CHAPTER 293

An Act to amend and reenact § 28-170, as amended, of the Code of
Virginia, relating to licenses to take crabs. CH 638]

Approved March 9, 1956

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 28-170, as amended, of the Code of Virginia be amended and
reenacted as follows:

§ 28-170. Any resident of this State desiring to take or catch crabs
for market or profit from the waters of this Commonwealth, or waters
under its jurisdiction, by any of the means hereinafter stated, or any
person desiring to engage in the business of buying or marketing crabs
for picking or canning the same in any way, shall pay to the oyster in-
spector of the district in which he resides the taxes and be subject to the
provisions set forth in the other sections of this article and the following
subsections:

(1) For each person taking or catching soft crabs otherwise than
by dip nets or hard crabs, or peelers, with net, ordinary trot line, hand
rake, or hand scrape, pushed or pulled, or with any device other than dip
net or hand line, two dollars and fifty cents; provided that no boat shall
be used to pull or push any rake or scrape except as provided for in
subsections (4) and (5) of this section;

(2) For each person taking or catching crabs with patent trot lines,
ten dollars and fifty cents; provided, no steam or motor boat shall be used
in the taking or catching of soft crabs, and provided that it shall be
unlawful for any person to use ordinary trot lines, or patent trot lines,
for the taking or catching of crabs, in the waters of Moore’s Creek, Jack-
son Creek, or Broad Creek in the county of Middlesex;

(3) For each person catching blue crabs by means of device made
of wire or thread net and commonly known as a crab pot, ten dollars and
fifty cents for each calendar year, * but any person holding a patent
trot line license may fish * pots without securing a pot license, or any
person holding a pot license may fish patent trot lines without securing
a patent trot line license. No such pot or device shall be used which is
made of wire or thread of a size less than one and one-half inches;

(4) For each sail boat to be used for the purpose of taking or eatch-
ing hard crabs with scrapes or tongs, and for each power boat under
thirty-two feet in length used for the purpose of taking or catching hard
crabs with scrapes or tongs, five dollars and fifty cents;

(5) For each power boat over thirty-two feet in length used for
the purpose of taking or catching hard crabs with scrapes or dredges,
twenty-six dollars;

(6) For each picking or crating house, eleven dollars;

(7) For each canning and packing house, twenty-six dollars;

(8) For each boat used in buying crabs, or for each person or firm
engaged in marketing hard crabs by barrel or crate, five dollars and fifty
cents; but no person who is licensed to catch crabs shall be required to
procure further license for marketing or shipping his own catch, and any
person who has procured a license under subsection six hereof shall have
the privilege of using the license for the purpose of taking hard crabs
with patent trot lines or with any other device allowed to be used under
CHS. 293, 294, 295] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 347

this section for the remainder of the season in which the license was issued
during the season not prohibited by law;
fifty () Bor each trap used for taking crabs or peelers one dollar and
cents;
tt” For scraping crabs with a hand scrape five dollars and fifty
cents.