Chap. 391.-An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 3193, 3199, 3208, 3210,
3216, 3223, and 3244 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Commission
of Fisheries, the Commissioner of Fisheries, fish, fishing and shellfish; to
amend the Code of Virginia by adding thereto two new sections numbered
3151-a, authorizing the Commission of Fisheries to destroy duplicate and
triplicate sets of licenses, and duplicate or triplicate vouchers and invoices,
and 3244-a, making returns of employees of the Commission of Fisheries
as to posting certain notices conclusive evidence of such posting. [S B 310]

Approved March 31, 1938

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions thirty-one hundred and ninety-three, thirty-one hundred and
ninety-nine, thirty-two hundred and eight, thirty-two hundred and ten,
thirty-two hundred and sixteen, thirty-two hundred and twenty-three,
thirty-two hundred and forty-four of the Code of Virginia be amended
and re-enacted and that the Code of Virginia be further amended, by
adding thereto two new sections numbered thirty-one hundred and
fifty-one-a, and thirty-two hundred and forty-four-a, so that said
amended sections and said new sections shall read as follows:

Section 3151-a. The Commission of Fisheries shall have authority
to destroy or otherwise dispose of duplicate and triplicate sets of
licenses and the duplicate invoices or vouchers after such licenses and
vouchers or invoices have been audited by the Auditor of Public Ac-
counts of Virginia.

Section 3193. Oyster Planting Grounds; What Ground May be
Applied For; Eligible Applicants ; How to Apply; Notice to be Posted:
Newspaper Notice.—

(1) The residue of such water front in excess of what is already
assigned, or is reserved for the riparian owner, and the residue of
the beds of the bays, rivers, creeks, and shores of the sea other
than natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals, as defined by law and in-
cluded in the Baylor survey, may be occupied for the purpose of
planting or propagating oysters thereon.

(2) Application for assignment of oyster-planting ground may
be made by any resident of the State, or by any firm, or corporation
chartered under the laws of this State for the purpose of oyster cul-
ture and the oyster business; and it shall be lawful for nonresidents
to be stockholders in such a firm or corporation provided said firm
or corporation employ only resident labor in planting, cultivating,
selling, and marketing the oysters grown on the ground or land so
occupied; and provided its principal place of business for selling, and
marketing said oysters be maintained within this State, and the pro-
visions of this section shall be incorporated in any lease of oyster
ground to any such firm or corporation, the violation thereof shall
forfeit the lease.

(3) All applications for assignment of oyster-planting grounds
shall be made in writing to the inspector of the district wherein the
ground lies, in duplicate. The application shall state as near as may
be the number of acres applied for and definite location, with the name
of one or more prominent points or objects adjacent to said ground.
A duplicate copy of this application shall be immediately forwarded
to the office of the Commission of Fisheries by the inspector. It shall
be the duty of any resident, firm, or corporation desiring to obtain a
location for planting or propagating oysters to apply to the inspector
of the district in which such land lies to have the location ascertained,
designated, surveyed, and assigned.

(4) No assignment shall be made of any piece of ground con-
laining more than ten acres until notice of application has been pub-
lished once a week for at least four weeks in some newspaper
published in the county wherein the said ground lies; and if no news-
paper be published in the said county, then it shall be published once
1 week for at least four weeks in some newspaper having general
circulation therein. This said provision is in addition to the sixty-day
posting of the application required.
(5) Notice of the said application shall be posted by the in-
spector for not less than sixty days at the courthouse of the county
in which the ground lies, and at two or more prominent places in
the vicinity of said ground.

(6) Sixty days after posting of the notice of application, the
inspector shall notify the county surveyor, or such surveyor as may
be designated by the Commission of Fisheries, to proceed to survey
said ground, conforming to the rules and regulations of the Commis-
sion of Fisheries, and make a plat in duplicate of the same. The
surveyor shall forward the plat of survey to the office of the Com-
mission of Fisheries to be approved by the engineer of the Com-
mission within thirty days, before same is assigned by the inspector.
The ground shall be marked at the expense of the applicant, at the
time the survey is made, and at the direction of the surveyor, with
suitable stakes, smooth and free from snags and spurs; provided that
where the War Department of the United States Government forbids
the use of such stakes on account of interference with navigation, such
other markers, as may be permitted by the said War Department and
approved by the Commission of the Fisheries, may be used instead
of stakes: and such suitable stakes or other markers, as aforesaid,
shall be kept by the lessee in their proper places at all times during
the continuance of such lease, so as to conform accurately to the
survey. Should such stakes or other markers be removed, rot down,
or be carried away, the lessee shall replace them in their proper
places; and if he fails to do so within thirty days aiter being notified
by the inspector of the district in which the ground lies, the said lessee
shall have no claim against any person for trespassing on said ground
in any manner.

