R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-9-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-9 / Section 20-9-4
§ 20-9-4. Appropriations for fish restoration projects.
Status: in_force

The general assembly shall annually appropriate any sum as it may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of § 20-9-3, and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of that sum, or so much as may be required from time to time, upon receipt by the controller of properly authenticated vouchers.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-18 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-18
§ 20-10-18. Severability.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-5-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-5 / Section 20-5-2
§ 20-5-2. Persons to whom permits issuable.
Status: in_force

The department of environmental management may issue permits duly signed and under its seal to set or erect and maintain fish traps, as provided in this chapter, to any resident of this state or to any corporations incorporated in the state, licensed in accordance with chapter 2.1 of this title, upon payment of an additional permit fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) per trap location for the permit period prescribed by § 20-5-9 for each permit.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-10 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-10
§ 20-8-10. Audit of commissions books.
Status: in_force

The controller of the state of Rhode Island is authorized and empowered from time to time to examine the accounts and books of the commission, including its receipts and disbursements, and any other items referring to its financial standing as the controller may deem proper, and to report the results of that examination to the governor of the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-43 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-43
§ 20-2-43. Disposition of trout conservation stamp receipts.
Status: in_force

All trout conservation stamp receipts, and all receipts from the sale of stamp by-products, shall be deposited in a special trout conservation fund. All stamp and stamp by-products receipts shall be expended through the appropriations process for operations, trout habitat including acquisition, improvement research, and culture projects.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-13 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-13
§ 20-13-13. Restriction on size of weapons and ammunition.
Status: in_force

Whoever uses or has in his or her possession while hunting in this state any rifle: (a) larger than a twenty-two (22) caliber rim fire rifle; or (b) other than a muzzle loading rifle; or (c) other than any shotgun and shells loaded with ball, bullets, slug; or shot larger than number two (no. 2) shot, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both; provided, however, that from April 1 to September 30, both dates inclusive, no center fire rifles larger than .229 caliber may be used during daylight hours; and provided further, that persons hunting water fowl in a blind or over decoys may use steel shot of size number one (no. 1) or BB.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-37-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-37 / Section 20-37-3
§ 20-37-3. Special permit.
Status: in_force

No person shall buy, sell, offer for sale, store, transport, import, export, or otherwise traffic in any animal or plant, or any part of any animal or plant, whether living, dead, processed, manufactured, preserved, or raw if the animal or plant has been declared to be an endangered species by either the United States Secretaries of the Interior or Commerce or the director of the Rhode Island department of environmental management. The only exception to these prohibitions shall be for purposes of scientific research or educational display either of which must be done by or under the formal supervision of a legitimate college or university and then only upon the issuance of a special permit for each individual excepted species. The permit may be issued by the director of environmental management. The permit will be denied by the director if, in his or her opinion, issuance of the permit would not be entirely justified or entirely in the best interests of preservation and protection of the species involved. Under no circumstances will a permit be granted for exception if commercial considerations are involved in any way.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-28 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-28
§ 20-6-28. Cost of transfer of shellfish.
Status: in_force

For the transfer of shellfish pursuant to § 20-6-26, the director is authorized to hire dredge boats or handrakers and to set the rate of payment. Any transferred shellfish may be sold by the director, and the proceeds of that sale retained under the control of the director for the purpose of assisting in the cost of the transfer of shellfish from uncertified waters to approved areas, from time to time, as the transfer becomes necessary or expedient.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-5-15 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-5 / Section 20-5-15
§ 20-5-15. Seizure of abandoned or unlawful traps  Destruction or sale.
Status: in_force

The department may take possession of any abandoned fish trap and appurtenances; or any fish trap and appurtenances placed in a location for which no permit has been obtained; or any fish trap and appurtenances for which a permit location has been obtained but that the owner of the fish trap and appurtenances may willfully maintain in a wrong position or location; and may destroy the fish trap and appurtenances, or may dispose of them at public auction to the highest bidder, first giving notice of the time and place of sale by publishing the notice at least three (3) times a week for two (2) successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation with power to adjourn the sale from time to time, giving like notice of the adjournment; and make and execute to the purchaser at the sale a good and sufficient conveyance of all right, title, and interest in and to the fish trap and appurtenances; and to receive the proceeds of the sale and pay the proceeds into the treasury of the state; and the state controller shall draw orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of all expenses of taking possession and disposing of a fish trap and any appurtenances, upon receipt by him or her of proper vouchers, approved by the director of environmental management, and the general treasurer shall pay the orders out of moneys appropriated for that purpose.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-16 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-16
§ 20-13-16. Harassment of hunters, trappers, and fishers prohibited.
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall obstruct or interfere with the lawful taking of wildlife by another person at the location where the activity is taking place with intent to prevent the lawful taking.

(b) A person violates this section when he or she intentionally or knowingly:

(1) Drives or disturbs wildlife for the purpose of disrupting the lawful taking of wildlife where another person is engaged in the process of lawfully taking wildlife;

(2) Blocks, impedes, or otherwise harasses another person who is engaged in the process of lawfully taking wildlife;

(3) Uses natural or artificial visual, aural, olfactory, or physical stimuli to affect wildlife behavior in order to hinder or prevent the lawful taking of wildlife;

(4) Erects barriers with the intent to deny ingress or egress to areas where the lawful taking of wildlife may occur;

(5) Interjects himself or herself into the line of fire;

(6) Affects the condition or placement of personal or public property intended for use in the lawful taking of wildlife in order to impair its usefulness or prevent its use; or

(7) Enters or remains upon private lands without the permission of the owner, or the owners agent, with intent to violate this section.

(c) A violation of this section is a civil violation for which a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) may be adjudged. The traffic tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all violations specified in this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-5
§ 20-6-5. Registered boat operated only by licensee.
Status: in_force

Each boat registered pursuant to § 20-6-4 shall be operated only by the person to whom that boat was registered; provided that person is duly licensed for the activity engaged in. Each registered boat used shall be limited, no matter how many persons are on board, to the catch limit established for one licensee.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-4-8 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-4 / Section 20-4-8
§ 20-4-8. Unauthorized raising of traps, pots, and devices.
Status: in_force

No person except the director, enforcement officers, and authorized technical personnel of the department shall unduly disturb, lift, raise, molest, or remove any animal from a trap, pot, or any other device of a person licensed under this title without the written permission of that person.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-38-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-38 / Section 20-38-3
§ 20-38-3. Definitions.
Status: in_force

When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) Aquaculture means the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants.

(2) Collaborative means the Rhode Island seafood marketing collaborative established under § 20-38-4.

(3) Rhode Islands local fishermen and aquaculturists means commercial fishermen and aquaculturists licensed in the state of Rhode Island.

(4) Seafood dealer means any person engaged in purchasing, raising, propagating, breeding, or acquiring or possessing live fish or fish eggs to be sold or furnished to others for the purpose of resale licensed in the state of Rhode Island.

