2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWELVE - Conservation (§§ 1-16 — 8162) › Subtitle 1 - Protection of Game and Fish (§§ 1-16 — 107u) › Chapter 2 - Promotion and Development of Sports and Recreational Fishing (§§ 17 — 24) › § 20 - Powers and duties of the Secretary

The Secretary shall have the powers deemed convenient and necessary to carry out the public policy stated in the chapter. He/she shall also have the duty to preserve, protect and improve the resources to implement this chapter. To such ends, he/she shall have the following duties and powers without it being understood as a limitation:
(a) The obligation to create a plan to restore and rehabilitate all the aquatic and maritime resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the purposes and the public policy set forth in this chapter.
(b) Design bylaws to protect, regulate and limit the fishing practice as defined in this chapter. Said regulations shall provide, among other areas, to limit the size of the fish to be caught and the number of fish per person so that the needed balance on the fish population in lakes and basins of Puerto Rico will not be affected.
(c) Power to issue licenses for the practice of fishing as provided in this chapter.
(d) Power to issue fishing guide licenses taking into account the experience and knowledge of the area of the persons who request them.
(e) Prepare a community and general educational plan using literature, pamphlets and mass communication media which shall be implemented in the information and license issuing centers.
(f) See to the conservation of species and promote the seeding of those that are of greater demand for this sport and that are viable in our Island.
(g) Strengthen preventive surveillance in all zones where this sport is practiced to prevent the indiscriminate fishing of species that inhabit them.
(h) Shall have the power to issue fines and penalties as provided in this chapter.
(i) Shall construct and watch over the facilities created for the use and enjoyment of the aquatic and maritime resources, that shall serve to implement this chapter.
(j) Shall determine the declaration of open season or prohibitions.
(k) Shall keep up-to-date guides for the enjoyment of recreational fishing that shall serve as an educational manual for persons and families interested in enjoying this activity. It shall also keep an up-to-date manual of security measures for recreational fishing.
(l) It shall provide facilities, structures and trained personnel to enforce the regulations that ensure the adequate use of the facilities, and the protection and conservation of water resources. Said personnel shall have the additional duty of controlling practices detrimental to the lakes, the use of boats with inappropriate motors, the deforestation of river banks, the monitoring and seeding of fish and the control of aquatic vegetation. As part of the orientation to the public, these personnel may also promote a broad program of clinics on techniques and methods for fishing in lakes, the existing laws and regulations and access maps with specific instructions on how to reach the lakes. It may also give advice on the different species of fish available in the different lakes, and security measures that must be observed while the fishing activity is being conducted.
History —Sept. 6, 1997, No. 115, § 5.