(A) No fishing license issued pursuant to section 1533.32 of the Revised Code is transferable, and no fisher shall carry a license that was issued in the name of another person or that does not contain the signature of the agent issuing it.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision in the Revised Code and except as otherwise provided by division rule, a licensee holding a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to section 1533.35 of the Revised Code may transfer that license to a person holding a license issued under that section or to a person meeting the qualifications set forth in section 1533.342 of the Revised Code. Such a transfer is subject to all of the following conditions:

(1) The transferred license shall not be sold, offered for sale, or bartered to any person.

(2) The chief of the division of wildlife, with the approval of the director of natural resources, shall determine if any quota species of fish are transferable with the transferred license. In making the determination, the chief shall use biological, social, and economic data.

(3) The transferred license is limited to the type of commercial fishing gear for which the original license was issued.

(4) The transfer does not affect any other commercial fishing license privilege possessed by the transferor.

(5) Application for the transfer may be made at any time and shall be made simultaneously by the transferor and transferee on forms provided by the division of wildlife.

(6) When a commercial fishing license is transferred during the open commercial fishing season, the transferee may be issued a license only upon receipt by the division of payment in an amount equal to the annual fees set forth in section 1533.35 of the Revised Code for the type of commercial fishing gear to be transferred plus any unpaid fees that have not been paid by the transferor at the time of transfer. The division shall not refund fees previously paid by a transferor.

(7) A commercial fishing license shall be transferred only upon payment to the division of the royalty fees imposed by section 1533.35 of the Revised Code that have accrued to the date of transfer. Royalty fees that accrue with regard to the license on or after the date of transfer are solely the responsibility of the transferee.

(8) A commercial fishing license may be transferred at any time, but it shall not be transferred if the license is suspended at the time transfer is sought, or if the licensee has been charged with a violation that could result in license suspension.

(9) After determining that the transfer of a commercial fishing license is proper, the chief shall effect the transfer by revocation of the license of the transferor and simultaneous issuance of the appropriate license to the transferee.

Effective Date: 10-20-1994; 2007 SB77 10-10-2007 .