CHAPTER 517

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 28-39, as amended, 28-48, 28-44, 28-45, as
amended, 28-57.1, 28-61, 28-71, 28-98.1,as amended, 28-95,as amended,
28-99, 28-100, 28-108, as amended, 28-108, 28-110, 28-128, as amended,
28-124, as amended, 28-186, as amended, 28-187, 28-187.1, as amended,
28-141, 28-142, 28-157, 28-170, as amended, 28-171, 28-172, 28-178,
as amended, 28-187, 28-188, 28-191, 28-195, as amended, 28-201.1,
as amended, of the Code of Virginia, and to further amend the Code
of Virginia by adding to Title 28 three new sections numbered
28-45.01, 28-162.1 and 28-201.4, all of which sections relate to fish,
oysters, shellfish, crabs, clams and other seafoods, the setting, taking,
catching the same, and transporting and marketing seafood, in “Tide-
water Virginia’, the rentals, licenses, taxes and other fees imposed in
connection therewith and collected by the Commission of Fisheries,
and the policing of the fish, oyster and seafood industries within the
jurisdiction of the Commission of Fisheries, and to repeal §§ 28-102,
28-144, 28-168 and 28-164 of the Code of Virginia. rH 472)

Approved March 31, 1960

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 28-39, as amended, 28-43, 28-44, 28-45, as amended, 28-57.1,
28-61, 28-71, 28-93.1, as amended, 28-95, as amended, 28-99, 28-100, 28-103,
as amended, 28-108, 28-110, 28-123, as amended, 28-124, as amended,
28-136, as amended, 28-137, 28-137.1, as amended, 28-141, 28-142, 28-157,
28-170, as amended, 28-171, 28-172, 28-178, as amended, 28-187, 28-188,
28-191, 28-195, as amended, 28-201.1, as amended, of the Code of Virginia
be amended and reenacted as follows and that the Code of Virginia be
further amended by adding to Title 28 three new sections numbered
28-45.01, 28-162.1, and 28-201.4, as follows:

§ 28-39. Fees.—Each inspector, agent or officer shall collect the
following fees for services herein enumerated in the issuance of licenses:
One dollar and fifty cents for assigning oyster-planting grounds; * three
dollars for assigning of bathing grounds; * one dollar for issuing permits
* as required by this Chapter; * three dollars for making sale where there
is a default in ground rent, and such other fees as are specified under
ener sections of this title pertaining to fish, crabs, clams and other shell-

§ 28-48. License tax for fishing in tidal waters; register mark.— (1)
Amount of tax; to whom paid.—Every resident who shall apply for license
to catch or take fish from the tidal waters of the Commonwealth, or the
waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, shall pay to the
oyster inspector of such district a specific license tax, which shall be in
lieu of all taxes levied upon such persons for taking and catching fish, or
for selling the product thereof, as follows:

(a) On each pound net * five dollars and fifty cents.

(b) On each float or stake gill net of six hundred feet in length and
under, * three dollars; and for each additional thirty feet or fraction
thereof, * fifteen cents;

(c) On each thresh net, skirt net, or similar device, * three dollars;

(d) On each fyke net head, weir, or similarly fixed device, * two
dollars and fifty cents;
(e) On catfish or eel pots not exceeding five in number, * two dollars
and fifty cents; on each additional pot on the same license, * fifteen cents;

(f) On each fish trot line, * two dollars and fifty cents;

(g) On each person using or operating a fish dip net, * two dollars;

(h) On each haul seine * used for catching fish, * under five hundred
yards in length, seven dollars and fifty cents;

(i) On each drift haul net * used for catching fish, from five hundred
yards in length to one thousand yards in length, forty-five dollars;

(j) On each haul seine operated by steam-power, seventy-six dollars;

(k) On each sturgeon gill net or trammel net, * seven dollars and
fifty cents;

(lt) On each sturgeon sweep net or haul seine, thirty-eight dollars.

(2) Licenses for other devices——The Commission of Fisheries shall
have power to establish a license commensurate with other licenses in an
amount not less than one dollar nor more than one hundred dollars for
any device used for taking fish or shellfish in the waters of the Common-
wealth, or waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, that is not
mentioned above, and which has been put in use.

(3) Register mark and how displayed; length of seine.—Inspectors
issuing such licenses shall furnish to the person to whom such licenses are
issued a number or register mark, to be placed by the fishermen on their
boats or fixed fishing devices. Provided, however, that it shall be unlawful
for any person, firm, or corporation to use, operate, set, or cause to be
used, operated, or set any such drift, or haul seine exceeding in length
five hundred yards unless authorized by the Commission of Fisheries. If
the license be for a fixed fishing device, the holder of the license shall
fasten such register mark or number securely to one of the offshore stakes
of the fishing device, but such device may be moved at any time within
the same inspection district during the season for which the license there-
for has been secured with the approval in writing of the inspector without
the payment of any additional license. If the license be for a haul seine,
drift net, purse net, or similar fishing device, the holder of such license
shall fasten the register mark or number securely at a conspicuous place
on the starboard side of the boat used in fishing such device.

(4) Penalty for violation—Any person violating any provision of
this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty
dollars for each offense.

§ 28-44. License tax for salting or buying herring, etc., for market.—
Every person, firm, or corporation salting or buying and packing herring,
or packing fish roe, for market or profit, shall pay a license tax of * twelve
dollars to the inspector.

