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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7170
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5127
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE REGARDING AQUACULTURE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 26-192k of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2
[(a)] The Department of Agriculture shall allow the relay of shellfish 3
from shellfish grounds classified as restricted relay to other grounds in 4
accordance with the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model 5
Ordinance, as amended from time to time, regarding restricted shellfish 6
relay. [The department shall allow the harvest of shellfish from shellfish 7
grounds classified as approved for market on the same day using the 8
same vessel, provided the harvester first harvests the approved market 9
product and lands the product to shore. A harvester shall not begin the 10
relay of shellfish from shellfish grounds classified as restricted relay 11
until all shellfish harvested first from approved market grounds, in 12
market quantities, have been removed from the vessel. Such harvester 13
shall not begin such relay until after the harvester has notified the 14
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection of such relay. The 15 Raised Bill No. 7170
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harvester shall provide all information required by the Department of 16
Agriculture regarding shellfish relays to the Department of Energy and 17
Environmental Protection at the time of such notification. For the 18
remainder of the day, the harvester shall not harvest approved market 19
shellfish after beginning such relay. 20
(b) All tag identification information regarding shellfish harvest 21
locations shall be confidential, provided the harvester of the shellfish 22
marks the tag with a unique code corresponding to the shellfish harvest 23
location. The Department of Agriculture shall provide such harvester 24
and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection with a 25
written code key detailing the harvest location and corresponding code 26
to be used by the harvester.] 27
Sec. 2. Section 26-212 of the general statutes is repealed and the 28
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 29
No person shall take or gather for commercial purposes oysters, 30
clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from any natural shellfish 31
bed in the state in any boat or vessel unless it is licensed and numbered 32
in the manner provided in this section. Any person desiring to use any 33
boat or vessel for such purpose may make written application to the 34
Commissioner of Agriculture, stating the name, owner, rig, general 35
description and tonnage of such boat or vessel and the place where it is 36
owned, and the commissioner shall issue to the owner of such boat or 37
vessel a license to take and gather for commercial purposes oysters, 38
clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from the natural shellfish 39
beds in the state for the term expiring on the next succeeding [twentieth 40
day of July] thirtieth day of June, unless sooner revoked, upon the 41
payment of thirty dollars; provided, before such license is granted, the 42
owner or master shall prove to the satisfaction of the commissioner that 43
such boat or vessel may legally be used on work on the public beds of 44
the state and that the dredges and other contrivances do not weigh more 45
than thirty pounds. Each boat or vessel so licensed shall, while at work 46
upon any of the natural shellfish beds of the state, display the number 47
of such license in black figures not less than one foot in length. No such 48 Raised Bill No. 7170
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license may be transferred. The sale of any boat so licensed shall operate 49
as a forfeiture and revocation of the license, and the license certificate 50
shall be surrendered to the commissioner. 51
Sec. 3. Section 26-213 of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 53
No person shall take or gather for commercial purposes oysters, 54
clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from any natural shellfish 55
bed in the state and no person shall be permitted upon any boat, 56
licensed pursuant to the provisions of section 26-212, as amended by this 57
act, while the boat is being used for such taking or gathering until the 58
person has been licensed in the manner provided in this section. The 59
person shall apply in writing, to the Commissioner of Agriculture upon 60
blanks to be furnished by the commissioner, stating his name, residence 61
and post-office address and such other information as may be required 62
by said commissioner, and said commissioner, upon payment of a fee of 63
twenty dollars, shall issue to the person a license for such purpose. All 64
licenses so issued shall be revocable at any time by the commissioner 65
and shall expire on the [twentieth day of July] thirtieth day of June in 66
each year. The commissioner shall account to the Treasurer for all 67
moneys received for licenses under the provisions of this section. Any 68
person who violates any of the provisions of this section relating to 69
licensing shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor. 70
Sec. 4. Section 26-232 of the general statutes is repealed and the 71
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 72
(a) Any person who (1) between the [twentieth day of July] fifteenth 73
day of June and the twentieth day of September, gathers or takes any 74
oysters or shells from any natural oyster bed specified in section 26-193 75
other than any such bed in the Housatonic River, (2) between the 76
[twentieth day of July] fifteenth day of June and the twentieth day of 77
September in any year, gathers or takes any oysters or shells in the 78
Saugatuck River, or (3) between the [twentieth day of July] fifteenth day 79
of June and the twentieth day of October in any year, gathers or takes 80 Raised Bill No. 7170
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any oysters or shells in the Housatonic River shall be fined not more 81
than two hundred fifty dollars; provided nothing in this section shall be 82
construed to prohibit the gathering or taking of shells or mussels by the 83
use of tongs in said Housatonic River below a line drawn from a stake 84
on the west bank of said river, at Quimber's Neck Point, so called, and 85
running thence in a northeasterly direction to a stake on the east side of 86
said river. Said stakes shall be located and maintained at said points by 87