(7) Any applicant for oyster-planting ground shall pay to the
surveyor for his services one dollar per acre or fraction thereof for
three acres or less; fifty cents per acre or fraction thereof for each
acre more than three and up to and including ten acres; twenty-five
cents per acre or fraction thereof for each acre more than ten and up
to and including thirty acres; fifteen cents per acre for each acre and
fraction thereof more than thirty acres up to and including fiity acres,
and ten cents per acre for all over fifty acres; and for drawing plat of
ground (which shall be in duplicate), fifty cents per corner for each
corner up to and including four corners, and twenty-five cents per
corner for all additional corners over four. The surveyor shall have
the same privileges and rights as to the collection of his fees as does
the inspector.

(8) No assignment, except in Chesapeake Bay, shall exceed two
hundred and fifty acres. No applicant, after having had as much as
two hundred and fifty acres of oyster grounds assigned to him, shall
again make application for another assignment of oyster ground within
six months from the day his assignment was recorded and completed
as the statutes hereinafter provide. If an assignment be not made
within ninety days after the expiration of the notice required by statute
to be posted for sixty days, such application shall, upon the expiration
of the said ninety days, lapse and become null and void, unless an ex-
tension is allowed by the commission, of not more than ninety days.

(9) No person, firm or corporation shall own or operate more
than three thousand acres of oyster ground in the waters of this State
other than the Chesapeake Bay; and should ground in excess of three
thousand acres be acquired by original assignment to the assignee, or be
assigned to him or them by a lawful holder of said oyster ground, or as
heir or distributee, or by devise or bequest, he or they shall, nevertheless,
have a right to lawfully hold the same for and during the period of
one year, and shall have a legal right to assign the same. Should no
assignment be made within one year, the oyster-planting ground so
acquired, in excess of three thousand acres, shall revert to the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, and may be applied for by any person having
a legal right to do so.

(10) Application for planting ground in Chesapeake Bay in waters
from fifteen feet or more in depth shall be made to the Commission
of Fisheries, which shall have the right to accept or reject any such
application as it may deem best for the public interests; and the num-
ber of acres to be assigned to any applicant shall not exceed five thou-
sand acres, provided that such assignment shall not interfere with the
established fishing rights. Any such application, surveying, and mark-
ing shall conform to the law pertaining to oyster-planting grounds.

(11) The annual rental per acre in the Chesapeake Bay, in waters
from fifteen feet or more in depth, therefor shall be such an amount
per acre as the Commission of Fisheries may designate, but in no case
shall it be less than fifty cents per annum per acre. After notice of
an application has been posted and/or published for sixty days as
hereinbefore required, the ground surveyed, and plat made in duplicate,
the inspector shall assign the ground to the applicant; provided that,
if in the judgment of the Commission of Fisheries it shall be wise to do
so; and further provided that the applicant pay to the inspector the
surveying charges, if the survey is made by an agent of the Commission
of Fisheries, and the annual rental prorated from the date of the as-
signment to the next rental year, this proration to be computed on the
total number of acres to be assigned, and a recording fee of two dol-
lars for each assignment of not in excess of ten acres; two dollars and
fifty cents for each assignment in excess of ten acres but not in excess
of twenty-five acres, and three dollars for each assignment in excess
of twenty-five acres. When these: provisions have been met, the in-
spector shall then assign the ground to the applicant, and no person,
firm, or corporation shall be considered a lawful renter of oyster-plant-
ing ground until he shall have first complied with these said provisions.