§ 28-45. Size of fish that may be caught.—lIt shall be unlawful to
take, catch or have in possession any sturgeon less than five feet in length;
or any rock fish of less than twelve inches in length or more than twenty-
five pounds in weight except that rock fish more than twenty-five pounds
in weight may be lawfully taken by hook and line or lure; or any trout less
than nine inches in length; or any spot less than six inches in length; or
any bluefish less than eight inches in length; or any bonito fish less than
twenty inches in length; or any croakers (grumblers) less than seven inches
in length; or any black drum bass less than twelve inches in length; or
any red drum bass less than twelve inches in length; or any hog fish less
than six inches in length; or any mackerel less than ten inches in length;
or any mullets less than six inches in length; or any pompanos less than
seven inches in length; or any porgie or moon fish less than ten inches in
length; or any star-butter fish less than six inches in length; or any other
butter fish less than seven inches in length: or any roundhead or sea
mullet less than seven inches in length; or any sea bass less than five
inches in length; or any sheepshead less than twelve inches in length; or
any black bass less than eight inches in length; or any mud shad less than
seven inches in length; or any white sand perch less than five inches in
length; or any yellow or ring perch less than seven inches in length; or
any blue nose perch less than seven inches in length; or any bream less
than eight inches in length; or any hickory shad or any other shad less
than ten inches in length; or any bullhead catfish less than nine inches in
length; or any Mississippi or blue channel catfish less than eleven inches
in length; or any white channel catfish less than ten inches in length * ; or
any flounder less than twelve inches in length. All such measurements are
to be from nose to tip of tail.

Any such fish caught by any person shall be at once returned to the
water; and in order that any such fish caught in any fixed fishing device
may be returned to the water alive, all persons fishing such devices shall
cull out and return to the water all such fish as they are taken from the
net and before placing the same inside of their boat.

_ _ Whenever any fisherman or dealer or any other person, each of whom
ts herein called owner, has in his possession a lot or quantity of fish which
weighs more than one hundred pounds in the aggregate, a one hundred
pound lot may be separated from the whole lot or quantity, but without
selecting the fish so separated according to size, and if it is found that in
such a lot so separated the number of fish under the minimum size pre-
scribed herein equals or exceeds ten per centum of the whole number of
fish an the lot so separated, such owner shall be deemed to be guilty of
violating the provisions of this section. In the event the owner has in his
possession a lot or quantity of fish which weighs not more than one hun-
dred pounds and it 1s found that in such lot the number of fish under the
minimum size prescribed herein equals or exceeds ten per centum of the
whole number of fish in such lot, such owner shall be deemed to be guilty
of violating the provisions of this section.

If any dealer offers for sale any fish under the sizes hereinbefore
stated, he shall be deemed guilty of violating the provisions of this section.

§ 28-45.01. Only two channel bass (red drum) over thirty-two inches
in length may be taken in any one day by any person.

28-57.1. Dipping for herring in the waters of Chappoke’s, Ward’s
and Powell’s creeks.—It shall be lawful for any person to dip for herring
not for commercial purposes in any waters of Chappoke’s, Ward’s and
Powell’s creeks north of State Highway number ten, for which an annual
dip net license fee of not more than * two dollars may be charged.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of
& misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not less than ten dollars
nor more than twenty-five dollars.

§ 28-61. License to take fish with purse nets for such manufacture.
—(1) Residents.—Any resident person, firm or corporation entitled by
law to fish in any of the waters of this Commonwealth or waters within
the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth, desiring to take or catch fish
therein with purse nets for the purpose of manufacturing them into oil,
fish scrap, fish meal or manure, or for any other purpose, shall first obtain
a license therefor, and shall pay to the oyster inspector a specific license
tax, which shall be in lieu of all taxes levied upon such person, firm or
corporation for taking and catching fish with purse nets, or for selling
the products thereof, as follows:

(a) On each sail vessel fishing with purse net of not more than four
hundred meshes deep, * twenty-two dollars and fifty cents;

(b) On each sail vessel fishing with purse net of more than four
hundred meshes deep, * seventy-five dollars;
(c) On each power boat or steam vessel of over twenty horse power
fishing with purse net, one dollar and fifty cents per gross ton, provided
the minimum license shall not be less than one hundred and fifty dollars
and the maximum not more than * three hundred dollars;

(d) On each power boat or steam vessel of not over twenty horse
power, fishing with purse net, * thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents.

Such oyster inspector shall thereupon grant a license to use such net
or other device, and state in such license the name or names of the person
or persons who shall use the same, and the amount of tax as prescribed by
law; and the term for which such license is granted shall begin on the
first day of January in any year and end on the thirty-first day of
December of the same year.

It shall be lawful for a resident of this State, except such persons,
firms or corporations as may be engaged in the taking or catching of fish
for the purpose of manufacturing the same into oil, fish scrap, fish meal
or manure, to employ any vessel or net owned within or without this State
for the purpose of taking and catching fish. a

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit fishing in rivers
or other waters prohibited by law, or in seasons prohibited by law.

(2) Nonresidents.—Any nonresident person, firm or corporation may
be licensed to take and catch fish known as “menhaden” with purse nets
within the season permitted by law, under the provisions of § 28-62,
within the three mile limit on the seacoast of Virginia and east of a
straight line drawn from Cape Charles Light House to Cape Henry Light
House upon compliance with the provisions of such section.