(5) State agencies means state entities responsible for the implementation of Rhode Islands fishery management and economic development, including, but not limited to:

(i) The department of environmental management, which shall include:

(A) The division of agriculture and

(B) The division of marine fisheries;

(ii) The commerce corporation;

(iii) The coastal resources management council;

(iv) The department of health;

(v) The department of administration.

(6) Sustainable food system means one in which resources (including natural resources, such as soil and water, as well as human resources, such as labor) are used at, or below, their rate of recovery.

(7) [Deleted by P.L. 2015, ch. 100, § 1 and P.L. 2015, ch. 111, § 1].
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-5
§ 20-8-5. Delegation of powers by director of environmental management.
Status: in_force

The director of environmental management, as ex officio commissioner, may delegate, from time to time, to any deputy or other subordinate in his or her department or office, the power to be present and participate, including voting as his or her representative or substitute, at any meeting of, or hearing by, or other proceeding of the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-3-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-3 / Section 20-3-2
§ 20-3-2. Powers and duties.
Status: in_force

(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.

(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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-15-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-15 / Section 20-15-3
§ 20-15-3. Permit to landowner to protect property.
Status: in_force

(a) Any person owning or occupying any property, and any employee of that person, while on that persons premises, may kill any deer found destroying any crops, vegetables, or fruit trees, or otherwise causing damage to that property; provided, however, that this person shall not kill any deer unless he or she has obtained a permit from the director to do so. The director, on application, may issue the permit to any responsible owner, or the owners employee, provided that no such permit shall be issued until the director has determined that actual damage has been done to crops, vegetables, fruit trees, or other property by any deer, and that no practical alternative to the shooting of the deer is available. This permit shall be issued on an annual basis at a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). Any person taking or wounding a deer under the permit shall report the taking or wounding to a conservation officer or other designee of the director within twenty-four (24) hours of the taking or wounding.

(b) Hunting shall only be permitted from one half (Â½) hour before sunrise to one half (Â½) hour after sunset; provided that the director, subject to terms and conditions to be set forth by regulation, may authorize hunting at other times on farmlands; and further provided, that these farms have experienced severe deer damage to a cash crop or crops, and have attempted unsuccessfully other reasonable means of controlling the damage, including daylight hunting; and provided further, that the director determines whether these farmlands are of sufficient size to support night hunting without endangering the public safety. A night hunting permit may be issued by the director to any responsible owner, or the owners employee, provided that no such permit shall be issued until the director has determined that actual damage has been done to crops, vegetables, fruit trees, or other property by any deer, and that no practical alternative to the shooting of the deer is available. This permit shall be issued on an annual basis at a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(c) Under the authority of the director, the division of agriculture shall be responsible for administering the provisions of this section as they relate to farmers, and may also be responsible for administering this section as it relates to other landowners.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-4-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-4 / Section 20-4-9
§ 20-4-9. Striped bass  Minimum size.
Status: in_force

Unless otherwise specified in regulations, no person shall take in any manner whatsoever from the territorial waters of this state, including the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, or have in their possession, any striped bass measuring less than sixteen inches (16³) in length. Striped bass shall be measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-18 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-18
§ 20-13-18. Captive hunting prohibited.
Status: in_force

(a) As used in this section, the term captive hunting means a hunt that occurs within a structure designed to restrict the free movement of animals created by the use of fences, man-made structures, and/or natural barriers, including, but not limited to, private lands set up as hunting or shooting preserves or game ranches, wherein the animal is restricted from escaping or fleeing from the confined area during the hunt.

(b) No species of animal whether domestic or wild, whether exotic to the state or naturally occurring in the state, may be imported into the state or released on any property within the state for purposes of conducting captive hunting.

(c) No native or domestic species of the state shall be intentionally or unintentionally captured or restricted of free movement by the use of fences, man-made structures, and/or natural barriers for the purpose of conducting captive hunting.

(d) The term captive hunting shall not apply to the release of domestic game birds for hunting, whether on public property or on private property properly licensed by the department of environmental management (department) as a shooting preserve, or to field trials conducted in accordance with the provisions of this title and properly licensed by the department.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-7 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-7
§ 20-8-7. Powers of commission  Co-operation and information furnished by state agencies.
Status: in_force

There is hereby granted to the commission and the commissioners all the powers provided for in the compact, § 20-8-1, and all the powers necessary or incidental to the carrying out of the compact in every particular. All officers of the state of Rhode Island are hereby authorized and directed to do all things falling within their respective provinces and jurisdiction necessary or incidental to the carrying out of the compact in every particular; it being hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Rhode Island to perform and carry out the compact and to accomplish its purposes. All officers, bureaus, departments, and persons of, and in, the state government or administration of the state of Rhode Island are authorized and directed at convenient times, and upon request of the commission, to furnish the commission with information and data possessed by them or any of them and to aid the commission by a loan of personnel or other means lying within their legal rights respectively.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-5
§ 20-1-5. General enforcement powers.
Status: in_force

The director, and the directors authorized agents, employees, and designees, shall protect the wild birds, wild animals, fisheries, and shellfisheries throughout the state and shall administer and enforce the provisions of this title, and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this title, and shall prosecute violations of these laws and rules and regulations.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-35 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-35
§ 20-2-35. Waterfowl stamp required.
Status: in_force

No person sixteen (16) years of age or older shall take, or attempt to take, any migratory waterfowl without first obtaining a regular hunting license and a Rhode Island migratory waterfowl stamp for the current year. Each stamp shall be validated by the signature of the licensee written in ink across the face of the stamp and shall not be transferable. The stamp year shall run from July 1 to June 30. The migratory waterfowl stamp shall be available at all outlets currently used for the issuance of a hunting license.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-9
§ 20-16-9. Setting of traps.
Status: in_force

No trap shall be set by any person on the enclosed land of another without the written permission of the owner of the land. Every trap shall be placed in a hole, brush pile, stone wall, or other protected place, so situated as to be inaccessible to any domestic animal. No person setting a trap, or traps, shall fail to visit the traps at least once every twenty-four (24) hours. No traps shall be set, staked, or placed where furbearing animals might be found before the opening day and time of the trapping season established pursuant to § 20-1-12; all traps shall be removed by the last day of the season.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-22 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-22
§ 20-6-22. Transplanting of seed scallops.
Status: in_force

The director of environmental management may conduct any scallop transplant programs as may be appropriate to enhance scallop stock, seed depleted areas, and further the scallop harvest in the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-29 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-29
§ 20-2-29. Commercial game licenses.
Status: in_force

(a) Artificial propagation and sale of live game: twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(b) Raising game for liberation: five dollars ($5.00).

