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reg is posted above for RI.
It says "possess" 2 fish per day. There is a LOT of room for interpretation in the reg - hence the above banter.
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....and this is why a lot of this has been discussed for years by the RI Marine Fisheries Council...ever since they changed the rod and reel commercial quota to a general category so that the draggers could get in on the action...you should have been at the mtgs for that one.
Anyways, the laws are so convoluted, and have been so "massaged" that, RIDEM law enforcement have trouble understanding them; case in point, half of them do not know what the regs are for recreational baitfishing (menhaden, cast nets, gillnets etc.).
As Kenny and others have stated, it's a slippery slope when it comes to possession language....thru the years I have know several situations where people basically got a "slap on the wrist" because the law was fraught with errors and the judge would agree; in his mind, there were other more important "fish to fry" than questions of excess fish possession (I am in no way condoning this, but telling it like it is). Now when that same judge would try a case involving illegal shellfishing (polluted waters, etc), that DIRECTLY AFFECTED PEOPLE'S HEALTH...whole different story...Clammer can vouch for that...some guys lost boats, licenses ,etc and were even put in jail.
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