General Assembly Raised Bill No. 417
February Session, 2020 LCO No. 2343
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE HARVESTING OF HORSESHOE CRABS
DURING A FULL MOON.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. Section 26-292c of the general statutes is repealed and the
2 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
3 (a) Not later than January 1, 2020, the Commissioner of Energy and
4 Environmental Protection shall submit recommendations to the joint
5 standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of
6 matters relating to the environment on the establishment of any
7 restricted areas for the taking of horseshoe crabs in the state and any
8 changes to the season for the taking of horseshoe crabs in the state for
9 the purpose of preserving the horseshoe crab population in the state.
10 (b) (1) No person shall take horseshoe crabs in the state for any period
11 commencing one day prior to any full moon phase and ending one day
12 after any such full moon phase.
13 (2) No person shall utilize horseshoe crabs in whelk or eel fishing
14 without the use of bait bags.
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 Raised Bill No. 417
15 (3) Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision (1) or (2)
16 of this subsection shall have committed an infraction.
17 (4) The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall
18 post the dates during which the taking of horseshoe crabs is prohibited
19 pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection on the Internet web site of
20 such agency.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 26-292c
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit the harvesting of horseshoe crabs during the time of a full
moon phase in order to preserve horseshoe crab populations.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 26-292c