South Carolina § 50-5-555 - Trap placement and attention requirements; department inspection, removal, seizure, and disposal.

§ 50-5-555. Trap placement and attention requirements; department inspection, removal, seizure, and disposal.

(A) No trap may be placed within six hundred feet of a public boat ramp or launching area.

(B) No trap may be set so as to leave any portion of the trap dry at any stage of the tide.

(C) No trap may be unattended for more than five days. Without having written permission of the owner, no person may retrieve or remove catch from any trap the buoy of which is marked with a number assigned by the department to another person.

(D) No trap may be set so as to obstruct navigation in any creek or other navigable water course, access point, or mooring point. A trap determined by the department to be in violation of this section may be removed by the department and disposed of as provided in this chapter.

(E) The department may inspect traps for compliance with this section at any time. If the department finds any trap:

(1) set in violation of this section;

(2) containing excessive dead catch or only dead catch; or

(3) with buoy, line, or trap displaying excessive marine growth, the trap is contraband and must be seized and disposed of as provided in this chapter.

(F) No trap may be in the waters of the General Trawling Zone as established by Section 50-5-705 when these waters are open to trawling for shrimp.

(G) The department may impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars for each trap in violation of this section for a first offense, up to three hundred dollars for a second offense, and up to five hundred dollars for a third or subsequent offense.

HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 245, SECTION 3; 2022 Act No. 198 (H.4986), SECTION 1, eff July 15, 2022; 2024 Act No. 212 (H.4386), SECTION 10, eff July 1, 2025.

Editor's Note

2024 Act No. 212, SECTION 12, provides as follows:

"SECTION 12. Upon approval of this act by the Governor, a moratorium on the issuance of new commercial equipment licenses to use traps for the taking of blue crab takes effect, at which time the department must not issue any new commercial equipment licenses to use traps for the taking of blue crab. This moratorium expires on June 15, 2025. Commercial equipment licenses to use traps for the taking of blue crab in effect for the 2023-2024 license year are extended and do not expire until June 30, 2025."

Effect of Amendment

2022 Act No. 198, SECTION 1, added (F).

2024 Act No. 212, SECTION 10, added (G).