(a)  The director is authorized and empowered to grant permits for, issue licenses for, and establish rules and regulations governing the taking, possession, sale, importation, and transportation of animal or plant species utilized in aquaculture; provided, however, that in the case of bivalves, no approval shall be given for the sale, possession, use, storage, or transportation of those species for human consumption without the written approval and permission of the director of health.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 20-10-12

  • Aquaculture: refers to the cultivation, rearing, or propagation of aquatic plants or animals under either natural or artificial conditions;

    (2)  "CRMC" means the coastal resources management council;

    (3)  "Director" or "department" means the director of or the department of environmental management;

    (4)  "MFC" means the marine fisheries council;

    (5)  "Water column" means the vertical extent of water, including the surface thereof, above a designated area of submerged bottom land. See Rhode Island General Laws 20-10-2

  • Commercial fishing: means to take, harvest, hold, transport, load, or off-load, marine species for sale or for intended sale;

    (3)  "Hinge width" means the distance between the convex apex of the right shell and the convex apex of the left shell;

    (4)  "Land or landing" means to off-load seafood products, including, but not limited to, finfish, shellfish, and crustaceans, for sale or intended sale, or to secure a vessel with the seafood products on board to a shoreside facility where the products may be off-loaded for sale or intended sale;

    (5)  "Nonresident landowner" means a nonresident citizen of the United States and owner of real estate in Rhode Island as evidenced by deed filed in the recorder of deeds office in a Rhode Island town or city hall;

    (6)  "Peck" means one fourth (¼) of a bushel;

    (7)  "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity;

    (8)  "Possession" means the exercise of dominion or control over the resource commencing at the time at which a decision is made not to return the resource to the immediate vicinity from which it was taken. See Rhode Island General Laws 20-1-3

  • CRMC: means the coastal resources management council;

    (3)  "Director" or "department" means the director of or the department of environmental management;

    (4)  "MFC" means the marine fisheries council;

    (5)  "Water column" means the vertical extent of water, including the surface thereof, above a designated area of submerged bottom land. See Rhode Island General Laws 20-10-2

  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • possession: means the exercise of dominion or control over cultured crops commencing at the time that a decision is made not to return the crops to the lease or facility from which they were taken. See Rhode Island General Laws 20-1-3

(b)  Any person who takes, possesses, imports, or transports any animal or plant species as delineated in subsection (a) without a permit issued by the director shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to imprisonment of not more than one year or a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both. The animal or plant species possessed, imported, or transported by that person may be forfeited to the state.

(c)  In accordance with rules and regulations established under this section, permits issued by the director may provide for specific exemptions, notwithstanding other provisions of law, from quotas, catch or bag limits, seasons, minimum-size limits and other such restrictions on commercial fishing as the director, in consultation with the council, may determine to be inappropriate to commercial aquaculture.

(d)  Any person who is granted permits for the conduct of aquaculture by the CRMC and the director in accordance with this chapter shall obtain a commercial aquaculture license to sell aquaculture products in the state to licensed fish and shellfish dealers. The license shall be issued by the department on a calendar-year basis for an annual fee of two hundred dollars ($200).

History of Section.
P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 2001, ch. 58, § 4; P.L. 2002, ch. 47, § 10.