Rhode island general Laws
Title 20
Fish and Wildlife
Section 20-10-1 Aquaculture
§ 20-10-1. Declaration of intent and public policy.
Whereas, R.I. Const., Art. I, Sec. 17, guarantees to the people the right to enjoy and freely exercise all rights of fishery, and imposes on the general assembly the responsibility to provide for the conservation of water, plant, and animal resources of the state; and
Whereas, it is in the best public interest of the people and the state that the land and waters of the state, are utilized properly and effectively to produce plant and animal life; and
Whereas, the process of aquaculture is a proper and effective method to cultivate plant and animal life; and
Whereas, the process of aquaculture should only be conducted within the waters of the state in a manner consistent with the best public interest, with particular consideration given to the effect of aquaculture on other uses of the free and common fishery and navigation, and the compatibility of aquaculture with the environment of the waters of the state; therefore,
It is the public policy of this state to preserve the waters of this state as free and common fishery. The health, welfare, environment, and general wellbeing of the people of the state require that the state restrict the uses of its waters and the land thereunder for aquaculture and, in the exercise of the police power, the waters of the state and land thereunder are to be regulated under this chapter.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 274, § 1.)
§ 20-10-1.1. Creation of the biosecurity board.
There shall be a biosecurity board within the coastal resources management council (hereinafter referred to as "CRMC") that shall meet, at minimum, on a quarterly basis and shall be composed of seven (7) members to be designated by the executive director of the CRMC, or his or her designee, with council approval. The council shall select a chair from among the board members, one of whom shall be the executive director of the CRMC, or his or her designee; one of whom shall be the state veterinarian or an individual certified in veterinary medicine, with a specialty in aquatic diseases, or by the American Fisheries Society; one of whom shall be a certified medical doctor or a person with a Ph.D. in public health; one of whom shall be a representative of the division of marine fisheries; one of whom shall be a representative of the marine fisheries council; one of whom shall be a representative from the aquaculture industry; and one of whom shall be a faculty member of the University of Rhode Island, Department of Fisheries, Animals and Veterinary Science.
History of Section.
(P.L. 2001, ch. 353, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 191, § 6; P.L. 2017, ch. 242, § 6.)
§ 20-10-1.2. Biosecurity board – Powers and duties.
It shall be the duty of the biosecurity board to assist and advise the council in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. In performing this duty, the biosecurity board shall cooperate with appropriate state and federal agencies, including, but not limited to, the department of health, and shall recommend inspections as necessary to ensure compliance with public health standards. The biosecurity board shall, from time to time, review federal agency regulations pertaining to aquaculture disease and the importation of non-indigenous and genetically altered species and shall otherwise maintain a current understanding of aquatic diseases and management practices necessary to preserving the aquaculture industry and wild stock. The members of the biosecurity board shall serve without salary.
History of Section.
(P.L. 2001, ch. 353, § 1.)
§ 20-10-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "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.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-3. Authority to grant permits for aquaculture.
The CRMC may grant permits for the conduct of aquaculture to any person, corporation, or business entity, chartered under the laws of this state, subject to the provisions of this chapter. Those permits for coastal waters shall be for a term not to exceed fifteen (15) years and shall be renewable upon application by the permittee for successive periods of ten (10) years for each renewable period; provided, that the terms and conditions of the permit, and of any previous renewal, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the CRMC pursuant to this chapter, have been met. Permits for land-based aquaculture projects shall be for a term to be designated by rules and regulations of the CRMC. All permits with their terms and stipulations presently in effect, as of May 15, 1980, under existing laws and regulations shall continue until their expiration.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 1989, ch. 542, § 33; P.L. 1996, ch. 274, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 224, § 1.)
§ 20-10-3.1. Sales and use tax exemption.
Any person engaging in aquaculture shall be eligible for the tax exemption in § 44-18-30(32) provided that the requirements set forth in that section are met.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1996, ch. 274, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 451, § 29.)
§ 20-10-4. Application for a permit to conduct aquaculture.
Any applicant desiring a permit to conduct aquaculture shall file with the CRMC a written application in any form that it may prescribe, setting forth the following information:
(1) The name and address of the applicant;
(2) A description of the location and amount of submerged land and water column to be subject to the permit;
(3) A description of the aquaculture activities to be conducted, including:
(i) Whether those activities are to be experimental or commercial;
(ii) A description of the species to be managed or cultivated within the permitted area; and
(iii) A description of the method or manner of aquaculture activity;
(4) An assessment of the current capability of the applicant to carry out those activities; and
(5) Any other information that the CRMC may by regulation require.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 274, § 1.)
