§ 10-1. Nets, seines, traps; use restricted.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person to use or place, in or upon the waters of any of the lakes within or abutting the city limits any fishing net, seine, minnow net, fish trap, cast net, set line, bush hooks, or any other similar fish-taking device, or to engage in any commercial fishing whatsoever; provided, however, that commercial fishing by trotline only shall be permitted by holders of a business tax receipt during the nighttime hours from one (1) hour after sunset until sunrise on Sunday through Friday of each week, and the taking of Nile perch by cast net on the following named lakes only:

Lake Hartridge, Lake Jessie, Lake Idylwilde, Cannon Lake, Lake Howard, Lake May, Lake Shipp, Lake Lulu, Lake Mirror.

(b)

It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any commercial fishing activities permitted herein without first applying for a business tax receipt and paying applicable business tax in accordance with the provisions of section 9-35. Only those persons holding a commercial fishing license issued by the state game and freshwater fish commission shall be eligible to obtain a business tax receipt under this section.

(c)

Trotlines shall have no more than two thousand five hundred (2,500) hooks on any one (1) line and such trotlines, while in the water, shall have a plastic jug or similar float of at least one-gallon capacity attached to each end of the trotline. The name of the holder of a business tax receipt, address and business tax receipt number shall be legibly and permanently affixed to each jug or float.

(d)

No trotline shall be tied or affixed to any dock or boathouse or placed within one hundred (100) feet of the shore of any lake.

(e)

Any violation of this section or any violation of the rules and regulations of the state game and freshwater fish commission shall be cause for the suspension or revocation of the city business tax receipt and such suspension or revocation shall be made at the direction of the city manager. Any suspension or revocation of the city business tax receipt shall constitute a forfeiture of business taxes collected to the city.

(f)

The wildlife code of the state, as set forth in F.S. ch. 372, and the rules and regulations of the state game and freshwater fish commission, as from time to time may be amended, are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference into this Code, subject to and including any modifications or amendments that may be adopted by the city.

(Code 1959, § 7-17; Ord. No. O-07-28, § 22, 3-12-07)