(13) Such an applicant shall pay to the inspector the annual rental
for the said ground at the rate of one dollar per acre per annum, except
as provided for in the Chesapeake Bay, and for bathing ground and ripar-
ian rights; said rental to be due on the first day of September of each
year after the date of the assignment ; and if not paid on or before Decem-
ber fifth, a five per centum penalty shall be added to the annuai rental
charge, and the inspector may proceed to levy for rental and penalty.
(14) Each assignment shall continue in force for a period of
twenty years from the date of assignment; and if such applicant shall
hold such ground for the full period of twenty years and at the ex-
piration thereof decide to continue to hold the same and to have the
lease renewed, then, provided such ground is still open to lease under
the then existing law, such applicant shall have prior right over all
others for a renewal of the lease of the ground; subject to any such
laws or regulations as the General Assembly may enact or prescribe,
and to such rental as may be then fixed by law. The interest in such
ground shall be construed as a chattel real, and at the death of the
renter pass into the hands of the personal representatives for the bene-
fit of any creditors or heirs of the decedent. Should any lessee ot
oyster-planting ground, or bathing ground, have his ground or any
portion thereof re-surveyed or should he re-assign any or all of the
ground, this said re-survey or re-assignment shall not be construed to
be a twenty-year renewal of his lease, or as a new assignment of such
ground, but shall be deemed to be a continuation of the original as-
signment, subject to all the limitations and conditions under which such
grounds were originally assigned.

(15) Any person, firm or corporation in possession of any oyster-
planting ground which has not been assigned according to law shall
have no preference as to having the same assigned to him, but such
ground shall be open to the first applicant.

(16) The plat and assignment, as soon as practicable after com-
pletion, and after the said ground shall have been assigned to the said
applicant, shall be filed for record by the inspector in the office of the
Commission of Fisheries, and in the office of the clerk of the county
by the Commissioner of Fisheries. The county clerk shall forthwith
record the assignment and plat in a well-bound and substantial book,
such recording to be indexed in the name of the assignee, and there-
upon at once a written memorandum shall be posted by the clerk of
the court at the front door of the courthouse, stating the name of the
assignee, the date of recordation, the number of acres assigned, and the
general location of the ground. The clerk of the court shall receive the
said plat and assignment and record the same, and shall be paid by the
commission for his services a fee of two dollars for each assignment
of not in excess of ten acres; two dollars and fifty cents for each as-
signment of in excess of ten acres but not in excess of twenty-five
acres, and three dollars for each assignment in excess of twenty-five
acres. After the same has been recorded, the assignee is entitled to
withdraw the original from the clerk’s office.

(17) Each inspector shall send in to the office of the Commission
of Fisheries not later than the fifth of each month all assignments made
by him during the preceding month, such assignments to be reported
on blanks provided the inspector by the commission, and these forms
to state the name of applicant to whom assigned, the waters where, the
number of acres, the date of assignment, and the address of the appli-
cant.

(18) To any person, after having complied with all requirements,
as set forth in the statutes necessary to have ground assigned to him,
the State will guarantee the absolute right to the renter to continue
to use and occupy such ground for the term of the lease, subject, only
to the right of fishing in waters above the said bottoms and riparian
rights, so long as the rent for each year is paid not later than December
fifth of such year. No person exercising such right of fishing shall
use any device which is fixed to the bottom, or which, in any way,
interferes with such renter’s rights, or damages such bottoms, or the
oysters planted thereon.

(19) The lessee of any oyster-planting ground or bathing ground,
the rent of which is to be paid to the following September of any year,
may abandon his or her holdings at any time without being liable for
the payment of the rent for the following year, provided they notify
the inspector, deputy inspector or the Commissioner of Fisheries in
writing of their intention so to do before September first. Said notice,
when received by the inspector or deputy inspector, shall be immediately
forwarded by such inspector or deputy inspector to the office of the com-
missioner.

