State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Connecticut > Title26 > Chap492 > Sec26-287

      Sec. 26-287. Waterford-East Lyme shellfish commission. Taking of shellfish from Niantic River. (a) The Waterford-East Lyme shellfish commission shall consist of four electors of each of said towns appointed by their respective boards of selectmen. Annually such board shall appoint an elector as a member of said commission who shall serve for a term of four years from June first in the year of his appointment. Neither of said towns shall be represented on said commission by more than two members of the same political party. Any vacancies that may from time to time occur shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term by the board of selectmen of the town which, because of such vacancy, has one less member on said commission. Said commission may prohibit the taking of escallops, clams and oysters from such portions of the Niantic River as it designates, for a period not exceeding one year at a time, designate, from time to time, the manner in which said shellfish may be taken and license such taking and, in connection therewith, adopt reasonable regulations and fix license and permit fees. When said commission designates any place or places in said river from which the taking of escallops, oysters and clams is to be prohibited or designates a new manner in which escallops, clams and oysters may or may not be taken, or adopts, rescinds or amends any regulation or license or permit fee adopted hereunder, it shall cause to be published at least twice, in a newspaper having a circulation in each of said towns, a notice describing the place or places upon which such prohibition is to be operative or the manner in which escallops, oysters or clams may or may not be taken, or the regulation, license or permit fee adopted, rescinded or amended, and shall post copies of such notices upon the shores of the river. No person shall take any escallops, oysters or clams from any grounds from which the taking of the same has been prohibited during the time of such prohibition nor in any manner in violation of any such designation or regulation.

      (b) No person shall, at any time, take any escallops which may pass through a two-inch ring or more than three bushels of escallops in any one day, provided said commission may increase the daily limit at any time after it has been in force for thirty days.

      (c) All constables and other informing officers of either of said towns shall inquire after and prosecute for any violation of this section. For the purpose of enforcing the same, all constables in either of said towns shall have supervision and jurisdiction over that part of the waters of the Niantic River from Golden Spur Bridge southerly to the highway bridge at the Rope Ferry Road, so called, and all offenses committed within said limits, in the same manner and to the same extent as though said portion of said river was within the town within which such officials have jurisdiction.

      (d) Said commission may designate special officers for the enforcement of this section whose compensation shall be determined by the commission. All moneys collected by either the town of Waterford or the town of East Lyme under the provisions of this section shall be paid to the commission and used by it for the protection and propagation of escallops, oysters and clams and other shellfish in the waters of the Niantic River.

      (e) Any person who violates any provision of this section or any regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than ten days or both, and upon conviction the court may order that such person shall not be entitled to a permit or license to take escallops, oysters and clams from the Niantic River until the beginning of the second season the river is opened by the commission following such conviction.

      (1949 Rev., S. 5094; 1953, S. 2567d; 1957, P.A. 505, S. 1; 1961, P.A. 517, S. 30; 1969, P.A. 92; 1971, P.A. 33, S. 1; P.A. 82-334, S. 2; P.A. 87-520, S. 3.)

      History: 1961 act deleted jurisdictional enforcement powers of prosecuting grand jurors, trial justices, prosecuting attorneys and other town officials of Waterford and East Lyme; 1969 act clarified provisions re membership of commission by specifying that there will be three selectmen from each town as members, no more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party; 1971 act reduced number of selectmen members to one from each town, deleting provision re political party affiliation, increased elector members from two to three for each town and replaced previous provisions re appointment and terms of members with new provisions; P.A. 82-334 amended Subsec. (a) to eliminate representation of the boards of selectmen of Waterford and East Lyme on commission, to delete obsolete appointment provisions and to increase terms from three to four years; P.A. 87-520 amended Subsec. (c) by increasing the penalty from $25 to $200.