An Act to amend the CNMI Code to criminalize the taking of Rays from the CNMI waters; To authorize the Div. of Fish & Wildlife to regulate the taking and interaction of said Rays; To criminalize the feeding of sharks without a permit within the near shore waters of the CNMI (P.L. 15-124)

FIFTEENTH NORTHERN MARIANAS COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATURE FOURTH REGULAR SESSION, 1007 PUBLIC ~ 10. 15-124 SENATE BILL NO. 15·100. HS!. HD2 AN ACT TO AMeND mE COMMONWEALTH CODE TO CRIMINALIZE THE TAKING Of RAYS FROM CNMI WATERS; TO AUTHORIZE THE DIVlSION OF FISH AND WIT-OLIFE TO REGULATE THE TAKING AND INTERACTION OF SAID RAYS; TO CRIMINALlZE THE FEEDING OF SHARKS WITHOUT A PERMIT WITHIN THE NEAR. SHORE WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH; AND POR. OTHER PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE FIFrEENTH NORTHERN MARIANAS COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATURE: 1 Section 1. FindiD,s and Purpose. The Legislature fmds that a SCUBA diving 2 location commonly called "Eagle Ray City" is a popular dive destination in the waters off 3 Saipan due to the regular gathering of Spotted Eagle Rays. The Legislature finds that this 4 dive site is popular with tourists because it is rare to find naturally occurring gatherings on a 5 regular basis. The congregation of Spotted Eagle Rays is easily photographed; each photo 6 taken home with the tourist is free advertising showing the great beauty and grand scale of 7 I aquatic life in the CNMI. The Legislature further finds that Eagle Ray City is popular with 8 I local residents and good for the economy in that it is accessible only by boat; divers (tourist 9 and resident alike) need to hire local guides and secure the services of local boats and 10 II captains to reach this spot. This type of ecotourism is beneficial to the CNMl's economy. 11 II fits within the advertising campaigns offered by the Marianas Visitors Authority and should I 12 I be nunured, protected and grown. 13 The Legislature finds that evidence suggests the Eagle Rays have been recently 14 hWlted to such an extent as to threaten their population levels and as to instill an unnatural 15 1 fear of divers, thereby threatening one aspect of the Commonwealth's revenues. The 16 Legislature fmds that Spotted Eagle Rays specifically, and rays generally, are not traditional I I l'UBLIC LAW 110. 15-124 I SENATE BILL NO. 15-100, US1, HD% 1, I j 1 I food fishes in the CNMI. Fishing specifically for such rays is not Il tradition in the CNMI; 2 I, the recent practice of doing so is detrimental to the welfare of the Conunonwealth and 3 I should be prohibited. 4 :I The Legislature finds that. recently, it was reponed to the government that some tour 5 (! operators were un-thoughtfully engaging in the practice of shark feeding in areas 6 I traditionally used by children to swim, notably Saipan's Grotto. ono of our premier dive 7 I attractions. That this practice is dangerous and should be discouraged is self-evident. The 8 II Legislature finds that feeding sharks in the near shore waters of the CNMI without a pennit 9 11 should be made a crime to ensure that any feeding ofsharks is done in a responsible fashion, 10 li if at all. 11 ,! The Legislature finds and declares that this Act is necessary for the protection of the 12 i! welfare of the residents of the Conunonwealth and is a proper use of the Legislative power 13 II granted by Section 1 of Article II of the Commonwealth Constitution. It is the purpose of 1411 this act to criminalize the taking of rays ,and to empower the Director of the Division ofFish 15 iI and Wildlife to promulgate regulations necessary to regulate the taking of said fishes. It is \ I 16 I further the intent of this act to criminalize the feeding of sharks within the near-shore waters 17 I of the Commonwealth without obtaining a pennit from the Director of the Division of Fish I; 18 I' and Wildlife. It is not the intent of this act to affect in any way the statutes concerning 19 II fishing for sharks by utilizing baited hooks. 20 !; Section 2. Amendment. Chapter 6 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Commonwealth 21 II Code is hereby amended by the addition of a new Brticle as follows: 22 II ..Artiele 4. M1setllaae.... Prohibition. aad d.no. 23 ;1 §5641. Protection of Rays. 24 Ii (a) Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any person, within the CNMI or any 25 I place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, to knowingly. or with wanton disregard for the 26 I consequences of his act, feed, take. possess, sell, purchase. barter, offer to sell, purchase or 27 Ibarter, transport. export or import, at any time or in any manner any RAY, alive or dead, or 28 " any part thereof, without being permitted to do 60 as provided in this section, or to violate 29 I[ any permit or regulation issued pursuant to this section. i, Page 2 Ii II PUBLIC lAW 80.1.5-124 SENATE BILL NO. IS-100. HS1, HD2 6 25 1 (b) Criminal penalties. A person convicted under this section shall be punisbable as 2 3 1\ follows: (1) First Offense. A person may be punished by imprisonment of not more 4 I than 5ix (6) months, or a fine ofnot more than $1,000, or both. S I (2) Second or Subsequent Offense. A person convicted of a second or I subsequent offense may b~ punished by imprisonment of not more than one (1) year. or a fine of not more than $3,000. or both. (3) The commission ofeach taking or other act prohibited by this section with respect to a ray shall constitute a separate violation of this section. 