Section 3199. Natural Rocks Not to Be Used or Staked Off;
Penalty.—It shall not be lawful for any person to stake in or use for
the purpose of propagating or planting oysters or shells any natural
oyster bed, rock, or shoal, as defined by law, or any bottom which has
not been assigned to him according to law, or any public clamming
or scalloping grounds which have been set aside as such; nor shall any
person who may have occupied and staked off such natural bed, rock,
or shoal, or clamming or scalloping ground, as defined by law, or any
bottom which has not been assigned to him according to law, continue
to occupy the same; and any person violating this provision shall be fined
not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each
offense. Moreover, the inspector for that district, or the Commission
of Fisheries, or its deputies shall require any such person to remove
all stakes, watchhouses, or other obstructions from said natural beds,
rocks, or shoals or from any bottom which has not been assigned to him
according to law; and if after ten days’ notice such person refuses to
remove stakes or other obstructions, the same shall be removed by order
of the Commission of Fisheries or by the inspector at the cost of the of-
fender, who shall also be fined in addition for failure or refusal to remove
such stakes, watchhouses, or other obstructions not less than ten or
not more than one hundred dollars. ,

Section 3208. Taking Oysters From Natural Rocks; Closed Sea-
son; Penalty.—It shall be unlawful for any person to take or catch
oysters from any of the natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals in any
of the waters of this Commonwealth, with tongs or any other way, from
the first of June to the first of October of each year; provided, that in
all the waters of Virginia on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay
from Mobjack Bay and its tributaries to the Potomac river, the pro-
hibited time shall be from the first day of April to the first day of
October; and in James river below the seed line, as established, the
prohibitive time shall be from the first day of April to the first day of
October; and in the James river above the seed line, as established -
and that in Broad Bay, Long Creek, Linkhorn Bay, or in any of the
tributaries thereof in the county of Princess Anne, the prohibited time
shall be all the year, except the months of October and November:
and that in the waters of Pocomoke Sound the prohibited time shall
be from the first day of April to the first day of October in each
year. And if any person be found upon the natural rocks, beds, or
shoals of this Commonwealth during the prohibited season with tongs
or other device for taking or catching oysters or clams, the same shall
be prima facie evidence of the violation of this section by the person so
found thereupon, unless such person possesses a license to take or catch
clams with such tongs or other device during such prohibited season. And
it shall not be lawful for any person to use or employ patent tongs for
the purpose of taking or catching oysters, shells, or clams from the
natural rocks, beds, or shoals of the State at any time, except during
the months of October, November and December of each year or for
any person to use patent tongs in the waters of the James, Nansemond,
East, or Piankitank rivers at any time, and in the Rappahannock river
the use of patent tongs shall not be permitted above a line drawn from
Towles Point on the north side of the Rappahannock river to Bur-
han’s wharf on the south side of said river, but the use of patent
tongs below said line may be permitted with the consent of the com-
mission, except that it shall be lawful to take clams with patent tongs
in the channel of the James river in water not less than twenty feet in
depth between Newport News point and the upper end of the New-
port News Ship Building and Dry Dock Company’s plant. The Com-
mission of Fisheries is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to prohibit
the use of patent tongs at any time in the taking of oysters, clams, or
shells from the natural beds, rocks, or shoals in the waters of the Com-
monwealth or in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Common-
wealth. A person violating any of the provisions of this section, or
any order of the Commission of Fisheries prohibiting the use of the
patent tongs, shall upon conviction thereof be fined not less than twenty-
five nor more than one hundred dollars, and be confined in jail not less
than ten days nor more than six months. This section shall not be
construed as prohibiting the owner of planted oysters from working
on or changing the location of the said planted oysters during the day
time, or from shipping the same to market at any time.

The commission after public hearing is hereby authorized and em-
powered to make such rules and regulations, and at any time, to modify
the same, prohibiting or restricting the taking or catching of fish and
all shellfish or any one or more of the aforesaid specified classes, or the
method by which the same shall be taken, the closing or opening of
any specified area, for the taking or catching of same, or any one or
more of them, or any devices or methods used in connection therewith,
which rules and regulations shall have the full force and effect of law:
and any violation thereof is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor and
punishable as such. Before, however, such rules and regulations shall
be effective, they shall be posted by the oyster inspector or deputies
in two or more public places in each inspection district where appli-
cable for at least ten days; and a certificate of such oyster inspector
or deputy showing that the same has been posted is hereby declared io
be conclusive evidence thereof; provided, however, that should the
commission, in the exercise of the authority hereby given, by rule or
regulation, so prohibit or restrict the taking of fish or other shellfish
to such an extent that the industry affected by such rule or regulation
of necessity will have to suspend operations, in that event the commis-
sion shall suspend the enforcement of such rule or regulation until the
adjournment of the next General Assembly of Virginia.