(c) Sale of carcasses of domestic game birds: twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-16 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-16
§ 20-7-16. Egg-bearing blue crabs  Minimum size.
Status: in_force

No person shall take, offer for sale, or possess at any time any female blue crab bearing eggs visible thereon, or from which the egg pouch or bunion has been removed. Unless otherwise specified by regulation, no person shall take, buy, sell, give away, expose for sale, or possess any blue crab measuring less than four and one-eighth inches (4 ³) across the shell from tip to tip of spike.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-18-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-18 / Section 20-18-3
§ 20-18-3. Hunting on public lands.
Status: in_force

It is unlawful for any person to hunt, trap, pursue, take, or kill, or attempt so to do, or in any manner molest or destroy, any wild birds, or the nests or eggs of wild birds, or any wild animal, within the exterior boundaries of any state management area, or park, or land held by any entity in trust for public use, except that the authorities or persons having the control and charge of the lands may in their discretion, with limitations they may deem advisable, and consistent with the laws and rules and regulations of the state relating to seasons, bag and size limits, and manner of taking, authorize persons to hunt, take, or kill within the boundaries any wild birds or animals that are not now protected by law. Authorization is given by written permit, and the permit is revocable at the pleasure of the authorities or persons granting it. The provisions of this section may be enforced by the officials and persons having charge of these lands, and by environmental police officers of the department of environmental management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-6 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-6
§ 20-8-6. Removal of commissioner.
Status: in_force

Any commissioner may be removed from office by the governor upon charges and after a hearing.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-5.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-5.1
§ 20-1-5.1. Advice of the marine fisheries council.
Status: in_force

The director, in exercising authority under this title for the planning, management, and regulation of marine fisheries, shall request and consider in the record as applicable the advice of the marine fisheries council, and shall provide a written response to such advice of the marine fisheries council.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-30 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-30
§ 20-2-30. Fur trapping and licenses.
Status: in_force

(a)(1) Fur trapper  Resident: fifteen dollars ($15.00); commencing July 1, 2025, twenty dollars ($20.00); commencing July 1, 2028, twenty-five dollars ($25.00).

(2) Fur trapper  Nonresident: fifty dollars ($50.00); commencing July 1, 2025, seventy-five dollars ($75.00); commencing July 1, 2028, one hundred dollars ($100.00).

(b) Fur trapper and fur licenses expire on the last day of March of each year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-17-10 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-17 / Section 20-17-10
§ 20-17-10. Possession by dealers or restaurants of wildlife not authorized for sale.
Status: in_force

No person, firm, corporation, or association dealing in poultry, meats, fish, groceries, or other provision, or any other business that requires, or has, an ice box or cold storage or freezing vault, of any description, for use in connection with his or her, their or its business, and no hotel, club, public house, restaurant, or victualers house shall purchase or possess any bird or animal, the sale of which is prohibited, without first obtaining a permit from the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-4
§ 20-16-4. Raccoon hunting.
Status: in_force

Raccoons may be taken and possessed with the use of a gun, when the taker is accompanied by a dog. No person shall hunt raccoons at night by the use of rifle larger than a twenty-two (22) caliber rim fire long rifle or by the use of shotgun shells carrying shot larger than number four (no. 4) shot or by the use of a light other than a kerosene lantern, exclusive of the pressure type, or a flashlight with more than six (6) cells. No person shall take, or attempt to take, raccoons by use of a light from a motor vehicle.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-14-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-14 / Section 20-14-9
§ 20-14-9. Boats used in hunting waterfowl.
Status: in_force

Migratory game birds may not be taken from, or by means of, any motorboat or a boat or other craft having a motor attached, unless the motor has been completely shut off and/or the sail furled, and its progress from the use of the motor or sail has ceased, or the boat or craft is used solely as a means of picking up dead or injured birds, nor shall migratory game birds be taken by means of aid of any motor driven land, water, or air conveyance used for the purpose of, or resulting in, the concentrating, driving, rallying, or stirring up of waterfowl; provided, however, that the shooting of crippled waterfowl from a motorboat under power will be permitted under the following conditions: crippled waterfowl may be pursued, shot, and retrieved from a boat under power seaward of the first upstream bridge in all coastal waters except coastal ponds.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-8 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-8
§ 20-16-8. Trapping  Steel jawed leghold traps.
Status: in_force

(a) No person shall use, set, place, or maintain or tend any steel-jawed, leghold trap to capture any furbearing mammal or other animal; provided, however, that any person may apply in writing to the director of the department of environmental management for a special permit to use a steel-jawed, leghold trap to be used on his or her property when there exists on his or her property an animal nuisance that cannot be reasonably abated except by the use of the trap.

(b) If the director determines that this nuisance exists on the property of the applicant that cannot be reasonably abated by means not prohibited by this section, the director may then issue a permit to the applicant, for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days, to use, set, place, maintain, or tend any steel-jawed, leghold traps that the director may deem necessary to eliminate the nuisance.

(c) Any person violating this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, and his or her trapping license and privilege to trap shall be revoked for one year from the date of conviction.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-4-7 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-4 / Section 20-4-7
§ 20-4-7. Marking of traps.
Status: in_force

The owner of every trap, pot, or other stationary contrivance used for the taking of marine fish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other invertebrates being fished in the waters of this state, and the owner of any trap or pot for catching, or cars or other contrivances for keeping lobsters, shall mark each trap, pot, or contrivance, together with the buoy that is attached to it, with the name or names of the owners of the contrivance or the person or persons using the contrivance, and the license number or numbers of each person or persons. Every person failing to mark each trap as provided in this section shall be fined not less than twenty dollars ($20.00), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), for each offense and all traps, pots, or other contrivances used contrary to the provisions of this and other sections of this chapter shall be seized by any officer engaged in the enforcement of this chapter; and the property shall be forfeited to the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-15-6 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-15 / Section 20-15-6
§ 20-15-6. Prohibition of hunting by local authorities.
Status: in_force

Any city or town council is authorized and empowered to prohibit hunting, possessing, or taking deer within the boundaries of the city or town by ordinance duly enacted.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-30 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-30
§ 20-1-30. Regulation of fishing in Great Salt Pond.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding the provisions of this title, the electors of the town of New Shoreham may, in a town meeting called for that purpose, enact any ordinances to protect and to regulate the taking of shellfish and other fish in Great Salt Pond, and may impose penalties for violations of these ordinances not exceeding a fine of two hundred dollars ($200) and three (3) months imprisonment for any one offense.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-25 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-25
§ 20-6-25. Disposition of moneys received under this chapter.
Status: in_force

All moneys derived from payments received for fishing licenses required under the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited with the general treasurer, and the general assembly shall annually appropriate any sum that it deems necessary for the protection, cultivation, research, and management of shellfish; and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw orders upon the general treasurer for payment of any sums that may be necessary, from time to time, upon receipt by the controller of duly authenticated vouchers presented by the director of the department of environmental management; provided, however, nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive the licensing agents of their recording fees.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-8 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-8
§ 20-8-8. Powers granted supplemental.
Status: in_force

