(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to place or maintain a fish weir in the waters of Guam unless he holds a valid license from the Director of Agriculture, hereinafter referred to as

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Director. The Director may, at his discretion, issue such a license imposing such conditions on the face thereof as are necessary so as not to unjustly restrict the fishing of others nor result in the violation of provisions of this Article and supporting regulations. Any applicant for a permit to place or maintain a fish weir shall not be required to obtain a land use permit to place a fish weir on submerged public lands.

(b) Limitations and Prohibitions.

(1) Main Weir: No wing exceed three hundred (300) feet in length. No leader shall exceed five hundred (500) feet in length.

(2) Auxiliary Weir: No wing shall exceed one hundred fifty (150) feet in length. No leader shall exceed two hundred fifty (250) feet in length.

(3) The mesh of the netting used in the construction of fish weirs, main or auxiliary, shall be such as to permit the passage of objects or organisms measuring less than one (1) inch in diameter or one (1) inch square.

(4) No permit shall be issued authorizing more than one (1) main weir and two (2) auxiliary weirs for the area covered by such permit.

(5) The area covered by a single permit shall be contiguous, but this shall not be construed to authorized installations of fish weirs anywhere within such area if otherwise prohibited.

(6) No person shall place, install, construct, maintain or operate any fish weir, including any part of component of a fish weir, except as authorized by a permit issued under this Article.

(c) Location of Fish Weirs. No fish weir or any or component thereof shall be located within one hundred (100) feet of the mean high water mark, one hundred fifty (150) feet of any boat channel, six hundred (600) feet of a sewage outlet opening, or two hundred (200) feet from the fish weir of another permittee, or outside the area covered by the permit. No permit will be issued for the location of a fish weir at any other site determined by the Director

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to be detrimental to the best interest of the public or responsible fisheries management.

(d) Application for Permit. Any applicant for a permit to place and operate one or more fish weirs in the waters of Guam shall submit complete and signed applications for the placement and operation thereof to the Director in a form prescribed by him. The application shall show

(1) the name and address of the applicant;

(2) the area requested to be covered by the permit; and

(3) the number of fish weirs (pocket or traps) applied
for.

(e) Investigation. Upon receipt of a complete and signed application, the Director shall promptly cause an investigation of all aspects of the application to be made.

(f) Issuance of Permit. When all the requirements set forth in this Section have been met, and the application has been approved by the Director, he shall issue a permit in a form prescribed by him. The original copy shall be given to the permittee and a duplicate copy shall be retained in the Department of Agriculture.

A fee of Twenty-Five Dollars ($25) shall be paid for each fish weir pocket or trap before the permit is issued. A permit shall be valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance unless otherwise revoked. No permit may be transferred except upon approval by the Director. Upon approval or transfer of a permit, the permittee shall write his signature, and the transferee shall write his signature and address in the appropriate space provided upon the permit. The Director shall then affix his signature of approval.

(g) Installation and Operation of Fish Weir. At least one (1) fish weir must be constructed and placed in operation within sixty (60) days from the date of issuance of the permit, and sixty (60) days after any subsequent removal or destruction during the term of the permit. No owner of a fish weir shall leave a fish weir in the water unattended for a period of fifteen (15) days or more.

(h) Submission of Monthly Catch Records Report. Each permittee shall be required to submit monthly catch records to the

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Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, commencing thirty (30) days after the weir is placed in operation and every subsequent thirty-day period until is removal.

(i) Removal of Fish Weirs. The owner of a fish weir must remove such fish weirs from the water within thirty (30) days after notice of expiration of his permit unless such permit is renewed.

(j) Revocation of Permit. The Director may revoke a permit for any violation of this regulation upon the completion of a hearing held for such purposes. Notice of the hearing shall be given to the permittee ten (10) days in advance and shall state the violations charged, and the date, time and place of the hearing. Any order of revocation entered pursuant to such hearing shall be effective thirty (30) days after notice of the order or revocation to the permittee by which time he shall surrender his permit to the Director and remove his fish weir from the water.

(k) Disturbance of Fish Weirs. It shall be unlawful for any person not authorized by the owner to remove fish from a fish weir. It shall be unlawful for any person other than the owner to remove, damage or otherwise willfully disrupt the operation of a fish weir operation under a lawful permit. It shall also be unlawful to use gill nets within one hundred (100) feet of a fish weir operating under a lawful permit.

SOURCE: GC § 12310 repealed/reenacted by P.L. 16-039:7 (Sept. 11,
1981). Subsection (a) R/R by P.L. 21-107:2 (May 29, 1992).

NOTE: Section 1 of P.L. 21-107 states:

Legislative findings. The Legislature finds that fish weirs (gigau) have been used by the people of Guam for centuries and their utilization is a valued island tradition. The Legislature further finds that fish weirs are temporary in nature and that their use is duly regulated and licensed under the provisions of § 63115, Title 5, Guam Code Annotated. The Legislature further finds that the law regarding the use of submerged public land is being interpreted to require that fish weir licensees must also obtain submerged land use permits. It is the further finding of the Legislature that this is an unnecessary requirement given that the use of fish weirs including their location is already subject to regulation and control under the license process established by statute. The Legislature therefore finds that the law should be amended to

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remove the requirement for a submerged land use permit imposed on duly authorized fish weir licensees.