§ 20-10-5. Procedures for approval.
(a) Upon submission of a completed application to the CRMC, the CRMC shall notify the director, the MFC and any other parties that the CRMC may by regulation designate.
(b) No application shall be approved by the CRMC or a permit granted prior to the consideration of recommendations by both the director and the MFC.
(c) The director shall review the application to determine whether the aquaculture activities proposed in the application are:
(1) Not likely to cause an adverse effect on the marine life adjacent to the area to be subject to the permit and the waters of the state;
(2) Not likely to have an adverse effect on the continued vitality of indigenous fisheries of the state.
(d) The MFC shall review the application to determine whether the aquaculture activities proposed in the application are consistent with competing uses engaged in the exploitation of the marine fisheries.
(e) The approval by the CRMC shall be subject to any public hearings, consistent with chapter 35 of title 42, that it may require.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-6. Leases.
(a) The CRMC, in accordance with chapter 6 of title 37, is authorized and empowered, when it shall serve the purposes of this chapter, to lease the land submerged under the coastal waters of the state, including any coastal ponds or estuaries to coastal rivers, and the water column above those submerged lands, to an applicant who has been granted an aquaculture permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter; provided, that the CRMC finds that a lease giving the applicant exclusive use of the submerged lands and water column, including the surface of the water, is necessary to the effective conduct of the permitted aquaculture activities.
(b) Those leases shall be granted for a term concurrent with the term of the aquaculture permit and may be renewed from time to time upon renewal of the aquaculture permits.
(c) Those leases shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the aquaculture permit, and any renewal of the permit, and the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted under this chapter. Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the permit or renewal, or the provisions of this chapter, or the rules and regulations adopted under this chapter, shall be grounds for termination of the lease at the discretion of the CRMC.
(d) Any assignment or sublease of the whole or any part of the area subject to lease shall constitute a breach of the lease and constitute cause for the termination of the lease, unless that assignment or subletting has received the prior approval of the CRMC.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-7. Fees.
The CRMC shall establish, by regulation, fees for applications, permits, leases, and renewals. Those fees may be based on the cost of administration, including inspection, required by the aquaculture permitting process.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-8. Performance requirements – Bond.
The CRMC may require the execution of a bond by the permittee to ensure the performance by the permittee of all of the conditions of his or her permit, and, in the event of a failure so to perform, to ensure the removal of aquaculture apparatus from the waters of the state.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-9. Marking of areas subject to permit – Restrictions on public use.
(a) The CRMC shall require all permittees to mark off the areas under permit by appropriate ranges, monuments, stakes, buoys, or fences, so placed as not to interfere unnecessarily with navigation and other traditional uses of the surface. All permittees shall cause the area under permit, and the means of permittees, to be shown by signs appropriately placed pursuant to regulations of the CRMC.
(b) Except to the extent necessary to permit the effective development of the species of animal or plant life being cultivated by the permittee, the public shall be provided with means of reasonable ingress and egress, to and from the area subject to permit, for traditional water activities such as boating, swimming, and fishing. All limitations upon the use by the public of the areas subject to permit that are authorized by the terms of the permit shall be clearly posted by the permittee pursuant to regulations by the CRMC.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-10. Assignability of permits.
Any permit granted pursuant to this chapter shall be void if assigned, in whole or in part, unless that assignment is made with the prior approval of the CRMC.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-11. Regulations.
The CRMC may adopt, repeal, and amend any rules and regulations that are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this chapter, subject to chapter 35 of title 42. Those rules and regulations shall be promulgated in consultation with the director and the MFC.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-12. Permits and licenses for the taking, possession, sale, importation, and transportation of species used in aquaculture.
(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.
(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.)
§ 20-10-13. Cultivated plants or animals as property of the permittee.
Any plant or animal species, as stipulated in an aquaculture permit, that are being cultivated within the designated, permitted area, are the personal property of the permittee.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-13.1. Cultivated plants or animals – Exemption from certain wild fishery restrictions.
(a) Aquaculture activities conducted in a manner consistent with permit and license conditions and in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, and aquaculture products harvested for sale as a result of those activities, shall be exempt from the following statutory and regulatory restrictions governing wild fisheries: seasons, bag limits, methods of harvest, and, except for quahaugs (Mercenaria mercenaria), minimum sizes.