Any powers granted in this chapter to the commission shall be regarded as in aid of, and supplemental to, and in no case a limitation upon, any of the powers vested in the commission by other laws of the state of Rhode Island or by the laws of the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida or by the Congress or the terms of the compact.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-3
§ 20-7-3. Noncommercial lobster licenses.
Status: in_force

A holder of a noncommercial lobster license may set, place, or maintain in the water at any one time not more than five (5) lobster pots or traps. A noncommercial lobster licensee shall not offer for sale or sell lobsters.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-12.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-12.1
§ 20-7-12.1. Unauthorized possession and/or transfer of pots and traps.
Status: in_force

(a) No person except the director of environmental management, enforcement officers, and authorized technical personnel of the department of environmental management shall place, set, keep, maintain, sell, transfer, or have in his or her possession, any pot, trap, car, or any other device used in taking or holding lobster or crabs, nor take, remove, or carry away from the beach or shore any pot, trap, car, or other device or line (warp) or buoy without the written permission of the their owner.

(b) Every person convicted of violating this section shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense, or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, and each pot, trap, car, or device used in violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense. In addition, if that person is licensed, his or her license shall be revoked for one year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-24 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-24
§ 20-2-24. Recreational lobster license.
Status: in_force

(a) Noncommercial pot: forty dollars ($40.00). The license is issued only to a legal resident of the state of Rhode Island.

(b) Noncommercial divers: forty dollars ($40.00). The license is issued only to a legal resident of the state of Rhode Island.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-27.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-27.1
§ 20-2-27.1. Rhode Island party and charter vessel license.
Status: in_force

(a) All party and charter vessels carrying recreational passengers to take or attempt to take marine species upon the navigable state and coastal waters of Rhode Island shall be required to obtain a Rhode Island party and charter vessel license. The annual fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100) for a resident of Rhode Island and shall be three hundred dollars ($300) for a nonresident. All licensed party and charter vessels shall be required to display a party and charter vessel decal provided by the department. To obtain a license, the owner of a qualified vessel must submit:

(1) A current copy of the operators United States Coast Guard license to carry passengers for hire;

(2) A current copy of the vessels Certificate of Documentation certifying that the vessel is documented Coastwise, or if the vessel is under five (5) net tons, a copy of the vessels state registration;

(3) Proof that the operator and crew are currently enrolled in a random drug testing program that complies with the federal governments 46 C.F.R. § 16.101 et seq. Drug Testing Program regulations; and

(4) A signed license application form certifying that the vessel is and will be operated in compliance with all state and federal safety regulations for the vessel.

(b) Rhode Island party and charter vessel licenses shall expire on the last day of December every year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-9-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-9 / Section 20-9-3
§ 20-9-3. Assent to fish restoration and management projects.
Status: in_force

The state of Rhode Island assents to the provisions of the act of Congress, entitled An Act to Provide that the United States Shall Aid the States in Fish Restoration and Management Projects, and for Other Purposes, 16 U.S.C. § 777 et seq., and the division of fish and wildlife and/or marine fisheries, with the approval of the director of environmental management, is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to perform any acts as may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of fish restoration and management projects, as defined in that act of Congress, in compliance with that act and with rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior under that act, and no funds accruing to the state from license fees or interest from license fee accounts paid by fishers shall be diverted for any other purpose than the administration of the division of fish and wildlife and/or marine fisheries of the department of environmental management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-10 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-10
§ 20-10-10. Assignability of permits.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-15-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-15 / Section 20-15-9
§ 20-15-9. Unlawful possession or sale of deer.
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession any deer, or part of a deer, unless the deer has been taken legally under the provisions of this chapter, or has been imported legally from another state or country. It is unlawful for any person, at any time, to sell, or offer for sale, any deer, or part of a deer, excepting non-edible parts such as heads, hides, or skins, except as provided elsewhere in this title. Possession of each deer, or part of a deer, in violation of this section is considered a separate and distinct offense.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-11.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-11.1
§ 20-7-11.1. Lobster pots  Tagging  Advisory committee.
Status: in_force

(a) Each and every pot, trap, or other device used for the taking of lobsters or crabs in any of the waters of this state shall bear a color scheme on the attached buoy. Each applicant for a lobster license shall state the color scheme that the applicant desires to use. These colors, unless disapproved by the director of environmental management, shall be stated in the license, and all buoys used by the licensee shall be marked accordingly. Each licensee shall cause the licensees color scheme to be displayed on any lobster boat used by the licensee in the waters of this state. Those colors shall be painted on the port and starboard sides of the hull in a section not less than one foot (1²) square, or a clearly painted buoy shall be set at the highest point on the boat excluding the mast and be visible for three hundred sixty degrees (360Â°). The buoy or colors must be prominently displayed on the vessel at all times that lobster gear fished under that license is in the water.

(b) No person shall place, set, lift, raise, unduly disturb, draw in, or transfer any pot, trap, or other device used for the taking of lobsters unless the color scheme of the attached buoy is the same as the color scheme that is on file with the license application and displayed on the boat used by that person, or unless that person is duly licensed and possesses written permission from the rightful owner of the pot, trap, or other device.

(c) The director has the authority to promulgate regulations requiring the tagging of lobster traps and to establish a fee for official state lobster trap tags. Any fee collected by the department will be retained by the agency, subject to § 20-2-28.2, to be used for the exclusive purpose of producing and distributing the trap tags and, if necessary, supporting other lobster fishery management measures, including enforcement of the trap tag program; provided, however, that: (1) The department shall not establish a fee to cover any cost other than the cost of trap tags without first obtaining a recommendation from an advisory committee in accordance with subsection (d); and (2) The department shall report to the general assembly regarding the need for the fee to cover any additional cost in accordance with subsection (d).

(d) The department shall create an advisory committee composed of five (5) members of the lobster industry that utilize trap tags. The director, or the directors designee, will serve on the committee and act as chairperson. The committee will formulate recommendations on the expenditure of the funds derived from the tagging program. The department shall prepare an annual report for submittal to the general assembly that summarizes the status of the lobster management and trap tag program, management actions, program needs, and catch and effort data, and that provides an itemized listing of all program expenses. This report shall be available to the public and provided to each commercial fishing organization in the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-26 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-26
§ 20-6-26. Transfer of shellfish from uncertified waters.
Status: in_force

The director of environmental management is authorized and directed, after requiring all necessary safeguards, to transfer shellfish from uncertified waters of the state to approved areas. The director may make rules and regulations governing the reharvest of those shellfish to the best economical benefit of the state after all necessary safeguards to insure their cleanliness.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-38-7 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-38 / Section 20-38-7
§ 20-38-7. Meeting and reporting requirements.
Status: in_force

(a) The collaborative shall provide a report of its findings addressing the research, marketing, expansion, and funding opportunities for local seafood. Said report shall be provided to the governor and general assembly by April 30, 2012.