(8) Penalty for violation—Any person, firm or corporation violat-
ing the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than five hundred
nor more than two thousand dollars. And all purse nets, seines, vessels,
steamers, or other craft and all fishing tackle, machinery, or other thing
unlawfully used by such person, firm or corporation in taking, or catching
fish, or manufacturing them into oil, fish scrap, fish meal, or manure shall
be forfeited to the Commonwealth.

§ 28-71. A license to fish in the above area with a trawl net or
similar device will be granted upon payment of a fee of * thirty-seven
dollars and fifty cents per annum for each boat so employed, and no part
of this fee will be refunded should the area be closed at the order of the
Commissioner of Fisheries.

§ 28-93.1. 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; pro-
vided, that the Commission of Fisheries may open or close or shorten
the period when it shall be lawful to use patent tongs at times other than
those above set forth, but in no event shall it be lawful to use patent
tongs more than three months during any twelve month period; and pro-
vided that in the waters on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay
between Smith’s Point and Wolf Trap Lighthouse, where the use of patent
tongs is now permitted, such patent tongs may be used during the months
of January, February, October, November and December of each year. It
shall not be lawful 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 Rappa-
hannock to Burhan’s wharf on the south side of said river, which lhne
begins at a United States Coast and Geoditic Survey Triangulation Point,
Towles Number 2, located on the southernmost point of Towles Point,
north side of Rappahannock river, Lancaster county, thence south 14° 25’
west (true) approximately eleven thousand four hundred feet to survey
station “Burr” located in shore and in line with the ruins of Burhan’s
wharf on the south side of the Rappahannock river in Middlesex county.
This area is to include all of the Rappahannock river and its tributaries,
above the described line, to the head waters of said river; but the use of
patent tongs below such line may be permitted with the consent of the
Commission, 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 Newport
News Ship Building and Dry Dock Company’s plant. The Commission 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 Commonwealth or
in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth.

§ 28-95. The Commission after public hearing may make such rules
and regulations, and at any time, modify the same, prohibiting or restrict-
ing 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 prohibit, control or restrict the transportation of all
seafoods and all living marine organisms, including oyster shells, or any
one or more of them, or any devices or methods used in connection there-
with, 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 applicable for at
least ten days; and a certificate of such oyster inspector or deputy show-
ing that the same has been posted shall 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 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 Commission shall suspend the enforcement of such rule or
regulation until the adjournment of the next General Assembly of Virginia.

No rule shall hereafter be promulgated unless and until the express
terms of an information summary of the proposed rule has been published
by the Commission at least once in at least three newspapers published
in the Tidewater section of the Commonwealth, or if the rule has only
local application, in the locality to which it applies, and a copy has been
filed in the office of the Division of Statutory Research and Drafting,
where it shall be subject to inspection during office hours by any person.
Such publication and filing must be not less than fifteen nor more than
thirty days prior to the day on which the public hearing on the proposal
is to be held. The published notice shall include a statement of the time,
place and nature of the hearing and exact reference to the authority under
which the rule is proposed.

A public hearing shall be held by the Commission at the time and
place named in the notice required by this section, and opportunity shall
be afforded all interested persons to be heard and to submit objections,
amendments, evidence and arguments. The rule may be adopted in the
form in which it was filed, or as amended at the hearing, provided the
amendments do not alter the main purpose of the rule.

The Commission of Fisheries may 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 shall have the full force
and effect of law.

Whenever any rule or regulation is adopted under this section, the
Secretary of the Commission shall file a certified copy thereof in the clerk’s
office of each county within the jurisdiction of the Commission, as such
jurisdiction is prescribed in § 28-8 of the Code. A copy duly certified by
the Secretary of the Commission, or presentation of the copy theretofore
filed with the clerk of any court, shall be conclusive evidence in all courts
of the Commonwealth of the due adoption thereof. The clerk of each court
with whom any such rules and regulations are filed shall keep and index
same in a specific book for the purpose.

§ 28-99. Any resident of this State having a boat to be used in tak-
ing or catching oysters with tongs from the natural rocks, beds or shoals
shall apply to the inspector of the district where he resides to have the
boat registered.

The inspector shall register such boat and prescribe for it a number.
For such registration annually the owner shall pay to the inspector, for all
kinds of boats, a registration fee of * one dollar.

Where patent tongs are to be used on any such boat, the inspector
shall register, and number the boat as follows: The stamp or mark shall
be “P. T.”, and the number of boat registered, and the year in which
registered.

Where ordinary tongs are to be used, the inspector shall register and
number such boats as follows: The stamp or mark shall be “O. T.” and the
number of boat registered, and the year in which registered.

§ 28-100. * All purchasers, planters, packers or shippers shall keep
a strict account of all oysters which are taken or purchased from either
public or private grounds, from any of the waters of the Commonwealth
of Virginia, or from any of the waters under the jurisdiction of the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, or from any of the waters under the joint juris-
diction of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The purchasers, planters, packers or shippers shall pay a tax, to be
known as inspection tax, to the Commonwealth of Virginia, or to the
person authorized to receive the same, of not more than one and one-half
cents for each bushel of oysters taken, caught or purchased, or two cents
per gallon of all shucked oysters, it being the intent and purpose of this
article to impose a tax upon all oysters taken, caught or purchased from
the above mentioned areas, except those which are to be replanted in the
waters of this Commonwealth.

