(a) The Commissioner may issue a permit to operate a fee fishing business which shall entitle the holder and the holder's clients to take fish from the holder's private pond. The Commissioner may issue a permit which shall continue for one year upon the payment of a fee of $50.00. The permit may be renewed annually for $50.00 per year.

(b) Fish in the private pond shall come from a propagation farm permitted under section 5207 of this title or shall have been imported under a permit obtained pursuant to section 4605 of this title. No live fish shall be taken from the fee fishing premises.

(c) Fish taken under this section may be taken without regard to creel limits.

(d) A person fishing under the permit issued under this section is not required to hold a fishing license pursuant to chapter 105 of this title. The Commissioner may, in consultation with the industry, conduct surveys to assess the impact on fishing license sales. A person holding a permit issued under this section shall respond to questions asked in a survey conducted pursuant to this subsection.

(e) The Commissioner shall adopt rules governing operation of fee fishing businesses which are necessary to ensure that operators, growers, and fishery resources of the State are protected. The rules may include mandatory testing of fish health and imposition of a prohibition on the moving or harvesting of any fish from a fee fishing business found to contain fish which carry an infectious disease. (Added 1993, No. 63, § 1; amended 2005, No. 42, § 3.)