(b) Thereafter, the collaborative shall report to the governor and the general assembly, no later than April 30 of each year, on the progress made in achieving the goals and objectives set forth in this chapter and any other pertinent information by April 30, 2012.

(c) The collaborative shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 2 of title 38, access to public records act, and chapter 46 of title 42, open meetings act.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-17 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-17
§ 20-16-17. Prohibition against hunting or killing otter.
Status: in_force

No person shall hunt, trap, take, or kill an otter in this state. Any person violating the provision of this section shall be guilty of a civil violation and be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for each offense. Jurisdiction over violations of this section shall be with the traffic tribunal.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-16 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-16
§ 20-16-16. Digging or smoking out animals  Use of probes.
Status: in_force

No person or persons shall remove, or attempt to remove, a live muskrat, raccoon, mink, otter, skunk, or fox from any hole in the ground, from any stone wall, from within any ledge or from under any stone, from any den or house, or from any hole in any log or tree by digging or smoking, or by probing with any wooden, metal, or other device. No person shall set a trap within eight feet (8²) from a muskrat house. The provision of this section may be waived by the director on application by a landowner seeking to protect his or her property from nuisance furbearers.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-19 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-19
§ 20-6-19. Number, size, and handling of dredges.
Status: in_force

Unless otherwise specified by regulation, no person engaged in the taking of scallops shall use more than six (6) single dredges, the blades of which shall not be more than twenty-eight inches (28³) in width, and the bag used shall not be more than thirty-six inches (36³) in length. Every single dredge shall be towed and hauled aboard the registered boat individually.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-14-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-14 / Section 20-14-5
§ 20-14-5. Bag limits on game birds.
Status: in_force

During the open season for the hunting of game birds, as declared by the director in regulations adopted pursuant to § 20-1-12, a duly licensed person may take in any one day no more game birds than the bag limit established for game birds in the regulations. Possession of game birds in the field in excess of the numbers allowed in the bag limit established for game birds shall be evidence of the taking or killing of them; a person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined no more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each bird in excess of the bag limit.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-19-1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-19 / Section 20-19-1
§ 20-19-1. Field trials.
Status: in_force

No person shall conduct a field trial, at which domestic game birds may be taken by shooting, within this state, unless a license has been obtained from the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-9-1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-9 / Section 20-9-1
§ 20-9-1. Assent to wildlife restoration projects.
Status: in_force

The state of Rhode Island assents to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled An Act to Provide that the United States Shall Aid the States in Wildlife Restoration Projects, and for Other Purposes, 16 U.S.C. § 669 et seq., and the director of environmental management is authorized, empowered, and directed to perform those acts that may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of cooperative wildlife restoration projects, as defined in that act of Congress, in compliance with that act and with rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior under that act; and no funds accruing to the state of Rhode Island from license fees or interest from license fee accounts paid by hunters shall be diverted for any other purpose than the administration of the division of fish and wildlife of the department of environmental management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-37-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-37 / Section 20-37-5
§ 20-37-5. Penalty for violation.
Status: in_force

Upon conviction of a violation of this chapter, the violator shall be fined no less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-11-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-11 / Section 20-11-9
§ 20-11-9. Larger seines used by licensees.
Status: in_force

Minnow seines of greater dimensions than authorized in § 20-11-8 may be lawfully possessed and used by a person licensed under this chapter, in the waters specified by the director of environmental management; provided, that no minnow seines so licensed shall exceed fifty feet (50²) in length and eight feet (8²) in depth and shall have a mesh larger than one-quarter of an inch (Â¼"); provided further, that upon the payment of an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each twenty-five feet (25²), a seine over fifty feet (50²) in length and up to one hundred feet (100²) can be used.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-2
§ 20-8-2. Amendment of compact.
Status: in_force

The state of Rhode Island hereby enters into an amendment of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact, §20-8-1, with any one or more of the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida or such other states as may become party to that compact for the purpose of permitting the states that ratify this amendment to establish joint regulation of specific fisheries common to those states through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and their representatives on that body. Notice of intention to withdraw from this amendment shall be executed and transmitted by the governor and shall be in accordance with article XII of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact, §20-8-1, and shall be effective as to this state with those states which similarly ratify this amendment. This amendment shall take effect as to this state with respect to any other of the above-mentioned states as to take similar action.

The states consenting to this amendment agree that any two or more of them may designate the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission as a joint regulatory agency with such powers as they may jointly confer from time to time for the regulation of the fishing operations of the citizens and vessels of such designating states with respect to specific fisheries in which such states have a common interest. The representatives of such states on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission shall constitute a separate section of such commission for the exercise of the additional powers so granted provided that the states so acting shall appropriate additional funds for this purpose. The creation of such section as a joint regulatory agency shall not deprive the states participating therein of any of their privileges or powers or responsibilities in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission under the general compact.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-4.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-4.1
§ 20-2-4.1. Authorized internet agent.
Status: in_force

The director is authorized and directed to engage the contractual services of a state-approved vendor to develop and implement a web-based system that will serve as a means for obtaining licenses pursuant to this chapter. The vendors responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Development of the web-based application;

(2) Creation and servicing of authorized licensing agents who will be able to vend licenses at their establishments;

(3) Collection and transmittal of license fee revenues;

(4) Storage and transmittal of the license holder database; and

(5) Authority to sell hunting and fishing licenses.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-45 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-45
§ 20-2-45. Narragansett Bay Oyster Restoration Act.
Status: in_force

(a) Findings of fact. The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:

(1) Oyster fishery has historically been important to Rhode Island for economic and ecosystem benefits;

(2) The Rhode Island oyster fishery has been in deep decline and is a fraction of its historical levels due to disease;

(3) The development of indigenous, disease-resistant oyster brood stock will assist in the restoration of the oyster population in Narragansett Bay;

(4) The plantings of indigenous, disease-resistant oyster shellfish seed stock will increase the Narragansett Bays oyster population and annual harvest; and

(5) An increase in oyster population will have a positive impact on the states economy and the overall health of Narragansett Bay and its ecosystem.

(b) Authority to solicit federal funds for oyster restoration. The general assembly hereby vests in the director of the department of environmental management, acting through the division of marine fisheries, authority and responsibility to solicit annual federal funding, including, but not limited to, funding from the United States departments of Interior, Agriculture and Commerce for purposes of developing, restoring, and maintaining both the oyster population and oyster habitats in and around Narragansett Bay.

