Fish and Game Code of San Andreas

General Provisions and Definitions establish the terms, interpretations, applicability, and basic legal standards used throughout the San Andreas Fish and Game Code.

General Provisions and Definitions are all statutes under **FG 0xx**.

## Purpose

The fish and wildlife resources of the State of San Andreas are natural resources held for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the people of the State.

The purpose of this Code is to provide for the conservation, protection, restoration, management, and lawful use of fish and wildlife while providing reasonable opportunities for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.

Nothing within this Code shall be interpreted as granting a person the right to enter private property without lawful permission.

## Definitions

For purposes of this Code:

**Department** means the San Andreas Department of Fish and Wildlife, commonly abbreviated as SADFW.

**Fish and Wildlife Officer** means a sworn peace officer employed by the San Andreas Department of Fish and Wildlife.

**Wildlife** means any wild mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or other wild animal occurring naturally or lawfully introduced within the State.

**Game Wildlife** means wildlife designated by the Department as lawful to hunt or harvest.

**Fish** means any fish or other aquatic species regulated under this Code or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

**Take** means to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, trap, harvest, kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, trap, harvest, or kill fish or wildlife.

**Hunt** means to pursue, stalk, capture, kill, or attempt to take game wildlife.

**Fishing** means to catch, take, harvest, or attempt to catch or take fish by lawful fishing methods.

**Possession** means having custody, ownership, dominion, or control over fish, wildlife, or an identifiable portion thereof.

**Bag Limit** means the maximum quantity of a particular species that may lawfully be taken by one person during a specified period.

**Possession Limit** means the maximum quantity of a particular species that a person may lawfully possess at any one time.

**Open Season** means a period during which a designated species may lawfully be taken.

**Closed Season** means any period during which taking a designated species is prohibited.

**Protected Species** means any species designated by law or Department regulation as subject to special protections or restrictions.

**Endangered Species** means a species designated by the State as being threatened with extinction or otherwise requiring the highest level of wildlife protection.

**Poaching** means the intentional unlawful taking, possession, concealment, transportation, or harvesting of fish or wildlife in substantial or repeated violation of this Code.

**Rural or Wilderness Area** means an undeveloped or sparsely developed area characterized primarily by forests, mountains, deserts, agricultural lands, undeveloped shoreline, lakes, rivers, wildlife habitat, conservation lands, or other substantial open land.

A roadway, residence, settlement, or isolated commercial property located within an otherwise rural or wilderness area does not by itself remove the area from this definition.

Department of Fish and Wildlife statutes establish the powers, duties, responsibilities, jurisdiction, and administrative authority of the San Andreas Department of Fish and Wildlife and its officers.

Department of Fish and Wildlife laws are all statutes under **FG 1xx**.

## Administration

The San Andreas Department of Fish and Wildlife shall administer and enforce the fish, wildlife, hunting, fishing, conservation, and natural-resource laws of the State.

The Department is responsible for the management and protection of wildlife resources and may adopt reasonable regulations necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Code.

## Fish and Wildlife Officers

Sworn Fish and Wildlife Officers are peace officers of the State of San Andreas while acting within the lawful scope of their duties.

Fish and Wildlife Officers may conduct investigations, issue citations, make lawful arrests, seize evidence, execute lawful warrants, and exercise other peace-officer powers authorized by state law.

## Primary Enforcement Mission

The primary law-enforcement mission of the Department is the protection of:

- Fish and wildlife; - Natural resources; - Conservation lands; - Hunting and fishing activity; - Persons engaged in outdoor recreation; and - Laws falling within the jurisdiction of the Department.

The Department shall not operate as a substitute for a municipal police department, sheriff's department, highway patrol, or other general-purpose law-enforcement agency.

## Rural and Wilderness Law Enforcement

Fish and Wildlife Officers may enforce state criminal law encountered while:

- Performing duties under this Code; - Conducting patrols within rural or wilderness areas; - Protecting state wildlife or conservation property; - Conducting a fish, wildlife, or natural-resource investigation; - Responding to an emergency; or - Addressing an immediate threat to life or public safety.

Fish and Wildlife Officers may take appropriate enforcement action concerning crimes encountered during the lawful performance of their duties.

## Incorporated Cities and Urban Areas

Fish and Wildlife Officers shall not ordinarily conduct routine general law-enforcement patrol within incorporated cities or developed urban areas.

Nothing prevents a Fish and Wildlife Officer from:

- Enforcing fish and wildlife laws within an incorporated area; - Conducting or continuing a Department investigation; - Taking action concerning a criminal offense committed in the officer's presence; - Assisting another law-enforcement agency; - Responding to an emergency; - Protecting life or property; or - Traveling through an incorporated area while performing official duties.