The tax shall be collected by the District Inspector or police-boat cap-
tain from the owner, master or operator of any boat or vessel, motor
vehicle, or the purchaser or shipper, regardless of whether he is a packer,
planter or an individual working on public grounds, immediately when
each boat, vessel or motor vehicle is loaded, when the oysters do not go to
a shucking or packing house. If the oysters are going to a shucking or
packing house located in the Commonwealth of Virginia for their use,
then the tax shall be collected from the shucking house or packer. The tax
shall be paid by such shucking house or packer between the first and tenth
day of each month immediately following that in which such oysters are
shucked, barrelled, packed or marketed.

All purchasers, planters, packers or shippers 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 will
also indicate the number of bushels of oysters, before shucking, which
came from public grounds and the number which came from private
grounds. This book shall at all times be open for inspection by the Com-
missioner or any employee 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.

§ 28-103. It shall be the duty of the oyster inspector in whose dis-
trict a cargo of oysters is to be loaded, or a police-boat captain in the area,
to inspect such oysters as they are loaded and to see that all measurements
are a full measure of oysters as defined in § 28-188; and that they are
properly culled; and when such oysters are loaded to collect the wnspection
tax, * bushel tax and/or the out-of-State tax, whichever one or more of
these taxes will be due and payable to the Commonwealth. The inspector
or police-boat captain shall furnish the owner, master or operator of such
boat, vessel or motor vehicle a receipt showing the date, the destination,
the number of bushels and the amount of each tax paid. This receipt 1s to
be carried in the possession of the master or operator of the boat, vessel
or motor vehicle and must be exhibited when requested by any oyster
inspector or police-boat captain, a copy of which receipt shall be sent to
the office of the Commission of Fisheries.

§ 28-108. Records to be kept by transporters.—Any person, firm or
corporation engaged in the business of transporting shellfish within the
State, either within the State or to a point outside of the State 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
carried on the boat, truck or other vehicle and open at all times for inspec-
tion by the auditor of the Commission of Fisheries, any inspector or
deputy inspector of the Commission of Fisheries, or any person so desig-
nated by the Commissioner of Fisheries. -

§ 28-110. Carrying oysters out of State, or buying for that purpose.—
(1) Permit required.—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or cor-
poration to carry, or attempt to carry, or to buy for the purpose of carry-
ing out of this State, any oysters taken from the natural rocks, beds, or
shoals in the waters of this Commonwealth until he has first obtained for
each cargo a permit to do so from the inspector from whose district the
cargo is to be taken, or from the captain of one of the oyster police boats,
and has paid to the inspector or police-boat captain the required tax per
bushel on the number of bushels in the cargo. Such permit shall be signed
by the Commissioner of Fisheries and countersigned by the inspector or
police-boat captain; and it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to grant
such permit, and designate the tax to be paid of not more than * three
cents per bushel on each bushel of oysters, whenever after examination by
him of the seed areas he shall ascertain that it will not injure or deplete
the seed areas to grant such permits, and that the supply of seed oysters
is in excess of demand for seed oysters by planters in the State of Vir-
ginia; and provided that the Commissioner shall have power to cease
granting of such permits whenever he shall ascertain that the seed areas
are becoming depleted, and that to continue to grant such permits would
seriously injure the same.

(2) Penalty for violation—Any person violating the provisions of
this section, shall upon conviction thereof be confined in the penitentiary
for one year or, at the discretion of the jury, may be confined in jail not
exceeding one year, and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars.

(3) Forfeiture of boats, oysters, etc.—All boats and vessels, motor
vehicles and other conveyances together with their tackle used in violat-
ing this section, and all oysters found thereon, shall be forfeited to the
pommonwealth, in proceedings as provided for the enforcement of for-

eitures.

(4) Aiding or abetting violation of section.—If any oyster inspector
or other person shall knowingly aid and abet, or shall collude with any
person in the violation of this section, he shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be confined in jail not
exceeding six months and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, either

th.

§ 28-128. Assignments of planting grounds to riparian owners.—
Any owner of land having a waterfront thereon suitable for planting
oysters, whose shore front measures at least one hundred five feet at the
low water mark, who has not had as much as one-half acre of ground
already assigned him on such front, or whose lease has terminated and is
not to be renewed, may make application for planting ground to the
inspector for the district in which the land lies, who shall assign to him
such ground, wherever such owner may designate in front of his land, not
exceeding in area one-half acre, to be not less than one hundred and five
feet wide at its narrowest width, the same to be surveyed, platted, marked,
assigned and recorded, in all respects as provided for assignments to per-
sons in the next succeeding section. The one-half acre hereinabove men-
tioned shall begin at low water mark. For assigning to riparian owners,
the surveyor shall receive fees as provided in § 28-124(7) of the Code of
Virginia. Such owner shall have the exclusive right to the use thereof for
the purpose aforesaid, such assignment to pass with the land to any sub-
sequent owner. If any portion of such waterfront be assigned to a riparian
claimant, which at the time is occupied by others with oysters actually
planted thereon, the person occupying the same shall have eighteen months
in which to remove such oysters, and such riparian claimant shall pay all
survey and assignment and recording charges, incurred in connection with
the transfer of said riparian oyster-planting ground.

