GCA Title 5, Chapter 63
5 GCA GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
CH. 63 FISH, GAME, FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 63
FISH, GAME, FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
2025 NOTE: Pursuant to 5 GCA § 1510, I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan means the ‘Governor of Guam’ and I Maga’håga/Maga’låhi means the ‘Governor.’ Pursuant to 2 GCA § 1101, I Liheslaturan Guåhan means the ‘Guam Legislature’ and I Liheslatura means the ‘Legislature.’
- Article 1 Game and Fish
- Article 2 Endangered Species Act of Guam
- Article 3 Forestry
- Article 4 Conservation Reserves
- Article 5 Guam Forestry Legacy Act of 2012
- Article 6 Live Coral and Fish Nets
- Article 7 Wildland Fire Protection
- Article 8 Agricultural Board of Commissioners
- Article 9 Guam Ocean and Fisheries Conservation Act of 2015
- Article 10 Environmentally Toxic/Hazardous Skincare Products
ARTICLE 1
GAME AND FISH
5 GCA GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS CH. 63 FISH, GAME, FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
§ 63101. Definitions.
As used in this Article: (a) ’ Altering ’ means to change, damage, impact, break, remove, relocate, or to harm, resulting from activities to include, but not limited to, construction, drilling, trenching, mechanical equipment, and development; (b) ’ Angling ’ means taking of aquatic animal life with a hook; (c) ’ Aquatic Life ’ means includes all aquatic animals and aquatic plants; (d) ’ Coral ’ means any live or dead member or part thereof of the Phylum Cnidaria that form calcareous skeletons, spicules, or sclerites (including soft and hard corals both hermatypic and ahermatypic) or exist as sessile, solitary, or colonial polyps. Those members include, but are not limited to, all stony corals ( Scleractinia ), fire corals ( Milleporina ), hydrocorals ( Stylasterina ), soft corals ( Alcyonacea ), blue corals ( Coenothecalia ), organpipe corals and relatives ( Stononifera ) sea fans ( Gorgonacea ), black corals ( Antipatharia ), and sea anemones (Order Actinaria , Ceriantharia , and Zoanthidea ); (e) ’ Firearm ’ means any weapon, the operating force of which is an explosive. This definition includes pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, automatic rifles, noxious gas projectors, mortars, bombs, cannons, submachine guns, powerheads, and bangsticks. The specific mention of certain weapons does not exclude from this definition other weapons operated by explosives; (f) ’ Fish ’ means any aquatic animal life, including, but not limited to, oysters, clams, mollusks, mussels, crustaceans, other shellfish, and coral; (g) ’ Fish Weir ’ means an apparatus for catching fish, consisting of a pocket or trap, with one or more wings or leaders, or both. Any reference to a fish weir in this Article includes any part or
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CH. 63 FISH, GAME, FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION
component thereof, including any pole, support, net, brush, wire, mesh, rope, or other item or material. For the purpose of this Article, there are two (2) types of fish weirs: (1) ’ Main weir ’ means the central pocket or trap of any fish weir and its leader (main entrance) and wings (side entrance); and (2) ’ Auxiliary weir ’ means any supplementary trap or pocket and its leader and wings which are attached to the leader or wings of a main weir; (h) ’ Game ’ means all native or introduced species of wild birds and wild or feral animals; (i) ’ Juvenile Goatfish ’ ( Ti’åo ) is defined as fish within the family Mullidae (Goatfishes) that are four (4) inches (100 mm) or smaller when measured from the tip of the snout or jaw to the rear center edge or fork of the tail (fork length); (j) ’ Juvenile Jacks ’ ( I’e’ ) is defined as fish within the family Carangidae (Jacks) that are four (4) inches (100 mm) or smaller when measured from the tip of the snout or jaw to the rear center edge or fork of the tail (fork length); (k) Juvenile Rabbitfish ’ ( Mañåhak ) is defined as fish within the family Siganidae (Rabbitfishes) that are three (3) inches (76 mm) or smaller when measured from the tip of the snout or jaw to the rear center edge or fork of the tail (fork length); (l) ’ Mangroves ’ are defined as plants growing in soils with a high salt content and/or possess a well-developed system of conducting tissue to transport water, mineral salts, and sugars that occur in estuarine-tidal flat areas to include, but not limited to, species