Georgia § 27-4-136 - Seafood dealer license; maintenance of records; purchase of seafood.

§ 27-4-136. Seafood dealer license; maintenance of records; purchase of seafood.

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate as a seafood dealer or to own or operate shellfish canning or shucking facilities or otherwise deal in purchasing, landing, packing, or supplying raw shrimp, shellfish, crabs, fish, or other seafood for commercial purposes without having a valid seafood dealer license as provided for in Code Section 27-2-23. It shall be unlawful for any person required to have a seafood dealer license to fail to keep a record in which is entered the amount of shrimp, shellfish, crabs, fish, or other seafood taken from Georgia waters for commercial purposes; the name of each person from whom purchased; the date and price of purchase; the grade and quantity purchased; the name, number, and approximate tonnage of the boat in which they were brought to the facility; the number of calendar days expended in harvesting the product; the approximate location or locations of harvest; the quantity canned and packed for shipment; the date and amount of each shipment; and such other information as the department requires. Each person required to maintain records pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall report such information to the department, whose address for the purpose of reporting shall be the Coastal Resource Division headquarters, at such times and in such manner as the board provides by rule or regulation. It shall be unlawful for any master collecting permittee to fail to maintain records in a form as prescribed by the Department of Agriculture. It shall be unlawful for any person required to have a seafood dealer license to purchase seafood from any person other than a properly licensed seafood harvester or another seafood dealer. (Ga. L. 1924, p. 101, § 23; Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, § 25; Code 1933, § 45-818; Ga. L. 1943, p. 543, § 1; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 374, § 4; Ga. L. 1955, p. 483, § 112; Code 1933, § 45-919, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 396, § 1; Code 1933, § 45-917, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1979, p. 678, § 46; Ga. L. 1991, p. 693, § 5; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1133, § 12; Ga. L. 2007, p. 93, § 12/HB 100; Ga. L. 2017, p. 27, § 16/HB 208.) The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added paragraph (a)(1); redesignated former paragraph (a)(1) as present paragraph (a)(2); substituted "required to have a seafood dealer license" for "owning or operating shellfish canning or shucking facilities or otherwise dealing in purchasing, landing, packing, or supplying raw shrimp, shellfish, crabs, fish, or other seafood for commercial purposes" near the beginning of paragraph (a)(2); redesignated former paragraph (a)(2) as present paragraph (a)(3); substituted "paragraph (2)" for "paragraph (1)" in paragraph (a)(3); and added subsection (c). See Editor's note for applicability. Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2017, p. 27, § 20/HB 208, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment of this Code section by that Act shall be applicable to all offenses occurring on or after July 1, 2017.