No action shall be taken under this section until after the public
hearing, which shall be held after advertisement of the time, place, and
purpose thereof for two successive weeks in at least three newspapers
circulated in the Tidewater section of the Commonwealth.

Provided, further, that the Commission of Fisheries is hereby author-
ized to regulate the setting of any device for the purpose of taking or
catching fish as in their discretion is to the best interests of the industry,
and such regulation to have the full force and effect of law, and
provided further, this section shall not apply to the Potomac river.

Section 3210. License of Tongers; Penalty—Any resident of this
State who shall be duly qualified, and desires to take or catch oysters,
clams or scallops from the natural oyster beds, rocks, shoals, or any
other waters of the Commonwealth, or water under the jurisdiction of
the Commonwealth, not leased for planting purposes, by hand,. or with
ordinary or patent tongs, or any instrument allowed by law, other than
a scrape or dredge, shall first apply in writing to the inspector for a
license. - The license taxes shall be as follows:

(1) For each pair of patent tongs, ten dollars and fifty cents.

(2) For each person taking oysters or clams by hand, or with
ordinary tongs, four dollars and fifty cents.

(3) Provided, however, that a license issued for patent tongs
shall entitle the holder, without the payment of an additional license
tax, to use ordinary tongs while not using patent tongs. When such
person shall have paid to the inspector the amount of license required
of him, said inspector shall register such person, and shall issue to him
a license, which shall entitle him during the season for which such
shall be issued to take or catch oysters, clams, or scallops from the
natural oyster rocks, beds, or shoals, or any other water of the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, or within the jurisdiction thereof, for the period
during which he is not prohibited by law from working on any such
natural rocks, beds, or shoals. If any person is found oystering, clam-
ming, or scalloping upon the natural rocks, beds, shoals, or other waters
of the Commonwealth not assigned for shellfish culture without having
been so licensed; or after having his license revoked, or if he violates
any provision of this section, such person shall be fined not less than
ten nor more than two hundred dollars. Five dollars of each license
to take oyster with patent tongs and two dollars of each license to
take oysters with ordinary tongs shall be segregated for the replenish-
ment of the public rocks, beds, and shoals of the Commonwealth. The
license issued under this section shall entitle the holder to take either
oysters, clams, or scallops from the waters of this Commonwealth,
or from waters under the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth for and
during the open oyster season; and shall, in addition thereto, permit the
holder of said license to take or catch clams or scallops during the sea-
son prohibited by law for the taking of oysters, from the public clam-
ming bottoms of the Commonwealth.

(4) For each person desiring to take or catch only clams by hand
or with ordinary tongs the license tax shall be two dollars and fifty
cents ($2.50) and/or for any person desiring to use patent tongs for
the purpose of taking clams only, he shall pay to the inspector a spe-
cific tax of five dollars and fifty cents ($5.50) for each pair of such
tongs to be used, providing that these licenses for the taking of clams
by hand, or with tongs, ordinary or patent, shall entitle the holder there-
of to take only clams from the public clamming bottoms in the waters
of this Commonwealth, in the waters under the jurisdiction of this
Commonwealth, and not from the public oyster rocks, beds, and shoals,
and is not to be construed to, in anywise, permit or authorize the taking
of oysters at any time. If any person shall have in his possession any
oysters while taking or catching clams or scallops under this sub-section
during the season in which it is lawful to take or catch oysters from
the natural rocks, beds, or shoals, he shall be prima facie guilty of vio-
lating the law of taking or catching of oysters therefrom during the said
prohibited season, and upon conviction, the penalty shall be not less
than ten dollars ($10.00), nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).

