(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, any person who holds a current passenger-for-hire license issued by the United States Coast Guard and a current party or charter fishing vessel registration issued by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection pursuant to section 26-142a shall not be prohibited from operating a vessel registered with a marine dealer registration number issued pursuant to section 15-145, provided any such person operates a recreational charter fishing guide service using a vessel registered with such a marine dealer registration number in connection with such guide service.
(b) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall not revoke a marine dealer registration number issued pursuant to section 15-145 for any vessel used in compliance with subsection (a) of this section.
(P.A. 10-124, S. 4; P.A. 12-174, S. 1; P.A. 15-52, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 10-124 effective May 27, 2010; P.A. 12-174 deleted “for two years from the effective date of this section,” and “for not less than five of the ten years preceding the effective date of this section” in Subsec. (a), changed “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” and made technical changes, effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 15-52 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing reference to charter boat registration with reference to party or charter fishing vessel registration, effective January 1, 2016.