Title 20, Title 20 and Wildlife

On or before the tenth day of January in each year, every person holding a permit pursuant to this chapter shall notify the department of environmental management in writing, under oath, what traps were placed under the permit during the preceding calendar year. Failure to furnis…

Upon ceasing to use any fish trap as authorized, that structure shall at once be removed by the owner at the owner’s expense and to the satisfaction of the director of environmental management. Failure to remove it shall be considered sufficient grounds for prosecution of the own…

The department may take possession of any abandoned fish trap and appurtenances; or any fish trap and appurtenances placed in a location for which no permit has been obtained; or any fish trap and appurtenances for which a permit location has been obtained but that the owner of t…

The director of environmental management, with the concurrence of the marine fisheries council, may adopt and amend any rules and regulations in reference to fish traps, permitted under this chapter, that may appear to him or her necessary for the public safety and for the proper…

The superior court, upon the application of the director of environmental management, shall have jurisdiction in equity to enjoin the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter and to enforce the orders of the director provided for in this chapter.

Any person who willfully or maliciously cuts, removes, displaces, tampers with, or in any way damages any trap, leader, or pound set by virtue of the permit provided for by this chapter shall be imprisoned not exceeding two (2) years, or fined not exceeding one thousand dollars (…

Every person or corporation willfully violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or any rule or regulation adopted under the authority of this chapter, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), nor less than one hundred dollars ($100), or impris…

The department of environmental management may issue permits duly signed and under its seal to set or erect and maintain fish traps, as provided in this chapter, to any resident of this state or to any corporations incorporated in the state, licensed in accordance with chapter 2.…

The general assembly shall annually appropriate any sums it may deem sufficient to be expended by the department of environmental management under the provisions of this chapter; and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw orders upon the general treasurer for tho…

It shall be unlawful to place any fish trap, as defined in this chapter, in the public waters of this state within one mile of the shore of the Island of Conanicut and no permit for this purpose shall be granted.

Each section of this chapter, and each part of each section, is hereby declared to be an independent section; and the holding of any section or sections in part or parts of sections to be void, ineffective, or unconstitutional for any cause, shall not be deemed to affect any othe…

(a) Any person desiring a permit for a location for erecting a fish trap shall make application in writing to the department of environmental management in any form and giving any information that the department may require. (b) Each application for a location for a fish trap sha…

Except as provided in § 20-5-5, no permit shall be granted for the erection within the public waters of the state of a fish trap any part of which is less than three thousand feet (3,000′) distant from an adjoining trap, measured parallel with the general coastline at such point …

No permit shall be granted for the erection of a fish trap within that portion of the public waters of the state southerly of the island of Rhode Island, designated by the engineer’s office of the department of the army as available fishing areas, lying easterly of Brenton’s Reef…

(a) No more than two (2) traps shall be set together in any continuous string of line, and there shall be a space of one hundred fifty (150) fathoms between two traps set within which no trap, leader, or other twine shall be placed. (b) No more than three (3) traps shall be set, …

Each leader shall be set as nearly as may be in a straight line and, with the exception of the traps permitted by § 20-5-5(7) and (8), no bend or angle in each leader known commonly as a “hook-back” shall be permitted.

The director of environmental management shall, where there are two (2) or more applicants for permits for the same location or for locations that are less than three thousand feet (3,000′) apart, determine which applicant has continuously during the fishing season occupied the l…

(a) All permits issued under this chapter shall be for a three-year period or for that portion thereof expiring on the last day of December of each third year thereafter. (b) On termination of any permit, the department may renew the permit by issuing a new permit in place of the…