It shall be unlawful to take or catch clams at any time, or by any
means, in Pocomoke Sound above a line drawn from Drum Bay Point,
in the county of Accomac, and running a north-northwest course to the
line between the State of Maryland and Virginia, except upon such
grounds in those waters as may be set aside for public clamming or
scalloping purposes by the Commission of Fisheries; provided, however,
that it shall be unlawful for any person to ship any clams measuring
less than one and seven-sixteenths inches in length from hinge to mouth,
or to take or catch clams under such size other than for seed or plant-
ing purposes, provided, however, this section shall not apply to the
taking or catching of oysters or clams for immediate household use
but not for planting or for sale. Any person violating the provisions
of this section shall be guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction be
fined not less than ten dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.

Section 3216. Oyster Inspection When Loading on Vessels, Et
Cetera; Measurements; Tax; Penalties—It shall be unlawful for any
person, firm, or corporation to take, catch, or to purchase oysters taken
from the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or from any waters
under the jurisdiction or joint jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, or from any oyster grounds leased by the Commonwealth of
Virginia for market, or to shuck, or operate buy-boats, vessels, or
motor vehicles, or other conveyance for the purpose of buying shell
oysters taken from the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or
under the jurisiction of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or waters under
the joint jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or from any
oyster ground leased by the Commonwealth, until a.permit has been
obtained from the Commissioner of Fisheries, or the oyster inspector
of the district in which the ground from which the oysters to be taken
lie, or from the captain of any oyster police boat of this State. The
commissioner or any inspector, deputy, or captain of any oyster police
boat of this State shall have the right at all times to inspect any of the
oysters taken or purchased as aforesaid, loaded on any boat, or vessel,
motor vehicle or other conveyance or sold to any person, firm, or cor-
poration wherever they may be, as to the quality or measurements; the
owner or master of such boat or vessel, motor vehicle or other convey-
ance or the purchaser of any oysters taken as aforesaid, shall pay a tax
to the Commonwealth of Virginia, or to the person so authorized to
receive the same, of not more than two cents per bushel on each bushel
of oysters taken or purchased as aforesaid, it being the intent and pur-
pose of this act to impose a tax upon all the oysters taken from any
of the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or from any of the
waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or from
any of the waters under the joint jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of
Virginia. There is excepted from the imposition of the tax aforesaid all
oysters which are to be replanted in any of the waters of this Common-
wealth. A strict account of oysters taken or purchased as aforesaid
shall be kept by the purchaser, planter, or packers, and the tax on the
same shall be paid by the purchasers, planters or packers as herein
provided between the first and tenth days of each month immediately
following that in which such oysters were shucked, barrelled, packed or
marketed. All purchasers, planters, or packers shall keep an accurate
and complete itemized daily record of oysters barrelled, packed, shucked
or marketed by them in a book to be kept for that purpose, which book
shall be at all times open for inspection by the commissioner or any em-
ployee designated by him to inspect the same; and a failure to keep
such a record shall be unlawful and shall be punishable as hereinafter
provided.

(2) It shall be the duty of the oyster inspector in whose district
a cargo of oysters is to be loaded to inspect said oysters as they are
loaded and to see that all measurements are a full legal bushel of oysters;
and when said oysters are loaded, to collect the tax on same, and fur-
nish the owner, master, or operator with a certificate showing the
number of bushels in each load, and signed by the inspector, deputy,
or police-boat captain that the tax on each load is paid, a copy of which
said certificate shall be sent to the office of the Commissioner of Fish-
eries.

(3) When at any time there is to be loaded in any one district
more than one load at the same time, the inspector or police-boat cap-
tain is empowered to appoint, on the consent and approval of the Com-
missioner of Fisheries, a sufficient number of deputies for the pur-
poses hereinbefore set forth; that on or before the fifth day of each
month the inspector or police-boat captain shall render a statement to
the commissioner, on blanks furnished by the commissioner, showing
the amounts collected, and from whom collected.
(4) Of the revenue derived from this section, after deducting
twenty per centum to be credited to the Commission of Fisheries to
reimburse the said Commission of Fisheries for the additional cost in-
curred in enforcing this section, the balance shall be credited to the
oyster repletion fund; and it shall be the duty of the State Health Com-
missioner to make all inspections commensurate with the United States
Department of Health regulations.

(5) Any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of
transporting shellfish within the State of Virginia, either within the
State of Virginia or to a point outside of the State of Virginia by truck,
boat, or otherwise, shall keep an itemized daily record of the number
of bushels and/or gallons of oysters so transported. Such record shall
be open at all times for inspection by the auditor of the Commission
of Fisheries, any inspector or deputy inspector of the Commission of
Fisheries, or any person so designated by the Commissioner of Fish-
eries.