## Regulatory Authority

The Department may establish and amend regulations concerning:

- Hunting and fishing seasons; - Species that may lawfully be taken; - Bag limits; - Possession limits; - Minimum and maximum sizes or weights; - Authorized hunting methods; - Authorized fishing methods; - Weapons and equipment; - Hunting and fishing zones; - Tags and permits; - Protected or restricted areas; - Conservation measures; and - Emergency closures.

Licenses, Permits and Tags are laws regulating the authorization required to hunt, fish, possess, take, transport, or otherwise engage in activities involving regulated fish and wildlife.

Licenses, Permits and Tags are all statutes under **FG 2xx**.

## Hunting License

A person shall possess a valid hunting license before hunting, pursuing, taking, or attempting to take game wildlife when a license is required.

A hunting license does not authorize the holder to violate any season, bag limit, equipment restriction, property law, or other provision of this Code.

## Fishing License

A person shall possess a valid fishing license before fishing for, taking, or attempting to take regulated fish when a fishing license is required.

## Special Permits

The Department may require special permits for designated species, hunting areas, fishing areas, controlled hunts, conservation programs, or other regulated activities.

Possession of a general hunting or fishing license does not eliminate the requirement to obtain a special permit when one is required.

## Wildlife Tags

The Department may require a wildlife tag before a person may lawfully take or possess designated game wildlife.

Where a tag is required, the tag shall be completed, validated, attached, or otherwise used in the manner prescribed by Department regulation.

## Nontransferability

Unless expressly authorized by law, licenses, permits, and tags issued under this Code are personal to the holder and may not be sold, loaned, transferred, or used by another person.

## Presentation of Credentials

A person actively engaged in regulated hunting or fishing shall possess all licenses, permits, and tags required for that activity.

Required documentation shall be presented upon lawful request of a Fish and Wildlife Officer.

Hunting and Game laws regulate the lawful pursuit, taking, possession, transportation, tagging, and harvest of game wildlife, including restrictions relating to seasons, methods of take, hunting areas, bag limits, possession limits, and other hunting requirements.

Hunting and Game laws are all statutes under **FG 3xx**.

## Lawful Taking of Game

Game wildlife may only be taken:

- During an established open season; - Within an area open to hunting; - By a properly licensed person; - Under any required permit or tag; - Using an authorized method of take; - Using authorized weapons or equipment; and - Within applicable bag, possession, weight, and size limits.

Wildlife not expressly authorized for take shall not be considered lawful game.

## Hunting Seasons

The Department may establish open and closed hunting seasons for individual species.

No person may hunt a regulated species outside its established open season unless specifically authorized by the Department.

## Hunting Areas

The Department may designate areas as:

- Open to hunting; - Restricted to specific species or methods; - Permit-only; - Temporarily closed; or - Permanently closed to hunting.

## Bag and Possession Limits

The Department may establish daily, seasonal, and possession limits for game wildlife.

Bag limits regulate how many animals may be taken.

Possession limits regulate how many animals may be possessed at any one time.

## Minimum and Maximum Weight or Size

The Department may establish minimum or maximum lawful weights or sizes for game wildlife.

Wildlife outside the lawful range shall not be retained unless otherwise authorized.

## Methods of Take

The Department may regulate the weapons, ammunition, traps, equipment, and methods that may be used to take individual species.

Unless specifically authorized, wildlife shall not be taken using explosives, poison, electricity, fire, or other inherently indiscriminate methods.

## Motor Vehicles

Motor vehicles may be used for lawful transportation to and from hunting areas.

A vehicle shall not be used to unlawfully chase, herd, strike, trap, corner, or otherwise take wildlife.

## Artificial Light

The Department may regulate or prohibit the use of spotlights, vehicle-mounted lights, or other artificial illumination for locating or taking wildlife.

Ordinary use of vehicle headlights for travel does not constitute hunting with artificial light.

## Retrieval of Wildlife

A person who kills or seriously wounds game wildlife shall make a reasonable effort to locate and retrieve the animal.

## Waste of Game

A person taking game wildlife shall make reasonable use of the edible portions of the animal.

Game wildlife shall not be intentionally abandoned or allowed to needlessly spoil.

Fishing and Aquatic Resource laws regulate the lawful taking, possession, transportation, and harvest of fish and other regulated aquatic species, including restrictions relating to methods of take, fishing areas, seasons, minimum and maximum weights or sizes, catch limits, and possession limits.

Fishing and Aquatic Resource laws are all statutes under **FG 4xx**.

## Lawful Fishing

Fish may only be taken:

- During an applicable open season; - From waters open to fishing; - By a properly licensed person; - Under any required permit; - By an authorized fishing method; and - Within applicable catch, possession, size, and weight limits.