10 (c) Civil Penalties. It shall be unlawful for any person, within the Commonwealth or 11 any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, to take, possess. sell, purchase, barter, offer to 12 I sell. purchase or barter, transpon. export or import, at any time or in any manner, any RAY, 13 ! alive or dead. or any part thereot: without being permitted to do so as provided in this 14 section, or violates any permit or regulation issued pursuant to this section, may be assessed 15 a civil penalty by the Director of not more than $5,000 for each such violation. Each 16 Ir violation shall be a separate offense. No penalty shall be assessed unless such person is 17 given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation. Upon any failure 18 to pay the penalty assessed under this subsection. the Director shall request the Attorney 19 General to institute a civil Bction in a court of the Commonwealth to collect the penalty and 20 r I such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action. In bearing any such 21 :Iaction, the court must sustain the Director's action if supported by substantial evidence. I 22 i (d) Ap,plication. Nothing herein shall be construed to apply to any employee of the 23 governments of the United States or the Commonwealth acting within the scope of their 24 employment. (e) Taking and using for scientific or exhibition purposes. (1) Whenever, after investigation, the Director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife shall determine that it is compatible with the preservation of rays to pennit the taking, possession, and transportation of specimens thereof for scientific investigations or the educational purposes of museums, aquaria, scientific societies, Page 3 26 27 PUBLIC LAN XO. IS-124 SENATE BILL NO. 15-100. HSI. HD2 (1) "Person" includes natural persons, associations, partnerships, corporations and any legal entity whatsoever. (2) uRay" means animals in the Order Myliobatifonnes, including but not limited to: Eagle Rays (Aetobatw narinarl); Manta Rays (Manta birostris); and Blue-spotted Rays (Taeniura /ymma). (3) "Take" means to pu.rsu.e, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, or molest. The accidental catching of a ray, by a person fishing with hook and line does not amount to a taking if the ray is immediately returned to the or zoological parks, or that it is necessary to permit the taking of such fishes for the protection of aquacultural or other interests in any particular locality, he may au.thorize the taking of such fishes pursuant to regulations which he is hereby au.thorized to prescribe: Provided, that said fishes may not be taken for any purpose unless, prior to such taking, a permit to do so is procured from the Director. (2) The regulations promulgated pu.rsuant to subsection (e)(I) above shall include provisions regulating the interaction with includini feeding of rays by commercial tou.r operators, and the interaction of SCUBA divers and morkelers with said fishes. The Division of Fish and Wildlife shall promulgate the said regulations within 120 days of the effective date of this Act. I! (f) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the following definitions: 1 2 3 4[ 5 I I I I \ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ' 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 water. 22 II 15642. Feeding o"barks. 23 I (a) Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person, within the nesr shore waters of the ! 24 CNMI to knowingly, or with wanton disregard for the consequences ofms act feed in any 2S manner any SHARK, without first obtaining a pennit from the Director of the Division of 26 Fish and Wildlife, or violates any permit or regu.lation issued pursuant to this section. 27 '\I (b) Criminal penalties. A ponon convicted under this ,eotion shall be punisbable as 28 follows: I I P~e4 ,UBLIC LMI BO. 15-124 SENATE BILL NO. 15-100. HS1. RDZ 1 (I) First Offense. A person may be punished by imprisonment of not more 2 than six (6) months, or a fine ofnot more than S1,000, or both. 3 (2) Second or Subsequent Offense. A person convicted of a second or 4 subsequent offense may be punished by imprisonment of not more than one (1) year, 5 or a. fine ofnot more than 53,000, orbotb. 6 (3) The commission of each act prohibited by this section with respect to a 7 shark shall constitute a separate violation of this section. 8 (c) Civil Penalties. It shall be unlawful for eny person. within the Commonwealth or 9 any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, to take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to 10 sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or in any manner, any 11 SHARK, alive or dead, or any part thereof, without being permitted to do so as provided in 12 this section, or violates any permit or regulation issued pursuant to this section. may be 13 j assessed a civil penalty by the Director of nol more than 55.000 for each such violation. 