural Resources.
Chapter 12 - Marine Resources.
Division 1 - General Provisions.
Section 9-12-20 - Ownership and Control of Seafoods.
Section 9-12-21 - "Natural Oyster Reef" Defined.
Section 9-12-22 - Right of Owners of Land Fronting Public Waters to Plant and Gather Oysters.
Section 9-12-23 - Cancellation of Leases of Riparian Bottoms; Appeals.
Section 9-12-26 - Dragging of Seines Over Public Reefs or Private Oyster Grounds.
Section 9-12-28 - Oysters Management Stations; Harvest Records.
Section 9-12-29 - Patrol Boats.
Section 9-12-30 - Patrolling of Private Oyster Reefs.
Section 9-12-33 - Culling and Sacking of Oysters.
Section 9-12-35 - Cultivation, Transplantation, or Replanting of Public Reefs.
Section 9-12-36 - Taking of Oysters by Use of Mechanical Devices at Night.
Section 9-12-37 - Use of Mechanical Rake Dredges, etc., Dredge License.
Section 9-12-39 - Purchase of Seed Oysters From Public Reefs by Private Individuals, Etc.
Section 9-12-40 - Supervision of Taking of Oysters by Rake Dredges; Notice of Use of Rake Dredges.
Section 9-12-41 - Harvesting of Undersized Oysters.
Section 9-12-43 - Taking of Oysters for Replanting on Private Reefs.
Section 9-12-44 - Tax on Oysters Harvested From Private Reefs for Commercial Purposes.
Section 9-12-47 - Condemnation, Disposition, etc., of Shrimp Not Fit for Human Consumption.
Section 9-12-49 - Importation of Shrimp Into State.
Section 9-12-50 - Regulation of Transportation of Raw Oysters and Shrimp Beyond Boundaries of State.
Section 9-12-51 - Tax on Shrimp Taken for Canning, Drying or Shipping Within State.
Section 9-12-52 - Tax on Shrimp Taken for Transportation to Other States.
Section 9-12-53 - Tax on Shrimp Not to Be Exported.
Section 9-12-54 - Payment of Taxes.
Section 9-12-54.1 - Live Saltwater Bait Dealers License.
Section 9-12-54.2 - Expiration Date and Purchase of License; Nonresident License Fee.
Section 9-12-54.3 - Duties of Licensees.
Section 9-12-54.4 - Catching, etc., of Bait; Restrictions.
Section 9-12-54.5 - Catching, Etc. of Shrimp by Persons With Recreational Boat Shrimping License.
Section 9-12-54.6 - Exclusive Saltwater Bait Areas.
Section 9-12-54.7 - Penalty for Violations.
Section 9-12-61 - Taking, Sale, etc., of Oysters Under Three Inches Long.
Section 9-12-62 - Mutilation, etc., of Buoys or Markers.
Section 9-12-63 - Use of Unlicensed Boats, etc., to Take, etc., Oysters or Shrimp.