(c) Program to achieve oyster restoration in Narragansett Bay. The director of the department of environmental management shall work in conjunction with the aquaculture coordinator located in the coastal resources management council to develop programs that address the declining oyster population in Narragansett Bay and which programs shall further promote the development, restoration, and maintenance of the oyster population and oyster habitats in and around Narragansett Bay, as set forth in this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-18 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-18
§ 20-6-18. Sale of scallops during closed season.
Status: in_force

Any person offering for sale any scallops, other than during the open season for taking scallops, shall be fined not less than twenty dollars ($20.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) for each quart offered for sale, or be imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both; provided, however, it shall be lawful to possess or offer for sale frozen scallops legally taken.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-10 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-10
§ 20-1-10. Obligation of vessels to heave-to on command of a patrol boat.
Status: in_force

(a) Every person operating a boat or vessel in Rhode Island territorial waters who fails to immediately heave-to upon a shouted command or a flare fired into the air from a marine patrol boat operated by the department of environmental management and carrying the identification Department of Environmental Management, State of Rhode Island shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).

(b) Every person who, while aboard a boat or vessel in Rhode Island territorial waters that has been ordered to heave-to upon shouted command or a flare fired into the air from a marine patrol boat operated by the department of environmental management and carrying the identification Department of Environmental Management, State of Rhode Island, dumps, destroys, or throws anything from the vessel or boat shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-13 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-13
§ 20-7-13. Raising pots at night.
Status: in_force

No person shall raise or unduly disturb any lobster pot or trap within the territorial waters of this state between the hours of one hour after sundown and one hour before sunrise. Every person violating this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both. However in situations of emergency upon application being made, the owner of the lobster pots or traps may be authorized to remove the pots or traps by the director of environmental management, or the directors designee, during the prohibited hours. All boats, pots, or other equipment used in violation of this section shall be seized and forfeited to the state.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-13 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-13
§ 20-10-13. Cultivated plants or animals as property of the permittee.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-12.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-12.1
§ 20-1-12.1. Modifications to possession limits and seasons for marine species managed under quotas.
Status: in_force

(a) In accordance with regulatory programs promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42; and pursuant to the exemption afforded by § 42-35-18(b)(5); and notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 35.1 of title 42, the director shall have the authority to modify possession limits and seasons in order to meet the harvest allocation for a given marine species managed under a quota.

(b) Notification of changes to public. For all such changes identified in subsection (a) of this section, the director shall provide notification via a dedicated phone line, electronic notification to dealers, listserv, and website posting. At least three (3) of these notifications shall occur a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours prior to the date that the change is to be effective.

(c) Record of change. For all such changes identified in subsection (a) of this section, the director shall certify the record of the change, maintain the record, and make it available for public inspection.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-14 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-14
§ 20-10-14. Emergency closure of areas subject to permit.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-9
§ 20-10-9. Marking of areas subject to permit  Restrictions on public use.
Status: in_force

(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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-6 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-6
§ 20-13-6. Export privileges of nonresident licensees.
Status: in_force

Each nonresident hunting license shall enable the licensee to carry from the state not more than a two-day (2) bag limit of native game birds or animals nor more than the limit of migratory birds set by federal regulations; provided, that the owner shall carry them open to view for inspection.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-4-10 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-4 / Section 20-4-10
§ 20-4-10. Possession or sale of undersize bass  Interstate commerce.
Status: in_force

No person, firm, or corporation shall take, possess, sell, possess for sale, or offer for sale any striped bass measuring less than sixteen inches (16") in length, whether caught within the jurisdictional limits of this state or otherwise; provided, however, that this chapter shall not apply to striped bass packed and in transportation in unbroken packages and coming from any other state or country and destined for some point outside the state of Rhode Island; provided, that the packages shall be clearly marked by stencil, tag, or otherwise, showing the true origin of the shipment and its destination beyond the limits of the state of Rhode Island.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-12-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-12 / Section 20-12-5
§ 20-12-5. Fishing prohibited in or near waters set aside.
Status: in_force

No person shall catch, or attempt to catch, any fish, or use any seine for catching fish, in waters acquired by the director of environmental management for fish cultivation projects, or within one half (Â½) mile from the mouth or outlet of any fish cultivation project; provided, however, the director may, by regulation adopted pursuant to § 20-1-12, or by special permit, allow persons to fish at or near a fish cultivation project.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-3.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-3.1
§ 20-10-3.1. Sales and use tax exemption.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-19 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-19
§ 20-2-19. Commercial minnow license.
Status: in_force

The fee for a commercial minnow license shall be twenty dollars ($20.00). The license is valid only during the season in which it is issued.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-2
§ 20-7-2. Taking of lobsters by commercial fishing vessels.
Status: in_force

No operator of a Rhode Island-registered boat engaged in trawling for finfish in Rhode Island territorial waters may retain and sell any lobsters taken, unless that operator has a commercial lobster license.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-5
§ 20-7-5. Sellers license.
Status: in_force

Any person having charge of a vessel carrying lobsters who lands in the state of Rhode Island and who is not licensed under any of the provisions of this chapter shall be required to have a sellers license. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-11-5 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-11 / Section 20-11-5
§ 20-11-5. Sale of freshwater fish.
Status: in_force

No person shall sell, or offer for sale, within this state, any trout, black bass, pickerel, northern pike, Atlantic salmon, American shad, or yellow perch taken from any freshwater streams, rivers, ponds, or lakes within the jurisdiction of this state, excepting any of these fish that are artificially cultivated in private ponds as authorized by law.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-37-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-37 / Section 20-37-4
§ 20-37-4. Enforcement.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of environmental management and all enforcement personnel in the directors department, all members of the state police force, and all duly authorized city and town law enforcement authorities have power to enforce this law. They have authority under warrant to search for and seize any goods, merchandise, or animal sold, or offered for sale, or otherwise used or possessed in violation of this section, or any property or item used in connection with a violation of this section; the seized goods, merchandise, wildlife, or property shall be held pending proceedings in any court of proper jurisdiction. Upon conviction of a violation, the seized goods, merchandise, or animals shall be forfeited and, upon forfeiture, either offered to a college or university for scientific or educational purposes, or destroyed. The possessor of an animal included under this chapter has the burden of proof that the animal or parts thereof are not held in violation of this chapter.