14 I Each violation shall be a separate offense. No penalty shall be assessed unless such person is 1S !I given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation. Upon any failure 16 I! to pay the penalty assessed under this subsection, the Director shall request the Attorney 17 General to institute a civil action in a court of the Commonwealth to collect the penalty and 18 such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action. In hearing any such 19 action, the ~ourt must sustain the Director's action if supported by substantial evidence. 20 (d) Application. Nothing herein shall be construed to apply to any employee of the 21 governments of the United States or the Conunonwealth acting within the scope of their 22 employment. 23 (e) Feeding Permits. Whenever, after investigation. the Director of the Division of 24 Fish and Wildlife shall determine that it is compatible with the safety of the people of the 25 Commonwealth to pennit the feeding of sharks outside of the near shore waters of the 26 CNMI, he may authorize the feeding of such fishes pursuant to regulations which he is 27 hereby authorized to prescribe; provided, that said fishes may not be fed unless. prior to such 28 taking, a permit to do so is procured from the Director. Page 5 PUBLIC LAV 110. 15-124 SENATE BILL NO. 15-100. 8S1, HDl 1 (f) Definitions. As used in this section only, the following tenns have the following 2 definitions: 3 (1) "Feed" means (A) to place within or near the mouth of a shark anything 4 edible by a shark, including but not limited to fish or meat of any kind, whether alive S or dead, wbole, chopped or ground; (B) to intentionally put into the ocean blood of 6 any kind with the intent of attracting a shark or sharks; (C) to chum in any manner 7 whatsoever when using SCUBA equipment with the knowledge that a shark is in the 8 vicinity or with the intent of attracting a shark or sharks. It does not include fishing 9 with a line and baited hook if the fisherperson is on land or in a boat. 10 (2) "Near shore waters of the CNMI" means: the waters extending 1000 feet 11 seaward from the high tide line of any point of land within the Commonwealth; the 12 I waters 1000 feet from any portion of exposed reef within the jurisdiction of the 13 II Commonwealth; and the area commonly known as the Saipan Lagoon, 14 I encompassing the area from the reefcrest to the shore, from Coral Ocean Point to the 15 I northern end of Wing Beach including, but notllmited to: Lagunan Chalan Kanoa, 16 II Lagunan Oar.pan and Laguoan Tanapag, 17 j, (3) "Person" includes natural persons, associations, partnerships, corporations 18 I~ and any legal entity whatsoever. 19 (4) "Shark" meWlS an animal commonly known as a shark and includes all 20 I animals in the Orders Hexanchifonnes, Pristiophorifonnes, Squatinifonnes, I 21 ! Heterodontiformes, Orectolobifonnes, Lamnifonnes, and Carcbarhinifonnes. 22, SedioD J. fish and Game Revolving FUDd. All fees and fines collected pursuant 23 I to the provisions of this Act shall be deposited into the Fish and Game Revolving Fund 24 Account No. 6045 and allocated to the Division of Fish and Wildlife for the purpose of 2S enforcing the provisions of this Act. The said funds shall be used only for enforcement 26 pUJPoses including, but not limited to, hiring enforcement personnel and purchasinK 27 collateral equipment and may not be reprogrammed or expended for any other purpose. 28 These funds shall not be reprogrammed or subject to fiscal year limitation. The expenditure Page 6 PUlLIC LAW •• 15-12.1. SENATE BILL NO. 15-100, US1. DDl 1 authority shall be the Secretary of the Department ofNatura) Lands and Resources with the 2 concurrence of the Director of the Division ofFish and Wildlife. 3 SecUOD 4. RegulatloDs aDd Enforcement. The Division of Fish and Wildlife shall 4 promulgate rolcs and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. The 5 Division of Fish and Wildlife shall enforce the provisions of this Act with the assistance of 6 I the Depar1ment of Public Safety, the Coastal Resources Management. and the Division of 7 Environmental Equality. 8 SectioD S. SeverabilitY. If any provision of this Act oX' the application of any such 9 provision to any person or circumstance should be held invalid by a COUl1 of competent 10 jurisdiction. the remainder of this Act or the application of its provisions to persons or 11 ciroumstances other than those to whi~h it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby. 12 Sectton 6. Savings Clause. This Act and any repealer contained herein shall not be 13 construed as affecting any existing right acquired under contract or acquired under statutes 14 repealed or under any rule, regulation or order adopted under the statutes. Repealers 1S Icontained in this Act shall not affect any proceeding instituted under or pursuant to prior 16 I law. The enactment of this Act shall not have the effect of terminating, or in any way 17 Imodifying, any liability, civil or criminal, which shall already be in existence at the date this 18 Act becomes effective. 19 Section 7. Effective Date, This Act shall take effect upon its appIoval by the 20 Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. Page 7 Ii 11 FUBLIC ~,IO. 15-124 SENATE BILL NO. H5-100. US1. UD2 ATTESTED BY: ~l. CERTIFIED BY: i I II, II [ I I !I II ',1--------------· II I I !l , , I I I I I, '} II 'I 'J Ii II,I II II II I I "I, :1 !I vernor Commonwealth ofthe Northern Mariana Islands Page 8