§ 20-7-14 — § 20-7-14. Mutilation of uncooked lobsters.

§ 20-7-14. Mutilation of uncooked lobsters.

(a)(1) No person shall mutilate any uncooked lobster by severing its tail from its body, or have in his or her possession any part, or parts, of any uncooked lobster so mutilated. In any and all prosecutions under this section, the possession of any part, or parts, of any uncooked lobster so mutilated shall be prima facie evidence sufficient to convict.

(2) The director of environmental management is authorized to promulgate regulations exempting land-based processing facilities from the provisions of this chapter. Those regulations shall prescribe the procedures to apply for the subject exemption permit and the standards to be employed by the director in his or her consideration of the application. Those regulations shall prescribe rules governing the conduct and operation of the facility and may include restrictions on product forms, sizes, possession requirements, and other provisions in order to maintain the protection of the lobster resource and enforcement of the provision of this chapter.

(b) Any fishing vessel operating in Rhode Island territorial waters shall not have on board at any time more than one pound of cooked or uncooked lobster meat for each person on board that vessel. Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), and imprisonment for not less than thirty (30) days, or both.

Legislative History

P.L. 1981, ch. 197, § 3; P.L. 1997, ch. 276, § 1.