(b) Individuals in possession of the skins of endangered species must show that the skins were purchased or obtained prior to January 1, 1974.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-44 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-44
§ 20-2-44. Shellfish transplant program.
Status: in_force

In addition to any appropriation made pursuant to § 20-2-28.2, the general assembly shall appropriate from the general fund to the division of marine fisheries the amount it deems necessary for the purpose of maintaining a shellfish transplant program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, and thereafter, the division of marine fisheries shall develop a sustainable shellfish management plan.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-14-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-14 / Section 20-14-2
§ 20-14-2. Destruction of nest or eggs.
Status: in_force

No person shall willfully disturb or destroy the nest or eggs of any wild bird, except pursuant to a program authorized by the director or for which a federal or state depredation permit has been issued.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-17-1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-17 / Section 20-17-1
§ 20-17-1. Propagation and raising of game birds and animals.
Status: in_force

Any person holding a game propagation permit may engage in the rearing within an enclosure of any wild birds, game quadrupeds, or domestic game, to be disposed of for purposes of propagation under any rules and regulations as shall be made, from time to time, by the director, or, in the case of domestic game, for liberation at field trials or upon game preserves. Artificially propagated domestic game shall be tagged for identification with tags or seals supplied, at cost, to the permittee by the department, before being disposed of by the permittee. Game so tagged may be had in possession, transported, bought, and sold at any season of the year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-1.2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-1.2
§ 20-10-1.2. Biosecurity board  Powers and duties.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-17-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-17 / Section 20-17-3
§ 20-17-3. Records of game sales.
Status: in_force

All persons selling artificially propagated or reared game and domestic game birds shall keep accurate records of the sales that shall be available for inspection by agents of the department upon request.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-12 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-7 / Section 20-7-12
§ 20-7-12. Removal of branded numbers from lobster pots.
Status: in_force

No person shall set, maintain, or have in his or her possession any lobster pots from which the branded numbers have been altered, obliterated, or removed with the intent to defraud or deprive the owner. Every person convicted of violating the provision of this section shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100) for each of these traps or be imprisoned not more than thirty (30) days, or both. All pots used or possessed contrary to the provisions of this section and other sections of this chapter shall be seized by any officer engaged in the enforcement of this chapter and that property shall be forfeited.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-4
§ 20-2-4. Authorized agents fee.
Status: in_force

Out of the fees paid under the provisions of this chapter for issuance of hunting, other than deer permits pursuant to § 20-2-18, fishing, combination, and nonresident shellfishing licenses, the sum of one dollar ($1.00) shall be retained by the authorized agent issuing each license, if this is the case. Out of the fees paid for issuance of deer permits, the sum of fifty cents ($.50) shall be retained by the authorized agent. Authorized agents are any persons, including a municipality, who have currently been granted authority by the director to sell hunting and fishing licenses pursuant to chapter 2 of title 20, in compliance with the governing regulations that have been duly promulgated by the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-5-19 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-5 / Section 20-5-19
§ 20-5-19. Penalty for violations generally  Prosecution.
Status: in_force

Every person or corporation willfully violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or any rule or regulation adopted under the authority of this chapter, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), nor less than one hundred dollars ($100), or imprisoned (in the case of a natural person) not exceeding one year, or by both punishments, in the discretion of the court. Proper proceedings for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be instituted by the attorney general.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-3 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-3
§ 20-6-3. Scallops  Open season.
Status: in_force

Unless otherwise specified in regulations, the open season for taking scallops from the free and common scallop fisheries in any of the waters of the state shall be between sunrise of the first day of October and sunset on the last day of December of every year. Any person taking scallops in violation of this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days for each offense.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-11 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-11
§ 20-8-11. Annual appropriations.
Status: in_force

The general assembly shall annually appropriate any sum it may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter; and the controller is authorized and directed to draw orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of that sum, or so much of that sum as may be required from time to time, upon the receipt by the controller of proper vouchers approved by the chairperson of the commission.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-42 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-42
§ 20-2-42. Trout conservation stamp fee.
Status: in_force

Stamps shall be sold at the direction of the director for a fee of five dollars and fifty cents ($5.50). Commencing July 1, 2025, the fee for a stamp shall be six dollars ($6.00). Commencing July 1, 2028, the fee for a stamp shall be six dollars and fifty cents ($6.50). The issuing agent may retain a fee of fifty cents ($.50) for each stamp sold and shall remit the remainder of each fee to the department. The director shall establish uniform sale prices for all categories of by-products.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-8-9 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-8 / Section 20-8-9
§ 20-8-9. Accounts and reports  Legislative recommendations.
Status: in_force

The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements and shall report to the governor and the legislature of the state of Rhode Island on or before the tenth day of December in each year, setting forth in detail the transactions conducted by it during the twelve (12) months preceding December 1st of that year, and shall make recommendations for any legislative action deemed by it advisable, including amendments to the statutes of the state of Rhode Island that may be necessary to carry out the intent and purposes of the compact between the signatory states, § 20-8-1.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-12-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-12 / Section 20-12-2
§ 20-12-2. Acquisition of land for fish cultivation.
Status: in_force

For the purpose of protecting and propagating fish and providing fishing preserves, the director of environmental management may, in the name and for the use of the state, and subject to approval of the state properties committee, acquire, by gift, lease, or purchase, land, freshwater streams, lakes, or ponds, or any part thereof or rights and interests therein.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-17-6 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-17 / Section 20-17-6
§ 20-17-6. Retail sale of game birds and animals.
Status: in_force

Any keeper of a hotel, a restaurant, a boarding house, and club or a retail dealer in meat may sell domestic game birds and animals, properly tagged or sealed as provided in §§ 20-17-1 and 20-17-2, to a patron or customer for actual consumption and no license for the sale shall be required of the person, keeper, dealer, or club.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-14-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-14 / Section 20-14-4
§ 20-14-4. Open season on migratory game birds.
Status: in_force

The open season for hunting and the bag limits for migratory game birds shall be no less restrictive than the open season and bag limit fixed for those birds by the regulations of the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, made under the provisions of an act of Congress relating to migratory birds.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-14-8 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-14 / Section 20-14-8
§ 20-14-8. Watchaug Pond and Powaget Brooks.
Status: in_force

No person shall take, kill, destroy, or pursue or in any manner molest any wild bird in any season of the year in that part of the town of Charlestown known as Watchaug Pond and Powaget Brooks or within one hundred (100) yards of the shore or banks of the Watchaug Pond and Powaget Brooks.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-16-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-16 / Section 20-16-2
§ 20-16-2. Landowners  Nuisance furbearers.
Status: in_force

Any person owning or leasing and operating any property, and any employee of that person, may, while on that persons premises, kill and take a furbearer that is worrying, wounding, or killing the domestic animals or livestock on the property, or destroying or mutilating agricultural crops or fruit trees on the property; or otherwise causing clear-and-immediate economic damage to any property belonging to that person; or creating a potential health hazard; provided that, except in the case of rabbits, the carcass of the furbearer shall be presented to the department within twenty-four (24) hours of taking. The animal may then be possessed by the landowner or lessee for the use of the immediate family of the landowner or lessee, and shall not be sold or offered for sale, except by special permission of the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-5-20 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-5 / Section 20-5-20
§ 20-5-20. Appropriations and disbursements.
Status: in_force