This section, so far as the quantity of land to be assigned to and held
by riparian owners is concerned, shall not apply to the counties of North-
ampton and Northumberland, but section six of chapter two hundred and
fifty-four, acts eighteen hundred and eighty-three and eighteen hundred
and eighty-four, shall continue in force as to such counties, but nothing
herein contained shall be construed as authorizing a rental of less than
one dollar and fifty cents per acre for riparian owners in the above-named
counties of the land assigned them as such riparian owners; provided, that
nothing in such section which restores to riparian owners in such counties
one-fourth of their respective waterfronts, suitable for planting oysters,
shall be so construed as to permit the owners of waterfronts to compel
occupants of such fronts to remove their oysters from any fourth of such
shores, if the residue of the shore be already in his, the landowner’s
possession, or be unoccupied; and provided, further, that this section shall
not apply to riparian lands located in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, or to
any owner of land located in said city, and having a waterfront.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the erection by
riparian landowners of wharves, landings or other structures as otherwise
permitted by law.

§ 28-124. Public oyster-planting grounds.—(1) Grounds comprising.
—The residue of such waterfront in excess of what is already assigned
or is reserved for the riparian owners, and the residue of the beds of the
bays, rivers, creeks, and shores of the sea other than those within the
limits of navigation projects adopted and authorized by the Congress and
those required for the disposal of materials dredged incident to the mainte-
nance of such projects, and other than natural oyster beds, rocks or shoals,
as defined by law and included in the Baylor survey, may be occupied for
the purpose of planting or propagating oysters thereon.

(2) Eligible applicants; provisions of section incorporated in lease.—
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 culture and the oyster
business; and it shall be lawful for nonresidents to be stockholders in such
a firm or corporation provided such 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 such oysters be maintained within
this State; and the provisions of this section shall be incorporated in any
lease of oyster ground to any such firm or corporation, and the violation
thereof shall forfeit the lease. oo . t of

(3) Application for assignment.—All applications for assignmen M4
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
such 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) Publication of notice of application—No assignment shall be
made of any piece of ground containing more than ten acres until notice
of application has been published once a week for at least four weeks im
some newspaper published in the county wherein the ground lies; and 1
no newspaper be published in the county, then it shall be published once
a week for at least four weeks in some newspaper having general circulation
therein. This provision is in addition to the sixty-day posting of the
application required. ae

(5) Posting notice of application.—Notice of the application shall be
posted by the inspector 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 such ground.

(6) Survey and marking of ground.—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 the ground, conforming to the rules and regulations of the
Commission of Fisheries, and make a plat in duplicate of the same. The
surveyor shall forward the plat of survey to the office of the Commission
of Fisheries to be approved by the engineer of the Commission 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 War Department and approved by the Commission of 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 after being notified by the inspector of
the district in which the ground lies, the lessee shall have no claim against
any person for trespassing on the ground in any manner.

(7) Fees of surveyor.—Any applicant for oyster-planting ground shall
pay an application fee of twenty-five dollars and in addition shall pay to
the surveyor for his services five dollars for the first five acres or less:
one dollar per acre or fraction thereof for each acre more than five and
up to and including ten acres; fifty cents per acre or fraction thereof for
each acre more than ten and up to and including thirty acres; twenty-five
cents per acre for each acre and fraction thereof more than thirty acres
up to and including fifty acres, and ten cents per acre for all over fifty
acres; and for drawing plat of ground (which shall be in duplicate), one
dollar per corner for each corner up to and including four corners, and
fifty 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. oo .

(8) Restrictions on assigned acreage and applications.—No assign-
ment, 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 ground assigned to him, shall again make application for another
assignment of oyster grounds within six months from the day his assign-
ment was recorded and completed as the statutes hereinafter provide.
If an assignment be not made within six months after the expiration. of
the notice required by statute to be posted for sixty days, such application
shall, upon the expiration of the six months, lapse and become null and
void, unless an extension is allowed by the Commission, of not more than
ninety days, provided, however, that in cases where a protest has been filed
with the Commission against the granting of an application, the application
shall not lapse until the Commission has finally acted upon the application.

(9) Restriction on acreage owned or operated.—No person, firm or
corporation shall own or operate more than three thousand acres of oyster
grounds 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 such 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 Commonwealth 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; acreage
allowed; annual rental.—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
number of acres to be assigned to any applicant shall not exceed five
thousand acres, provided that such assignment shall not interfere with the
established fishing rights. Any such application, surveying, and marking
shall conform to the law pertaining to oyster-planting grounds. The annual
rental per acre in the Chesapeake Bay, in waters from fifteen feet or more
in depth, shall be such an amount per acre as the Commission of Fisheries
may designate, but in no case shall it be less than * seventy-five cents per
annum per acre.

(11) Application for other planting grounds.—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 as
provided in paragraph (7), if the survey is made by an agent of the Com-
mission of Fisheries, and the annual rental * and in addition, ten dollars
for services and recording fees. When these provisions have been met, the
inspector shall then assign the ground to the applicant, and no person,
firm, or corporation shall be considered a lawful renter of oyster-planting
ground until he shall have first complied with these provisions.