in the family Rhizophoraceae ; (m) ’ Marine Preserve ’ is defined as a delineated area in which certain activities or uses are permanently restricted or prohibited; (n) ’ Resource ’ is defined as any non-living, or living entity; (o) ’ Rock ’ is defined as any hard material larger than sand size grains made from a mineral or petrified mass including, but not limited to, coral skeleton that has been weathered to form limestone; (p) ’ Sand ’ is defined as any loose grainy non-living material formed from the erosion of rocks, skeletal material and/or calcium carbonate formations; (q) ’ Seagrass ’ is defined as any species of marine angiosperms (flowering plants) to include, but not limited to, species in the families Hydrocharitaceae and Potamogetonaceae ; (r) ’ Snagging ’ is defined as fishing in a manner with jerking motions with hooks and line in an attempt to pierce the body of the fish externally; (s) ’ Take ’ is defined as hunt, pursue, catch, capture, angle, seize, kill, trap, harm, shoot in any way or by any agency or device; every attempt to do such acts or to assist any other person in the doing of or the attempt to do such acts; (t) ’ Traditional Fishing Methods ’ is defined as subsistence-level cultural fishing practices in which the catch is not marketed, but rather is shared within the family or community for purposes of home consumption. Traditional methods most commonly include, but are not necessarily limited to: (1) cast net ( talåya ); (2) drag net/seine ( chenchulon ma hålla ); (3) surround net ( chenchulon ma sugon ); (4) trap net ( chenchulon ma mongle ); and
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(5) butterfly net ( chenchulon ababbang ). (u) ’ Vehicle ’ is defined as including every description of carriage or other contrivance used, or capable of being used, as means of transportation on, below, or above the land, including boat trailers, but does not include aircraft; (v) ’ Vessel ’ is defined as including every description of watercraft or other contrivance used, or capable of being used, as means of transportation in water; and
- (w) ’ Waters of Guam ’ is defined as that area of shore and waters seaward of the mean high water line (mark) to the outermost limits of Guam’s exclusive economic zone as provided by 1 GCA § 402(a).
- (x) ’ Ray ’ is defined as animals in the Order Myliobatiformes , including, but not limited to, Eagle Rays ( Aetobatus narinari ), Manta Rays ( Manta birostris ) and Blue-spotted Rays ( Taeniura lymma ).
- (y) ’ Shark ’ is defined as an animal commonly known as a shark and includes all animals in the Orders Hexanchiformes , Pristiophoriformes , Squaliformes , Squatiniforms , Heterodontiformes , Orectolobiformes , Lamniformes and Carcharhiniformes .
- (z) ’ Shark Fin ’ is defined, for the purpose of this Act, as the fin or tail of a shark that has been removed from the body.
- (aa) ’ Ray Part ’ is defined as any part of a ray.
- (bb) ’ Shark Finning ’ is defined as the taking of a shark, removing the fin or fins (whether or not including the tail) of a shark, and returning the remainder of the shark to the sea. (cc) ’ Community-Based Fisheries Management ’ a system in which fishermen and their communities exercise primary responsibility for stewardship and fisheries management, to include taking part in the decision-making on all aspects of fisheries management, such as harvesting, access, compliance, research, and marketing. (dd) ’ SCUBA Diving ’ is defined as a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses any apparatus or device that contains compressed air or a mixture of air and gas; including, but not limited to, SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), Nitrox, and surface supplied air, and rebreathers. SOURCE: All SOURCE references in this Article will be to P.L. 6-087 (Mar. 12, 1962) unless otherwise noted. GC § 12300. Added by P.L. 6-087 (Mar. 12, 1962). Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 16-039:1 (Sept. 11, 1981). Amended by P.L. 20-185:2 (June 8, 1990); P.L. 25-186:9 (Jan. 11, 2001); P.L. 28-107:2 (April 14, 2006). Subsections (x), (y), (z), (aa), and (bb) added by P.L. 31-010:1 (Mar. 9, 2011). Subsection (y) amended by P.L. 31-200:1 (Apr. 2, 2012). Subsection (cc) added by P.L. 34-072:3 (Feb. 9, 2018). Subsection (dd) added by P.L. 35-078:2 (March 20, 2020). 2019 NOTE: Pursuant to the authority of 1 GCA § 1606 to address manifest and typographical errors, the Compiler corrected the spelling of Myliobatiformes and Aetobatus narinari in subsection (x).
