August 29, 2018 — It’s going to cost you more to run afoul of the law out on the waters of the commonwealth beginning this November.
The state has doubled the civil fines and simplified and modernized the criminal fine system to run between $400 to $10,000 and as much as 30 months of jail time for offenders.
“It was really a big cleanup, especially on the criminal side, where we got rid of a lot of sections of penalties because they really reflected past enforcement priorities that just didn’t match the priorities of today,” said Jared Silva of the state Division of Marine Fisheries.
The revisions emerged from a two-year effort by DMF staff, Massachusetts Environmental Police and others to bring the state’s marine fine and penalty system into the 21st century, eliminating outdated enforcement measures and consolidating wherever possible.
“We repealed several sections,” Silva said.