(12) Payment of annual rental to inspector; penalty for default.—
Such an applicant shall pay to the inspector the annual rental for such
ground at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents per acre or any fraction
thereof, per annum, except as provided for in the Chesapeake Bay, and for
bathing ground *; such rental to be due on the first day of September of
each year after the date of assignment; and if not paid on or before De-
cember fifth, a five per centum penalty shall be added to the annual rental
charge, and the inspector may proceed to levy for rental and penalty.

(13) Duration of assignment; renewal of lease—Each assign-
ment shall continue in force for a period of twenty years from the date
of assignment; but in so far as the rate of rent is concerned, those assign-
ments or renewals of leases for oyster ground, wherever located within
the State, made during the period from July 1, 1960, to July 1, 1962, the
present amount of annual rental, for all ground, shall only be effective
until July 1, 1962, and will be subject to continuation or adjustment at that
time, but any and all other rights conveyed by any such contract of lease
shall continue for the full term of the lease. This provision shall be so
stipulated in each assignment or renewal; and if such applicant shall hold
such ground for the full period of twenty years and at the expiration
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 per-
sonal representatives for the benefit of any creditors or heirs of the
decedent. Should any lessee of oyster-planting ground have his ground, or
any portion thereof resurveyed or should he reassign any or all of the
ground, such resurvey or reassignment 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 assignment, sub-
ject to all the limitations and conditions under which such ground was
originally assigned.

(14) Possession gives no preference as to assignment.—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 appli-

(15) Recordation of plat and assignment.—The plat and assign-
ment, as soon as practicable after completion, and after such ground shall
have been assigned to the applicant, shall be filed for record by the in-
spector 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 sub-
stantial book, such recording to be indexed in the name of the assignee,
and thereupon 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 Commis-
sion for his services a fee of six dollars for each assignment. After the
same has been recorded, the assignee is entitled to withdraw the original
from the clerk’s office.

(16) Monthly reports of assignments.—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 applicant.

(17) State guarantees rights of renter subject to right of fishing.—
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 bottoms and to 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 1s fixed to
the bottom, or which, in any way, interferes with such renter’s rights, or
damages such bottoms, or the oysters planted thereon.

(18) Abandonment without liability for future rent.—The lessee
of any oyster-planting ground, the rent of which is to be paid to the fol-
lowing 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 Com-
mission of Fisheries in writing of their intention so to do before Septem-
ber first. Such notice, when received by the inspector or deputy inspector,
shall be immediately forwarded by such inspector or deputy inspector to
the office of the Commissioner.

§ 28-136. Oyster barrelers, shuckers, buyers and packers.—(a)
Tax graduated by amount of oysters handled.—Every person, firm or cor-
poration engaged in the business of shucking or packing oysters in this
State shall pay a license tax for the privilege of transacting such business,
to be graduated by the amount of oysters barreled, shucked or packed by
him during the period for which his license is granted.

(b) Barrelers.—Every person engaged in buying oysters for market-
ing in barrels shall pay a yearly license tax, beginning January first of
each year, to be graduated as follows: (1) For any number of barrels
under one hundred bought and marketed, * three dollars and fifty cents;
(2) for one hundred barrels and over, up to two hundred and fifty, * stx
dollars and seventy-five cents; (8) for two hundred and fifty barrels and
over, up to five hundred, * eight dollars and twenty-five cents; (4) five
hundred barrels and over, * eleven dollars and twenty-five cents.

(c) Shuckers and packers.—For every license to a person, firm or
corporation engaged in the business of shucking or packing oysters the
license taxes shall be graduated as follows: (1) For any numbers of gal-
lons under one thousand, a tax of * three dollars; (2) for one thousand
gallons or over, up to ten thousand, a tax of * eight dollars and twenty-five
cents; (8) for ten thousand gallons or over, up to twenty-five thousand, a
tax of * fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents; (4) for twenty-five thousand
gallons or over, up to fifty thousand, a tax of * thirty dollars and seventy-
five cents; (5) for fifty thousand gallons or over, up to one hundred
thousand, a tax of * forty-six dollars; (6) for one hundred thousand
gallons or over, up to two hundred thousand, a tax of * seventy-five
dollars and seventy-five cents; (7) for two hundred thousand gallons
or over, a tax of one hundred and fifty dollars and fifty cents.

(d) Reports required of licensees.—To ascertain the amount of oys-
ters marketed it shall be the duty of such person, firm or corporation, on
the first day of January of each year, or within ten days thereafter, to
make report in writing, under oath, to the oyster inspector for the dis-
trict for which he was licensed, showing the amount of oysters actually
shucked or packed or sold in barrels by him during the next preceding
twelve months.

(e) Report of violation; penalty.—Each inspector shall report every
oyster packer who shall fail to comply with the requirements of this
section. Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this
section, or making a false report, shall pay a fine of not less than thirty
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense.

(f) Tax in lieu of other taxes on capital—-The sum imposed under
and by virtue of this section shall be in lieu of all taxes for State pur-
poses on the capital actually employed in such business. The word “capital”
shall include moneys and credits actively used in carrying on the business,
including goods, wares and merchandise on hand, and all solvent bonds,
demands, and claims made and contracted in the business during the pre-
ceding year. Real estate shall not be held to be capital, but shall be assessed
and taxed as other specific property.

(g) Other property listed and taxed.—All other property held by
such person, firm or corporation shall be listed and taxed as other property.