(b) The possessor of aquaculture products subject to these exemptions shall have the burden of proof that the products were legally acquired and possessed. In accordance with applicable rules and regulations governing aquaculture products, proper tags and bills of sale shall constitute the primary means for satisfying this burden of proof.
(c) Aquaculturists are prohibited from harvesting for sale to a shellfish dealer for human consumption quahaugs (Mercenaria mercenaria) with a hinge width of less than one inch (1").
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (c) above, the director of the department of environmental management is authorized to promulgate regulations establishing a special exemption permit that would exempt department of health-licensed food processing facilities from the one-inch-minimum-size restriction governing bay quahogs, pursuant to § 20-6-11(b).
History of Section.
(P.L. 2002, ch. 47, § 11; P.L. 2004, ch. 430, § 2; P.L. 2004, ch. 507, § 2.)
§ 20-10-14. Emergency closure of areas subject to permit.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, or any other provision of law, if the director finds, or has cause to believe, that an aquaculture activity is causing, or is likely to cause, an immediate danger to marine life or the environment of the coastal waters of the state, the director shall notify the CRMC. The CRMC shall immediately order all permittees affected by that notice to show cause why their aquaculture activities should not be terminated, and any aquaculture species or paraphernalia removed from the waters of the state. The CRMC shall proceed to hold a public hearing and issue its order with respect to the hearing, within a reasonable period. In its order following the hearing, the CRMC may direct the temporary or permanent suspension of aquaculture activities in the affected area, removal of equipment or animals, or any other measures as shall be deemed necessary for the protection of the marine life and environment of the waters of the state, including the forfeiture to, and destruction by, the state of any plant or animal species.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-15. Authority to enter and inspect.
The director shall have the authority to enter and inspect any and all areas subject to an aquaculture permit for the purpose of determining compliance with the terms and provisions of the permit.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)
§ 20-10-16. Penalties.
(a) Any person who conducts aquaculture activities in excess of those authorized by an aquaculture permit shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. In addition to that fine and/or imprisonment, all works, improvements, fish, and animal and plant life involved in the project may be forfeited to the state.
(b) Any person damaging, disturbing, or interfering with any area subject to an aquaculture permit or any person damaging, disturbing, interfering, or taking by any means whatsoever, or possessing the cultivated species in an area subject to an aquaculture permit, without the permission of the permittee, is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. In addition to that fine and/or imprisonment, all vessels, dredges, tongs, rakes, and other implements used to damage, disturb, interfere, or take cultivated species in those areas may be forfeited to the state.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 47, § 10.)
§ 20-10-16.1. License or permit suspension or revocation.
The permit or license of any person who has violated the provisions of this chapter, or the rules and regulations issued pursuant to it, including anyone holding a license or permit found guilty of a violation in accordance with § 20-10-16(b), may be suspended or revoked by the CRMC or the director as the CRMC or the director shall determine by regulation. Any person aggrieved by an order of suspension or revocation may appeal this order in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42.
History of Section.
(P.L. 2002, ch. 47, § 11.)
§ 20-10-17. Arrest, seizure, and prosecution of violators.
(a) Any police officer authorized to make arrests, the director, and conservation officers appointed under the authority of § 20-1-6 shall be empowered:
(1) To enforce all laws, rules, and regulations relating to this chapter;
(2) To execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation of laws, rules, and regulations relating to this chapter;
(3) To serve subpoenas issued for the trial of all offenses hereunder;
(4) To arrest, without a warrant and on view, any person found violating any law, rule, or regulation relating to this chapter; take that person before a court having jurisdiction for trials; detain that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment; and to make and execute complaints within any district, to the justice or clerk of the court, against any person for any of the offenses enumerated under this chapter, committed within the district.
(b) The director, and the director's deputies and assistants, may, by virtue of their respective offices, make complaints of any violation of this chapter, and they shall not be required to give recognizance or to furnish surety for costs or be liable for costs on those complaints.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 451, § 29.)
§ 20-10-18. Severability.
If any provision of this chapter, or any rule, regulation, or determination made under this chapter, or the application of this chapter to any person, agency, or circumstance, is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter, or the rule, regulation, or determination, and the application of those provisions to other persons, agencies, or circumstances shall not be affected. The invalidity of any section or sections or parts of any section or sections of this chapter shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this chapter.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1980, ch. 219, § 2.)