HB1465: Interference with commercial fishing vessel; penalties.

Legislative Summary

Interference with commercial fishing vessel; penalties. Provides that a person who comes within 50 feet of a commercial fishing vessel without the consent of the owner or person in charge of such vessel with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass the captain or crew of such vessel or interfere with the operations of such vessel is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The bill makes it a Class 6 felony to communicate to another person by any means any threat to (i) kill or do bodily injury to a person or persons engaged in the activity of commercial fishing on the waters of the Commonwealth or (ii) bomb, burn, destroy, or in any manner damage any commercial fishing vessel, and increases this penalty to a Class 5 felony if such threat places the captain or crew in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury. The bill makes it a Class 6 felony to intentionally or recklessly damage, injure, tamper with, deface, or destroy a commercial fishing vessel or any associated gear. The bill provides that a law-enforcement officer may, with or without a warrant, arrest any person for an alleged violation of these offenses and seize any motorboat, personal watercraft, or vessel used or employed in violation of these offenses and that such property seized is subject to forfeiture proceedings. The bill also deems a person to be ineligible for any hunting or fishing license for a certain period of time if such person is found guilty of an offense set out in the bill.