Section 12012 Of Chapter 1. General Provisions From California Fish And Game Code >> Division 9. >> Chapter 1.
12012
. (a) A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports,
exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird,
fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals,
for profit or personal gain, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than
forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation
of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not
less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) nor more than fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) If a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a) also
involves a violation of Section 8685.5, 8685.6, 8685.7, or 8688 that
is punishable by subdivision (b) of Section 12004, the offense shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars
($50,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
12004, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 802 of the Penal Code, prosecution of
an offense punishable under this section shall be commenced within
three years after commission of the offense.
(e) This section does not apply to fish taken pursuant to a
commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852, or fish
sold pursuant to a commercial fish business license issued in
accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1
of Part 3 of Division 6.
(f) This section does not supersede Section 12005 or 12009.
(g) (1) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue deposited
in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures
collected pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support
of the Special Operations Unit of the department, and used for law
enforcement purposes.
(2) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine
collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in
which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board
of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision
to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city
attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess
revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.