the selectmen of the town of Stratford, and a certificate of such location 88
by said selectmen shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk of said 89
town of Stratford. Nothing in this chapter or in chapter 492 shall be 90
construed as prohibiting the excavation of material in deepening the 91
channels of navigable waters by work authorized by the United States 92
government. 93
(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture, upon application of the 94
Stratford Shellfish Commission, may, at any time, close the season for 95
the taking of any shellfish in the Housatonic River for purposes of 96
conserving the resource. 97
Sec. 5. Section 26-207 of the general statutes is repealed and the 98
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 99
Any owner of shellfish grounds, franchise or franchises lying within 100
the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, on or before the first day of July, 101
annually, shall deliver to the Commissioner of Agriculture a statement 102
under oath of such franchise or franchises or grounds belonging to such 103
owner on the first day of June next preceding. Such statement shall 104
specify the lot or lots owned by such owner by numbers as appear upon 105
the last official map published by said commissioner, or, if granted since 106
the publication of such map, according to such number as may be 107
furnished by said commissioner, and the location and number of acres 108
of each lot. Blanks for such statement shall be prepared by said 109
commissioner and furnished to each owner, but failure to receive such 110
blanks shall not relieve any person from the obligation to furnish the 111
statement herein provided for. The commissioner may issue subpoenas 112
to compel the attendance of any person before him, with books of 113 Raised Bill No. 7170
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account, documents and maps, and may administer oaths to and 114
examine any person for the purpose of ascertaining the amount and 115
value of such property. Any person who fails to respond to any such 116
subpoena or who, having responded, refuses to testify or who fails to 117
produce any such book or books of account, documents or maps, upon 118
application of said commissioner to the superior court for any judicial 119
district bordering on the waters of Long Island Sound, may be punished 120
for contempt. Said commissioner may exercise the authority of assessors 121
of towns and add ten per cent of the value of the property as a penalty 122
for failure to give in a list. Any person who discloses any information 123
obtained from any such witness or from the books or records of any such 124
owner provided for under the provisions of this section, otherwise than 125
in carrying out the provisions hereof, shall be fined not more than five 126
hundred dollars. Any owner of any shellfish grounds or franchise lying 127
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state shall certify, in a format 128
determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture, that the owner 129
completed all required business and shellfish-related state tax filings for 130
the preceding year. 131
Sec. 6. Section 26-209 of the general statutes is repealed and the 132
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 133
Any person aggrieved by the action of the Commissioner of 134
Agriculture under section 26-207, as amended by this act, or 26-208 shall 135
have the same right of appeal to the Superior Court as is provided by 136
law for appeals to said court from boards of assessment appeals of 137
towns, except as otherwise provided. Each such appeal shall be taken to 138
the judicial district where the franchise or ground in question is situated 139
or to the judicial district where the owner appealing resides, and said 140
court shall have such powers therein as in appeals from boards of 141
assessment appeals of towns. 142
Sec. 7. Section 26-215 of the general statutes is repealed and the 143
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 144
(a) There shall not be used on any licensed boat any device operated 145 Raised Bill No. 7170
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otherwise than by hand power, for hoisting or operating dredges or 146
other implements for gathering oysters, clams, mussels or other shellfish 147
or oyster shells. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no 148
person shall use any dredge or other contrivance weighing more than 149
[thirty] sixty pounds, exclusive of the net or bag, or with a capacity of 150
more than one and one-half bushels in taking up or dredging for oysters, 151
clams, mussels or other shellfish or oyster shells in any of the waters of 152
the state, except upon private designated grounds. Nothing in this 153
section shall be construed to prevent the use of power in taking up or 154
dredging for oysters, clams, mussels or other shellfish or shells on 155
private designated grounds by the owners thereof, or to prevent the use 156
of excavators for deepening the water in places where there are no 157
natural oyster or clam beds, or where such beds have not existed within 158
ten years, by digging or removing the material, permission to use 159
excavators being first given by the Commissioner of Agriculture, which 160
permission shall not be given until after a public notice of at least two 161
weeks of the time when and place where he will hear all parties desiring 162
to be heard upon such application, which notice shall be posted in the 163
office of the town clerk of the town where such grounds are located. 164
(b) A local shellfish commission established pursuant to section 26-165
257a may allow limited and supervised use of a power dredge or other 166
contrivance with a capacity of not more than three bushels, for the 167
purpose of cultivation, enhancement or restoration of natural shellfish 168
beds located within the jurisdiction of said commission. The use of a 169
power dredge or other contrivance pursuant to this subsection shall not 170
be extended to the harvesting or removal of oysters. Such shellfish 171
commission shall administer such dredging pursuant to section 26-257a. 172
Sec. 8. Section 26-192l of the general statutes is repealed. (Effective from 173
passage) 174
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 26-192k Raised Bill No. 7170
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Sec. 2 from passage 26-212
Sec. 3 from passage 26-213
Sec. 4 from passage 26-232
Sec. 5 from passage 26-207
Sec. 6 from passage 26-209
Sec. 7 from passage 26-215
Sec. 8 from passage Repealer section
ENV Joint Favorable