No person shall take or gather for commercial purposes oysters, clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from any natural shellfish bed in the state in any boat or vessel unless it is licensed and numbered in the manner provided in this section. Any person desiring to use any boat or vessel for such purpose may make written application to the Commissioner of Agriculture, stating the name, owner, rig, general description and tonnage of such boat or vessel and the place where it is owned, and the commissioner shall issue to the owner of such boat or vessel a license to take and gather for commercial purposes oysters, clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from the natural shellfish beds in the state for the term expiring on the next succeeding twentieth day of July, unless sooner revoked, upon the payment of thirty dollars; provided, before such license is granted, the owner or master shall prove to the satisfaction of the commissioner that such boat or vessel may legally be used on work on the public beds of the state and that the dredges and other contrivances do not weigh more than thirty pounds. Each boat or vessel so licensed shall, while at work upon any of the natural shellfish beds of the state, display the number of such license in black figures not less than one foot in length. No such license may be transferred. The sale of any boat so licensed shall operate as a forfeiture and revocation of the license, and the license certificate shall be surrendered to the commissioner.

(1949 Rev., S. 5044; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 350; 1972, P.A. 52, S. 20; P.A. 78-334, S. 1; P.A. 82-91, S. 28, 38; P.A. 99-169, S. 1, 7; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 303.)

History: 1971 act replaced references to clerk of shellfisheries with references to environmental protection commissioner; 1972 act replaced environmental protection commissioner with commissioner of agriculture; P.A. 78-334 increased license fee for boats 25 feet overall or less from $8 to $15 and deleted provisions requiring licensed boats to display license number and Connecticut coat of arms on sails; P.A. 82-91 expanded the licensing requirements of this section to include not only the taking of oysters from natural beds in the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, but also the taking, for commercial purposes, of oysters, clams, mussels or other molluscan shellfish from any natural shellfish bed in the state, established the license fee at $15 and repealed previous fee schedule of $15 for vessel or boat under five gross tons and over 25 feet long, and for vessel or boat exceeding five gross tons, $3 for each additional gross ton, and for vessel or boat 25 feet or less, $15; P.A. 99-169 deleted provisions limiting licenses under this section to residents of this state and provided that such licenses may not be transferred, effective June 23, 1999; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 increased fee from $15 to $30.