Any person, firm, or corporation who engages in the selling, brokering, trading, bartering, or processing of any fresh or frozen seafood, whether on a consignment basis or otherwise, is a seafood dealer and shall purchase a seafood dealer's license for a fee of two hundred dollars ($200) for Alabama residents domiciled for a period of more than one continuous year immediately preceding date of issuance and four hundred dollars ($400) for nonresidents except for residents of states which charge Alabama residents in excess of four hundred dollars ($400) for the activity, in which case it shall be the amount the other state charges. To obtain the license, all entities other than brokers shall have and present proof of a business license from the location of the business, a tax identification number, and the appropriate seafood processing health permit. This license is not required by nonresident seafood dealers buying from or selling to a licensed Alabama seafood dealer or licensed commercial fishermen when selling their catch to a licensed Alabama seafood dealer nor by restaurants where the seafood is cooked and sold for consumption on or off its premises. Restaurants shall not purchase seafoods from any person, firm, or corporation that is not licensed to sell seafoods in Alabama. If the licensee owns or operates more than one place of business, then additional dealer's licenses must be purchased for each separate place of business, providing the location of each. A vehicle used solely for transporting seafoods to or from an Alabama seafood dealer is not considered a place of business. Each vehicle from which seafood is sold to or purchased from any person, firm, or corporation other than an Alabama seafood dealer, is a place of business and shall be licensed under this section. The seafood dealer shall purchase a license for each vehicle for a fee of one hundred dollars ($100) per license and the operator of the vehicle shall have the original license in his or her possession when selling or buying seafood from that vehicle. Seafood dealers may purchase seafoods only from commercial fishermen validly licensed in Alabama, Alabama seafood dealers, and any nonresident seller who is validly licensed to sell seafoods under the laws of that state. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell, broker, trade, barter, or process seafoods as provided for in this section without first purchasing a seafood dealer's license. Any person, firm, or corporation violating this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum mandatory fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for first offenses, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for second offenses within three years of the date of the first conviction, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) and a mandatory jail sentence of 10 to 30 days for conviction of any subsequent offenses within three years of the date of the first conviction.
Last modified: May 3, 2021