(6) Thirty days prior to the opening of the oyster season, the
Commission of Fisheries shall designate a tax of not more than two
cents per bushel, or per gallon, if shucked, to be collected by the in-
spectors, police-boat captains, or other person authorized by the com-
missioner to collect the same, sufficient to raise the sum of twenty-five
thousand dollars. Of this sum collected, eighty per centum shall be
credited to the oyster repletion fund to be used for the purchase of shells,
slag, seed oysters and clams, for the purpose of repletion. Twenty per
centum of said sum shall be credited to the general operating fund of
the Commission of Fisheries. Should it appear to the commissioner
between the first day and fifteenth day of January of the following year
that the tax so levied, based on the number of bushels and gallons,
from which revenues expected to be obtained, will not be sufficient to
raise twenty-five thousand dollars, he is hereby empowered to raise the
tax to a sufficient rate, not to exceed two cents per bushel, or gallon,
to take care of the deficiency ; and should there be collected during the
current season an excess over the said amount, the excess shall be held
in the oyster repletion fund, and taken into consideration when the rate
is set for the following oyster season.

The commissioner shall study the anticipated demand for oysters
in the following season, and shall levy only a sufficient tax, of not
more than two cents per bushel, or per gallon, if shucked, in order to
raise only, or approximately twenty-five thousand dollars.

(7) Any person who shall violate any provision of this section
shall upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than
twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.

Section 3223. Nonresidents Not to Take or Plant Oysters, Et
Cetera.—If any person other than a resident of this State, as defined
in this chapter, shall take or catch fish or shellfish, in any of the waters
of this State, or in any of the waters under the jurisdiction of this
State, for market or profit, or if any person other than a resident of this
State or a corporation authorized by law to occupy and hold oyster-plant-
ing grounds, rent any oyster-planting grounds, or plant shellfish in any
of the waters of the State, or waters under the jurisdiction of the State,
he shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two
thousand dollars for each offense, and said rental, lease or assignment
shall be void. Where the penalty is incurred by reason of the defendant
being a nonresident, the burden of proof as to his residence shall be
on him, provided this section shall not apply to any oyster-planting
ground against which foreclosure proceedings have been instituted or
title to which is acquired by reason of the death of the lessee, and pro-
vided further that any interest to title acquired under this provision shall
not extend for a period of more than twelve months from the time said
title vests.

Section 3244. Posting of Delinquent Lists and Sale of Bottoms for
Non-Payment of Rent.—Each inspector shall post on the first day of
February, or within twenty days thereafter each year, a full list of the
parcels of leased bottoms rented out in the district on which rent has not
been paid, giving the names of the renters, the number of acres, location
of same and in what waters located. This list shall be posted at the
courthouse of the county or city and at three public places in his dis-
trict for sixty days, calling upon the said parties to come forward and
pay rent; and after the expiration of the sixty days the inspector shall
then report to the Commission of Fisheries all bottoms on said list on
with the rent has not been paid. Upon receipt of said list, the said
commission shall advertise the respective bottoms on said list to be sold
at public auction to the highest bidder, together with the oysters there-
on, for a period of not less than ten days, said notice of sale to be
posted at the courthouse of the county or city and at three public places
in the district in which the particular bottoms are located. Should
there be no bid for the bottoms or any part thereof, together with the
oysters thereon, the said bottoms may be rented by the Commission of
Fisheries under the provisions of this chapter. Any lessee of ground
whose lease has been sold to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the
non-payment of taxes may have said lease reinstated provided that no
application has been made for the bottoms by any person, firm or cor-
poration, and provided further that application is made by said former
lessee within twelve months from the sale of the said lease, and provided
further that all delinquent taxes and penalties be paid in full.

Section 3244-a. The return of any employee of the Commission
of Fisheries as to the posting of any notices required under chapters
one hundred and twenty-six, one hundred and twenty-seven and one
hundred and twenty-eight, or affecting any regulations of the Com-
mission of Fisheries shall be conclusive evidence of the same.

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