## Fishing Seasons

The Department may establish seasons for regulated aquatic species.

Different species may be subject to different fishing seasons.

## Open and Closed Waters

The Department may designate waters as open, restricted, or closed to fishing.

Closures may be established for conservation, spawning protection, environmental hazards, restoration, or public safety.

## Catch Limits

The Department may establish daily or seasonal catch limits for fish and other aquatic species.

## Possession Limits

The Department may establish the maximum quantity of a species that a person may possess.

## Minimum and Maximum Size or Weight

The Department may establish legal minimum and maximum sizes or weights for individual fish species.

A fish outside an established lawful range shall be immediately released unless otherwise authorized.

## Fishing Methods

The Department may regulate fishing tackle, hooks, lines, nets, traps, bait, and other methods used to take aquatic species.

Unless specifically authorized, fish shall not be taken using:

- Explosives; - Poison; - Electricity; - Firearms; - Harmful chemicals; or - Other methods prohibited by Department regulation.

## Release of Unlawful Catch

Fish that cannot lawfully be retained because of species, size, weight, season, or another restriction shall be returned to the water as soon as reasonably practicable.

Protected and Endangered Species laws prohibit or restrict the taking, possession, injury, killing, sale, purchase, transportation, harassment, or disturbance of fish and wildlife designated by the State for special protection or conservation.

Protected and Endangered Species laws are all statutes under **FG 5xx**.

## Protected Species

The Department may designate a species as protected where conservation, population, environmental, ecological, or management concerns justify additional protection.

A protected species may not be taken except where expressly authorized by law, regulation, or Department permit.

## Endangered Species

The State may designate a species as endangered where the species faces a significant threat of extinction or serious population decline.

Taking an endangered species is prohibited except pursuant to specific lawful authorization.

## Possession

A person shall not knowingly possess protected or endangered wildlife, or identifiable portions thereof, unless possession is specifically authorized.

## Sale and Commercial Activity

Protected or endangered wildlife shall not be sold, purchased, traded, bartered, or commercially transferred except where expressly permitted by law.

## Nests, Dens, and Breeding Areas

The Department may designate nests, dens, breeding grounds, spawning grounds, or other locations as protected wildlife habitat.

Protected habitats shall not be intentionally destroyed, damaged, or materially disturbed without lawful authorization.

## Emergency Protection

The Department may temporarily designate a species, habitat, or geographic area for emergency protection when immediate action is reasonably necessary to protect wildlife populations.

Unlawful Take, Poaching and Commercialization laws prohibit the unlawful taking, possession, concealment, transportation, sale, purchase, trafficking, or commercial exploitation of fish and wildlife, including serious or repeated violations of hunting and fishing regulations.

Unlawful Take, Poaching and Commercialization laws are all statutes under **FG 6xx**.

## Unlawful Take

Any taking of fish or wildlife contrary to this Code or regulations adopted pursuant thereto constitutes unlawful take.

Where a more specific offense applies, the specific offense should ordinarily be used instead of the general unlawful-take provision.

## Poaching

Poaching generally involves intentional, substantial, repeated, concealed, or systematic violations of fish and wildlife laws.

Conduct may constitute poaching when it involves:

- Repeated unlawful harvest; - Significant violations of bag or possession limits; - Deliberate closed-season harvesting; - Concealment of unlawfully taken wildlife; - Systematic illegal hunting or fishing; or - Similar conduct demonstrating intentional unlawful exploitation of wildlife.

## Aggravated Poaching

Aggravated poaching may include:

- Organized poaching; - Large-scale unlawful harvest; - Poaching protected wildlife; - Significant commercial motivation; - Repeated serious wildlife offenses; or - Other conduct specifically defined by the applicable charge.

## Commercialization

Fish or wildlife taken under a recreational license shall not be sold or commercially distributed unless expressly authorized.

## Wildlife Trafficking

The unlawful commercial transportation, purchase, sale, barter, distribution, or trafficking of fish or wildlife is prohibited.

Organized or continuing wildlife-trafficking activity may be treated more seriously than an isolated unlawful sale.

## Possession and Transportation

A person shall not knowingly possess or transport fish or wildlife known to have been unlawfully taken.

Enforcement and Inspection laws establish the authority, responsibilities, limitations, and procedures applicable to San Andreas Department of Fish and Wildlife Officers when investigating violations, inspecting licenses or harvested wildlife, conducting lawful enforcement actions, seizing evidence, and enforcing fish, wildlife, and natural-resource laws.

Enforcement and Inspection laws are all statutes under **FG 7xx**.

## Inspection of Licenses and Credentials

When a person is engaged in an activity requiring a hunting license, fishing license, tag, or permit, a Fish and Wildlife Officer may lawfully request presentation of the required credential.

