Title 20
Fish and Wildlife

Chapter 7
Lobsters and Other Crustaceans

§ 20-7-7.1. Administrative suspension/revocation of licenses — Penalties — Appeal.

(a) If a person licensed under this chapter is found, pursuant to § 42-17.1-2, to have violated any of the following offenses, his or her license shall be suspended for the following periods:

(1) Possession of ten (10) or more undersize lobsters, but not more than nineteen (19), in violation of § 20-7-10, one month;

(2) Possession of twenty (20) or more undersize lobsters, in violation of § 20-7-10, one year;

(3) Possession of mutilated lobsters or lobster meat, in violation of § 20-7-14, one year;

(4) Possession of one or more brushed female berried lobsters, in violation of § 20-7-10, one year;

(5) Possession of ten (10) or more egg-bearing female lobsters, in violation of § 20-7-10, one year;

(6) Unauthorized raising of another’s lobster pots, in violation of § 20-4-8, one year;

(7) Use or possession of a lobster pot from which the markings or branded numbers have been removed, altered, or obliterated, in violation of § 20-7-12, one year; and

(8) Failure to file reports of lobsters taken, as required by § 20-7-9, one year.

(b) Any person whose license is so suspended shall not engage in the lobster fishery in this state during the specified period of suspension. Any person who is found, pursuant to § 42-17.1-2, to have engaged in the lobster fishery during the specified period of suspension shall pay an administrative penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(c) The license of any person found, pursuant to § 42-17.1-2, to have violated any of the offenses set forth in subsection (a) a second time shall be revoked for three (3) years and the person whose license is revoked shall not engage in the lobster fishery of this state in any way while the revocation is in force, and in addition shall pay an administrative penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation.

(d) In addition to any other sanctions provided by law, any person found, pursuant to § 42-17.1-2, to have violated any of the provisions of this chapter shall pay an administrative penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), for each lobster taken or possessed in violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(e) Any person aggrieved by a final decision under this section may appeal the decision in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42.