§ 81d. Fish and Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund

(a) The Fish and Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund (“the Trust”) is established in the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands as a separate and distinct fund held by the Commissioner of Finance in trust for the benefit Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, to fund fish restoration and management projects pursuant to section 81c. Trust funds may not be comingled with monies in the General Fund and may be used only for the purposes specified in subsection (d).

(b) The Commissioner of Finance shall administer the Trust as trustee and shall disburse funds at the direction of the Commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, which shall act as the “State Fish and Wildlife Agency” for purposes of administering the funds under this Trust.

(c) The Trust consists of all sport and recreational fishing licenses, permits and related fees collected under this title, federal and local grants, gifts, donations, bequests of money and such funds as the Legislature may from time to time appropriate.

(d)

• (1) The funds in the Trust under this section may be used exclusively for fish restoration and management projects pursuant to 12 V.I.C. § 81c.

• (2) For purposes of this section, the term “fish restoration and management projects” means projects designed for the restoration and management of all species of fish which have material value in connection with sports or recreation in the marine or fresh waters of the Virgin Islands, including:

  • (A) such research into problems of fish management and culture as may be necessary to efficient administration affecting fish resources;

  • (B) the acquisition of such facts as are necessary to guide and direct the regulation of fishing by law, including the extent of the fish population, the drain on the fish supply from fishing or natural causes, the necessity of legal regulation of fishing and the effects of any measures of regulation that are applied;

  • (C) the formulation and adoption of plans of restocking waters with food and game fishes according to natural areas or districts to which such plans are applicable, together with the acquisition of such facts as are necessary to the formulation, execution, and testing the efficacy of such plans; the selection, restoration, rehabilitation, and improvement of areas of water or land adaptable as hatching, feeding, resting, or breeding places for fish, including acquisition by purchase, condemnation, lease, or gift of such areas or estates or interests therein as are suitable therefore, and the construction thereon or therein of such works as may be necessary to make them available for such purposes, and such preliminary or incidental costs and expenses as may be incurred in and about such works; and

  • (D) Such other activities as may be authorized pursuant to the Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Act.

(e)

• (1) It is the declared intent of the Legislature that the monies in this Trust may not be diverted from the control of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, or for purposes other than the administration authorized in this section. No officer or employee of the Government Virgin Islands may make or authorize expenditure from, or create or authorize an obligation of Trust funds under this section or involve the Government in any contract or obligation for the payment of money in the Trust for any purpose, other than those authorized under this section, or under other law.

• (2) In addition to any penalty or liability under any other law, any officer or employee of the Government Virgin Islands who violates this subsection is subject to appropriate administrative discipline, including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office; and any officer or employee of the Government of Virgin Islands who knowingly and willfully violates this section is subject to a fine not more than $50,000.

(f) The Commissioner of Finance shall deposit the monies contained in the Trust into interest earning accounts pursuant to 33 V.I.C., chapter 117. The interest earned on the monies deposited in the Trust must also be credited to the Trust.

(g) Money unexpended at the close of a fiscal year does not lapse, but must be carried forward to the next fiscal year for future use.

(h) The Commissioner of Finance shall maintain a detailed accounting record of all monies deposited into and disbursed from the Trust and shall make the record available to the Commissioner of Planning and Natural Resources and the public on a quarterly basis. In addition, the Commissioner of Finance shall submit a detailed report on the status of the Trust annually to the Legislature.