R.I. Gen. Laws § 20-7-12

No person shall set, maintain, or have in his or her possession any lobster pots from which the branded numbers have been altered, obliterated, or removed with the intent to defraud or deprive the owner. Every person convicted of violating the provision of this section shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100) for each of these traps or be imprisoned not more than thirty (30) days, or both. All pots used or possessed contrary to the provisions of this section and other sections of this chapter shall be seized by any officer engaged in the enforcement of this chapter and that property shall be forfeited.