Section 61. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, as a matter of public safety and security, there is hereby created a security zone bordering the General Edward Lawrence Logan Airport that shall include the area between the mean high water line of said airport and a line measured 500 feet seaward of and parallel to said mean high water line from Wood Island Basin to the easterly end of Jeffries Cove as shown on a plan entitled ''Plan of General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport Security Zone'' prepared by Massachusetts Port Authority Capital Programs Department, April 2002.

(b) No person, except authorized law enforcement or military personnel and authorized personnel of the authority, shall: (1) carry or otherwise possess a firearm, rifle, shotgun, assault weapon, ammunition, explosive device or material, or any hoax device as defined by section 102A1/2 of chapter 266, within said security zone; (2) engage in any activity within said security zone that jeopardizes or may jeopardize the safety or security of any person or of the airport; or (3) enter said security zone or engage in any activity, including boating, anchoring, fishing, shell-fishing, hunting, swimming or other underwater activities, within said security zone, except (i) as may be expressly permitted in writing by said authority; or (ii) with respect to shell-fishing, as may be authorized by the department of marine fisheries within the security zone and in accordance with regulations or policies as may be promulgated by said department of marine fisheries in coordination with the authority, except in no event shall the total number of shell-fishermen within said security zone exceed 50 and no person shall engage in shell-fishing within the security zone without prior notice provided by said department of marine fisheries to the authority setting forth (a) the number of shell-fishermen working within the security zone, (2) the time said fishermen will be working within the security zone, and (3) all other information as the Authority may reasonably require, or (iii) with respect to boating in the vicinity of Logan Airport, as may be clearly and conspicuously demarcated within said security zone by said authority to allow boats to travel through navigable waters within said security zone, provided that in no circumstance may any boat enter within 250 feet seaward of the mean high water line surrounding said airport.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no person shall engage in shell-fishing within a regulated shell-fishing zone consisting of the security zone, as defined in subparagraph (a), and shell-fish beds located within the property of the authority, unless such person has registered with the authority to access the regulated shell-fishing zone in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(d) Within 7 days of the receipt of a completed application for registration to access the regulated shell-fishing zone, the authority may forward one copy of the application and one copy of the applicant's fingerprints to the colonel of state police, who shall, within 14 days, advise the licensing authority, in writing, of any criminal record of the applicant arising from within or without the commonwealth. In searching for any history of the applicant, the authority or the colonel may utilize, or cause to be utilized, files maintained by the department of mental health, department of probation and statewide and nationwide criminal justice, warrant and protection order information systems and files including, but not limited to, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. If the information available to the authority or the colonel does not indicate that the applicant should be restricted from the regulated shell-fishing zone, the authority shall issue a registration card to the applicant within such 14 day period.

(e) The authority may not prescribe any other condition for the issuance of a registration card and shall, within 21 days from the date of application, either approve the application and issue the registration card or deny the application and notify the applicant of the reason for such denial in writing.

(f) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to immediate arrest and shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 years or by a fine of not more than $25,000, or both.