_ (h) Collection and disposition of license tax.—The sum required by
this section to be paid when the license is taken out shall be collected in
the same manner that the amounts required to be paid for other licenses
under the oyster laws of the State are collected, and shall be accounted for
as part of the oyster fund.

__ § 28-137. Taking oysters, clams, scallops and mussels by hand or
with tongs.—(1) Application for license—Any resident of this State who
shall be duly qualified, and desires to take or catch oysters, clams or scal-
lops 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.

(2) License taxes.—The license taxes shall be as follows:

; (a) For each pair of patent tongs, * fifteen dollars and seventy-five
cents.

(b) For each person taking oysters or clams by hand, or with ordi-
nary tongs, * five dollars and twenty-five cents.

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, the inspector shall register such person,
and shall issue to him a license, which shall entitle him during the season
for which such license 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 Commonwealth 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, clamming 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,
emp person shall be fined not less than ten nor more than two hundred

ollars.

Five dollars of each license to take oysters with patent tongs and
two dollars of each license to take oysters with ordinary tongs shall be
segregated for the replenishment of the public rocks, beds, and shoals of
the Commonwealth.

The license issued under the above provisions of 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 Com-
monwealth, for and during the open oyster season; and shall, in addition
thereto, permit the holder of such license to take or catch clams or scal-
lops during the season prohibited by law for the taking of oysters, from
the public clamming bottoms of the Commonwealth.

(3) Tax for taking clams.—For each person desiring to take or
catch only clams by hand or with ordinary tongs the license tax shall be *
three dollars and seventy-five cents and for any person desiring to use
patent tongs for the purpose of taking clams only, he shall pay to the
inspector a specific tax of * eight dollars and twenty-five cents for each
pair of such tongs to be used; provided, that these licenses for the taking
of clams by hand, or with tongs, ordinary or patent, shall entitle th
holder thereof to take only clams from the public clamming bottoms in th
waters of this Commonwealth and in the waters under its jurisdiction
and not from the public oyster rocks, beds, and shoals, and is not to b
construed, In anywise, to permit or authorize the taking of oysters at an!
ime.

(4) Possessing oysters while taking clams.—If any person shall havi
in his possession any oysters while taking or catching clams or scallop
under the preceding subsection during the season in which it is unlawfu
to take or catch oysters from the natural rocks, beds or shoals, he shall b
prima facie guilty of violating the law of taking or catching of oysters
therefrom during the prohibited season, and upon conviction, the penalty
shall be not less than ten dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.

(5) Taking clams in certain areas.—lIt shall be unlawful to take o.
catch clams at any time, or by any means, in Pocomoke Sound above :
line drawn from Drum Bay Point, in the county of Accomack, and run.
ning a north-northwest course to the line between the State of Marylanc
and Virginia, except upon such grounds in those waters as may be se’
aside for public clamming or scalloping purposes by the Commission of
Fisheries.

(6) Restriction on size of clams.—It shall be unlawful for any per-
son 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 planting purposes.

(7) Digging mussels.——Any person desiring to dig mussels from the
natural oyster rocks, beds and shoals shall pay an annual license of three
dollars and fifty cents, provided that if he holds a license to take or catch
clams or oysters he may dig mussels under the same license.

(8) Oysters and clams for household use exempted.—This section
shall not apply to the taking or catching of oysters or clams for imme-
diate household use but not for planting or for sale. .

(9) Penalty for violation—Any person violating the provisions of
this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be fined
not less than ten dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.

§ 28-137.1.—Tax on oysters taken from the public rocks; disposition
of revenues.—(1) There is hereby imposed a tax on all oysters taken from
the public rocks. The tax shall be at the rate of * three cents per bushel. The
fax shall apply to the bushel before shucking.

(2) The person taking such oysters shall be liable for the payment
9f the tax and all persons buying such oysters in this State shall collect
such tax and pay the same to the Commission of Fisheries, hereinafter
referred to as Commission. The Commission is authorized to adopt such
regulations as may be required for the administration of the tax.

(3) The proceeds of the tax shall be expended by the Commission in
i shell planting program so as to rehabilitate the oyster industry.

4) The tax due hereunder if not paid may be collected as are other
state taxes in proceedings to collect the same when delinquent.

§ 28-141. Oysters to be culled as taken.—All oysters taken from any
1atural rocks, beds or shoals in the waters of this State shall be culled on
heir natural rocks, beds, or shoals as taken; and oysters whose shells
neasure less than three inches in length, except those oysters taken from
tuss Rock and Little Carter’s Rock, in the Rappahannock river, whose
ength shall be not less than two and one-half inches measuring from hinge
o mouth, and all shells, shall be included in such cullings, and replaced
ipon such rocks, beds or shoals.

* All oysters once passing from the culling board to the inside of the
oat, when found to include oysters less than the size above prescribed. and
all shells, the entire cargo, shall be considered as not having been culled a:
taken, according to the provision of this section.

en small oysters are adhering so closely to the shell of the market
able oysters as to render removal impossible without destroying the young
oyster, then it shall not be necessary to remove it.

