Chap. 98.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 3240 of the Code of Vir-
ginia, as amended by an act approved March 28, 1922, in relation to the
taking of oysters from natural rocks, etc. [H B 130}

Approved March 4, 1926.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tion thirty-two hundred and forty of the Code of Virginia, as amended
by an act approved March twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and
twenty-two, be further amended and re-enacted so as to read as fol-
Ows:

Section 3240. Taking oysters from natural rocks; closed season;
penalty.—Hereafter it shall not be lawful 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 May to the fifteenth day of September 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 (exclusive), the prohibited 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 in section thirty-two hundred and forty-four,
the prohibitive time shall be from the first day of April to the fifteenth
day of September; and in the James river above the seed line, as es-
tablished in section thirty-two hundred and forty-four; and on the
eastern or ocean side of Accomac and Northampton counties, the
prohibited time shall be from the first day of June to the fifteenth day
of September, and that in Broad Bay, Long creek, Lickhorn Bay, or
in any of the tributaries thereof in the county of Princess Anne, the
prohibted time shall be all the year, except the months of October
and November, and that in the waters of Pocomoke sound the pro-
hibited 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, 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 or crabs 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
or shells 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, nor for any person to use patent tongs in the waters of the
James, Nansemond, East or Piankitank rivers at any time. A person
violating any provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof,
be fined not less than twenty-five dollars, 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
said planted oysters or from shipping the same to market at any time
at the option of the owner.