## Inspection of Harvested Fish and Wildlife

A Fish and Wildlife Officer may inspect harvested fish or wildlife when reasonably necessary to determine compliance with:

- Species restrictions; - Bag limits; - Possession limits; - Weight or size requirements; - Tagging requirements; - Seasons; - Permits; or - Other applicable fish and wildlife regulations.

Nothing within this Code authorizes an unreasonable search or seizure.

## Investigative Authority

Fish and Wildlife Officers may conduct investigations into suspected violations of this Code.

An officer may detain a person when legally justified, conduct lawful searches, issue citations, make arrests when authorized, and otherwise exercise peace-officer authority consistent with state law.

## Seizure of Unlawfully Taken Wildlife

A Fish and Wildlife Officer may seize fish or wildlife when probable cause exists to believe it was unlawfully taken, possessed, transported, sold, or otherwise held in violation of this Code.

Fish or wildlife determined to have been unlawfully taken shall not be returned to the offender unless required by law or court order.

## Seizure of Evidence

Fish and Wildlife Officers may seize weapons, traps, fishing equipment, tags, records, vehicles, vessels, containers, or other property when such property constitutes evidence of a criminal offense and seizure is authorized by law.

The mere presence of property during an offense does not automatically make that property subject to permanent forfeiture.

## Search and Seizure Limitations

Nothing within this Code shall be interpreted as authorizing a Fish and Wildlife Officer to conduct a search or seizure in violation of constitutional or statutory protections.

A person's lawful refusal to consent to a search shall not, by itself, constitute obstruction.

## Evidence Preservation

No person shall knowingly destroy, discard, alter, hide, or conceal fish, wildlife, tags, records, equipment, or other evidence for the purpose of interfering with a lawful Fish and Game investigation.

## Interagency Cooperation

The Department may request assistance from or provide assistance to other state, county, or municipal law-enforcement agencies.

Where an incident does not substantially concern fish, wildlife, conservation, natural resources, or Department jurisdiction, the appropriate general-purpose law-enforcement agency should assume primary responsibility when reasonably available.

Repeat and Habitual Offender laws establish enhanced penalties for persons who continue to violate the San Andreas Fish and Game Code after prior convictions, including increased fines, incarceration, and other sanctions for repeated or persistent violations.

Repeat and Habitual Offender laws are all statutes under **FG 8xx**.

## Repeat Fish and Game Offender

A person may be considered a **Repeat Fish and Game Offender** when they commit a Fish and Game offense after having one prior conviction for the same or substantially similar Fish and Game offense within the previous thirty (30) days.

The repeat-offender charge shall be applied in addition to the underlying Fish and Game offense and shall not be charged independently.

## Habitual Fish and Game Offender

A person may be considered a **Habitual Fish and Game Offender** when they commit a Fish and Game offense after having two or more prior convictions for the same or substantially similar Fish and Game offense within the previous thirty (30) days.

Habitual offender status represents persistent disregard for fish and wildlife law and may be prosecuted as a felony as provided under **FG 812**.

The habitual-offender charge shall be applied in addition to the underlying Fish and Game offense and shall not be charged independently.

## Application of Repeat-Offender Enhancements

For purposes of determining repeat or habitual offender status:

- Only prior convictions shall count; - Prior arrests without conviction shall not count; - The prior offense must be the same or substantially similar in nature; - The prior conviction must have occurred within the preceding thirty (30) days; and - The current incident must constitute a new and separate violation.

## Prohibition on Duplicate Enhancements

**FG 811: Repeat Fish and Game Offender** and **FG 812: Habitual Fish and Game Offender** shall not both be charged for the same incident.

Where a person qualifies as a Habitual Fish and Game Offender, **FG 812** shall apply instead of **FG 811**.

## License Suspension or Revocation

Repeated or serious violations of this Code may result in the temporary suspension or revocation of hunting or fishing privileges where authorized by law or imposed by a court.

A person whose privileges have been suspended or revoked shall not hunt or fish during the period of suspension or revocation.

## Relationship to Poaching Charges

Repeat or habitual offender status does not automatically constitute poaching or aggravated poaching.

Poaching or aggravated poaching may only be charged when the facts of the incident independently satisfy the elements of those offenses.

## Cumulative Charges

A person may be charged with multiple Fish and Game offenses arising from the same incident when each charge concerns materially distinct conduct.

Substantially duplicative charges should not be stacked solely for the purpose of increasing a person's punishment.

## Maximum Custodial Sentence

Unless otherwise provided by law, the total custodial sentence imposed for offenses arising from a single incident shall not exceed the maximum custodial limitation established by the State.