§ 63102. Authority of Department.
The control and regulation of fish and game in and about Guam and the administration of this Article shall be vested in the Department [of Agriculture]. Violations of this Chapter which are not identified as a misdemeanor or felony shall be adjudicated by the Traffic Court Division of the Superior Court of Guam. SOURCE: GC § 12301. Amended by P.L. 37-048:1 (Nov. 10, 2023).
§ 63103. Authority of Department. Chief Conservation Officer: Deputies.
The provisions of this Article shall be enforced by the Director, who shall be an ex officio Chief Conservation Officer, and suitable employees of the Department, who the Director may appoint as Deputy
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Conservation Officers, as well as by peace officers, as defined in 8 GCA § 5.55. The Chief Conservation Officer and Deputy Conservation Officers acting hereunder shall have the powers of peace officers to carry arms, to make arrests, and to issue citations for violations, as well as to investigate, detain, or arrest in regard to the theft of agricultural products as that term is used in 9 GCA § 43.10(d). SOURCE: GC § 12302; amended by P.L. 26-025:3 (July 5, 2001). Amended by P.L.36-010:4 (Apr. 9, 2021). Amended and renamed by P.L. 37-048:2 (Nov. 10, 2023).
§ 63103.1. Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve.
(a) Creation. There is hereby created within the Department of Agriculture of the government of Guam, the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve, which shall be headed by the Director of Agriculture, hereafter referred to as the Director. The Director, subject to the advice and control of I Maga ’ hågan /Maga’låhen Guåhan , shall carry out the purposes of this Chapter and shall have such additional duties and responsibilities as are authorized herein. (b) Functions and Duties. The general function and duties of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve shall be to provide backup manpower for the suppression of fish and wildlife crimes, preservation of law and order, and to assist in civil emergencies. The Director shall formulate a program whereby the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve shall fulfill the functions and duties herein prescribed. From time to time, the Director shall review and revise the functions and duties of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve to insure an amicable discharge of its responsibilities and duties knowing that its role is the extension of duties of regular Department of Agriculture personnel. (c) Recruitment. The Director shall recruit, on an entirely volunteer basis, local residents who desire to provide their services to the Department of Agriculture in carrying out its law enforcement duties and emergency functions. The Director shall promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the requirements of hiring regular Conservation Officers. (d) Training, Equipment and Maintenance of Records. The Director shall devise a program whereby the Law Enforcement Section in the Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources of the Department of Agriculture and the Civil Defense Office provides the members of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve training in crime prevention and operational techniques and procedures for natural and man-made emergencies. Volunteer officers must have a certificate of completion of a training program approved by competent authority. The Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve shall maintain a roster of volunteers who have received the training prescribed herein. In order to maintain membership in the Reserve, each member must complete his or her scheduled training and no volunteer may remain in the Reserve if he or she is unable to successfully complete the training. Additionally, basic supplies and equipment shall be provided to assure constant functioning of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve, including a continuing program for replacement of officers. (e) Volunteer: Authority. Whenever members of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Reserve render assistance to Conservation Officers, the volunteers shall have the same powers, duties, rights, including coverage under the Worker’s Compensation Act, privileges a nd immunities, as full-time employees of the Department of Agriculture, except that they shall earn recruitment credit for services performed as volunteers. (f) Same: Allowance. Each member of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve who successfully completes probationary requirements as established by the Director and who contributes a minimum of forty-two (42) hours or more per month, shall receive compensation in the amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per month, to defray the cost of maintenance of their equipment and uniforms. The Department of Agriculture shall identify funds within department appropriations or other appropriate funding sources to satisfy the requirements of this Section.
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(g) Same: Eligibility and Oath. No person shall be a volunteer member of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve established under this Chapter who advocates a change by force or violence in the constitutional form of the Government of the United States or Guam or the overthrow of any Government in the United States by force, or who has been convicted of or is under indictment or information charging any subversive act against the United States. Every volunteer shall, entering upon his or her duties, take an oath, in writing, before a person authorized to administer oaths in Guam, which oath shall be substantially as follows: ’ I_______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of