The general assembly shall annually appropriate any sums it may deem sufficient to be expended by the department of environmental management under the provisions of this chapter; and the state controller is authorized and directed to draw orders upon the general treasurer for those sums that may, from time to time, be required, upon receipt by him or her of proper vouchers approved by the director of environmental management.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-4-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-4 / Section 20-4-4
§ 20-4-4. Otter trawls, pair trawls, and beam trawls  Penalties.
Status: in_force

Any person who operates an otter, beam, or pair trawl or other mechanical trawling device without a license as provided in § 20-4-3, shall, upon conviction, be fined five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense, or may be imprisoned not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both. In addition to any fines imposed for failure to secure a license, the person shall be subject to the same penalties as set forth in § 20-1-16 should the person set a beam, pair, or otter trawl or other mechanical trawling device in areas prohibited by § 20-4-2 or rules adopted under this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-15 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-15
§ 20-13-15. Failure to render assistance to injured person.
Status: in_force

Any person causing an injury to another person by firearm or arrow while hunting failing to render assistance to the injured person shall, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, be subject to a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-13.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-13.1
§ 20-10-13.1. Cultivated plants or animals  Exemption from certain wild fishery restrictions.
Status: in_force

(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).
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-1.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-1.1
§ 20-10-1.1. Creation of the biosecurity board.
Status: in_force

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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-39-4 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-39 / Section 20-39-4
§ 20-39-4. Suspension of privileges for failure to comply with citation issued in participating state  Penalty.
Status: in_force

(a) The department of environmental management may suspend the hunting, trapping, or fishing privileges of any resident of this state, upon notification from the licensing authority of an issuing state, that the resident has failed to comply with the terms of a citation issued for a wildlife violation, provided the department has complied with the requirements of § 20-39-5. The suspension remains in effect until the department receives satisfactory evidence of compliance from the issuing state.

(b) Notice of the suspension must be sent to the resident, who shall surrender all current Rhode Island hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses to the department within ten (10) days.

(c) A person who hunts, traps, or fishes, who applies for or purchases licenses or permits, or who refuses to surrender any current hunting, trapping, or fishing licenses in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-34 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-34
§ 20-2-34. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in §§ 20-2-34  20-2-38:

(1) Migratory waterfowl means all waterfowl species in the family anatidae, including wild ducks, geese, brant, and swans.

(2) Stamp means the state migratory waterfowl hunting stamp furnished by the division of fish and wildlife as provided for in these sections.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-6-1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-6 / Section 20-6-1
§ 20-6-1. Taking of shellfish without a license.
Status: in_force

Unless otherwise specified in regulations, any resident of this state may, without a license, take in any one day during the open season, if applicable, not more than one half (Â½) bushel each of quahaugs, soft-shell clams, sea clams, oysters, and mussels, and not more than one bushel of scallops; provided, that those quahaugs, soft-shell clams, sea clams, oysters, mussels, or scallops shall not be sold or offered for sale.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-13-2.1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-13 / Section 20-13-2.1
§ 20-13-2.1. Availability of safety instruction.
Status: in_force

The department of environmental management shall make available the safety instruction required by § 20-13-2 on a continuing basis throughout the year at sites throughout the state for the convenience of the public. In no event shall safety instruction be offered less frequently than once each month. The department shall publish the dates and location of instruction in newspapers of general circulation.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-11-1 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-11 / Section 20-11-1
§ 20-11-1. Fishing for which license required.
Status: in_force

No person fifteen (15) years old or older shall catch or take any fish in any freshwater stream or freshwater pond within this state, or place or operate or superintend any device for the purpose of taking or catching fish in any of those waters, without having first obtained a license; provided, however, that a license shall not be required of any resident of this state, or the members of the residents immediate family, to fish in any brook or pond running through or bordering upon land owned or leased by the resident and on which the resident is actually domiciled, nor those individuals exempted under § 20-2-31.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-10-16 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-10 / Section 20-10-16
§ 20-10-16. Penalties.
Status: in_force

(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.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-15 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-15
§ 20-2-15. Freshwater fishing license.
Status: in_force

(a)(1) Resident: twenty-one dollars ($21.00); commencing July 1, 2025, twenty-four dollars ($24.00); commencing July 1, 2028, twenty-seven dollars ($27.00).

(2) Nonresident: thirty-eight dollars ($38.00); commencing July 1, 2025, forty-one dollars ($41.00); commencing July 1, 2028, forty-four dollars ($44.00).

(3) Nonresident tourist: eighteen dollars ($18.00); commencing July 1, 2025, twenty dollars ($20.00); commencing July 1, 2028, twenty-two dollars ($22.00). This license shall entitle the licensee to fish in Rhode Island for three (3) consecutive days including the day of issue.

(b) Freshwater fishing licenses shall expire on the last day of February of each year.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-11-8 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-11 / Section 20-11-8
§ 20-11-8. Authorized traps, seines, and nets.
Status: in_force

Freshwater minnows, not including the young of any species of game fish, may be lawfully taken for bait with minnow traps, dip nets, and seines of the dimensions of not more than eight feet (8²) in length and four feet (4²) in depth and having a mesh not larger than one-quarter of an inch (Â¼") in any waters of this state. The possession and use of minnow seines larger than the dimensions specified in this section, unless otherwise provided, shall be unlawful.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-18-2 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-18 / Section 20-18-2
§ 20-18-2. Hunting on land leased or controlled by the department.
Status: in_force

It is unlawful for any person at any time to hunt, trap, pursue, take, or kill, or attempt so to do, or in any manner molest or destroy, any wild bird, or the nest or eggs of wild birds, or any wild animal, on land leased or controlled by the department under the authority of § 20-18-1, except that the director may, in his or her discretion, and with any limitations the director may deem advisable, authorize, in writing, any deputy and/or the owner or occupant of the land, to hunt, pursue, take, or kill any wild bird or animal detrimental to its species or other species, to agriculture or other plant life, or to humans. This authority is revocable at the pleasure of the director.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-2-46 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-2 / Section 20-2-46
§ 20-2-46. Green crab harvest and license. [Effective January 1, 2026.]
Status: in_force

(a) Any person may take the aquatic invasive species commonly known as green crabs, more specifically known as the species carcinis maenas.

(b) Rhode Island residents may be granted a commercial green crab license for a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per season.

(c) The director is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations for the commercial green crab license.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-1-24 — RI Code / Title 20 / Chapter 20-1 / Section 20-1-24
§ 20-1-24. Wildlife Damage Act.
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this section, wildlife population includes, but is not limited to: deer, indigenous Canadian geese, mute swans, cormorants, wild turkeys, crows, coyotes, and furbearers.

(b) The department of environmental management shall establish a program of financial assistance to farmers, when state or federal funds become available, for the purpose of establishing preventive practices to protect damage to crops by wildlife. The director of the department is authorized and empowered to establish rules and regulations to enforce the provisions of this section.