Rhode Island General Laws 20-3-2. Powers and duties
(a) The marine fisheries council shall serve in an advisory capacity only to the state and agencies of the state regarding marine fisheries issues and shall have the power and duty to advise the director of the department of environmental management in the exercise of the director’s authority under this title for the planning, management, and regulation of marine fisheries on matters (except emergency rules adopted pursuant to § 42-35-2.10), including, but not limited to, the following activities:
(1) The manner of taking marine species from the waters of the state;
(2) The legal size limits of marine species to be taken or possessed;
(3) The seasons and hours during which marine species may be taken or possessed;
(4) The numbers or quantities of marine species which may be taken or possessed;
(5) The opening and closing of areas within the coastal waters to the taking of any and all types of marine species; and
(6) Marine fisheries licensing, including commercial, recreational and for-hire, necessary to implement the provisions of chapters 2, 2.1, and 2.2 of this title.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 20-3-2
- 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
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
(b) The marine fisheries council shall advise the director in the development of the rulemaking agenda for marine fisheries pursuant to § 42-35-5.1, and shall have the power to initiate rulemaking by petition as provided for by § 42-35-6.
(c) The marine fisheries council shall advise the department regarding development of annual plans for the allocation and use of the funds made available to the department from commercial fishing license fees, tags, permits, and vessel fees as provided in § 20-2-28.2.
(d) The marine fisheries council shall review applications to CRMC for permits to conduct aquaculture, and provide recommendations to CRMC on all such applications, in accordance with § 20-10-5.
(e) The council shall report annually by April 1 of each year to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the chairperson of the house committee on environment and natural resources, the chairperson of the senate committee on environment and agriculture, and to the house oversight committee and the senate committee on government oversight, for the preceding calendar year with regard to:
(1) The advice it has given to state agencies, including specifically the department of environmental management, on marine fisheries issues;
(2) The response it received to the advice it gave;
(3) Any findings or position it may have with regard to the status and/or condition of marine fisheries; and
(4) Any recommendations it may have for maintaining, improving, or changing laws, regulations, or management programs for marine fisheries.
History of Section.
P.L. 1981, ch. 197, § 3; P.L. 2001, ch. 304, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 359, § 2; P.L. 2023, ch. 281, § 3, effective June 22, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 282, § 3, effective June 22, 2023.