In the inspection of oysters under this section, the law enforcemeni
officer shall take at least one bushel of oysters at random. If as many as one
Virginia oyster gallon measure of undersized unshucked oysters and/o1
shells are found per bushel inspected, it shall constitute a violation of thi:
section. In the inspection of seed oysters taken from the James River seec
area, or any other area designated as seed area by the Commission of
Fisheries, if as many as one and one-half Virginia oyster gallon measure
of shells are found per bushel inspected, it shall constitute a violation of
this section. In the taking of the bushel of oysters, for the inspection, twe
five-eighths tomato baskets may be used for the bushel measure.

This section only applies to oysters taken, by any catcher, from the
natural rocks and shall not apply to oysters which have been purchased by
a buyer and in the buyer’s possession.

Any person violating any provision of this section shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, in addition thereto, the entire cargo shall be
confiscated and the violator shall be required to scatter such cargo of
oysters on the public rocks under the supervision of an inspector and at the
expense of the violator; and for failure or refusal to throw such enttre
cargo of oysters and shells back on the public rocks when ordered to do
so by an inspector or his deputy or employee of the Commission of Fish-
erties, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five
hundred dollars.

§ 28-142. Taking, buying or selling unculled oysters.—It shall be
unlawful for any person to take, buy, sell or possess oysters under the
prescribed size, and shells so taken from the natural rocks, beds and shoals.

Any person violating any provision of this section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.

§ 28-157. License tax.—Before any license shall be issued for dredg-
ing or scraping, the applicant shall, in addition to the fee of one dollar for
registering the boat, pay * an annual license tax * of fifteen dollars for each
dredge. The captains or masters of such boats shall always have such
license on board of their boats and exhibit the same whenever it shall be
demanded by any duly authorized officer; and the refusal so to do shall be
prima facie evidence that they are dredging or scraping without having
a license therefor.

§ 28-162.1. (1) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to
seed oysters.

(a) The word “Shellfish”, as used herein, shall mean oysters and clams.

(b) The word “Commission”, as used herein, shall mean the Com-
mission of Fisheries.

(c) The word “Commissioner’, as used herein, shall mean Commis-
sioner of Fisheries.

(d) The word “transport”, as used herein, shall mean the removal of
shellfish from condemned areas.

(2) No person, firm or corporation shall take, catch, transport, sell,
offer for sale, remove, receive, keep or store shellfish from condemned
areas, or relay shellfish taken from such areas, until a special permit has
been obtained from the Commission, which must be carried in his pos-
session when engaged in such operation.

Before any person, firm or corporation shall take or remove shellfish
from private grounds in condemned areas he shall have written authority
m his possession from the owner or lessee in addition to obtaining the
permit as herein required.
3) Any person, firm or corporation holding a vaha permit to remove,
and/sr relay. ‘shellfish from condemned areas shall keep accurate gid
and submit monthly reports to the Commission, which shall designate the
areas from which the shellfish were removed; the areas to which the shell-
fish were relayed; the dates of the removal, and/or relaying; the number
of bushels of shellfish removed, and/or relayed; the name of the permit
holder; the name and address of each person employed and engaged in the
operation; the names or numbers of the boats; and the license numbers
of the trucks used in the operation. During any month, covered by permit,
in which no removal, and/or relaying, is in operation, a report shall be
submitted to the Commission, indicating that no shellfish were removed
and/or relayed. It shall be the responsibility of the permit holder to keep
accurate records and make reports of the removal, and/or relaying, to the
main office of the Commission on or before the tenth day of the month
following the month of operation. The permit shall set out the expiration
date thereof.

(4) Application for the special permit, provided for i paragraph 2
of the regulations, before the removal, and/or relaying of shellfish from
condemned areas, shall be made on forms provided by the Commission.
A fee of one dollar shall be paid to the Commission when such application
for permit is filed. This permit shall not be transferable.

The special permit, after being issued, may be revoked at any time by
the Commissioner, when, in his judgment, it will be to the best interest of
the industry that the same be revoked, after ten days notice and an op-
portunity to be heard.

(5) Shellfish removal, and/or relaying, from condemned areas shall
be under the supervision of the Commission of Fisheries and the Depart-
ment of Health.

(a) The season for the removal, and/or relaying, of shellfish from
private grounds shall be from April 1st to November 1st.

(b) The season for the removal, and/or relaying of shellfish from
public grounds shall be from May 1st to August 15.

(6) Any conveyance engaged in transporting shellfish, which have
been caught within condemned areas for the purpose of relaying, to another
area, where they may be cleansed and made fit for market, shall display
a yellow flag of not less than thirty inches in length and eighteen inches
in width before any shellfish are placed thereon, and the flag shall be dis-
played during the entire relaying operation.

(7) It shall be the duty of the inspector of the Commission of Fish-
erties, and employees of the Department of Health, to examine the area to
which the polluted shellfish are relayed and see that adequate and proper
corner stakes or buoys have been put in place by the lessee. Each corner
stake or buoy shall be marked by a yellow flag or bunting of not less than
fifteen inches by fifteen inches, and the marking shall remain unti a
special permit to remove the shellfish for sale or shipment has been ob-
tained from the State Health Commissioner.

(8) No person, firm or corporation shall discharge, or cause to be dis-
charged, any part or all of the shellfish from any conveyance engaged in
transporting shellfish from condemned areas at any place other than to
approved areas for cleansing, and shall move directly to the approved
planting ground, or to conveyances holding a proper permit for relaying to
cleansing areas designated in the permit.

(9) The loading and unloading, ashore, of shellfish taken from con-
demned areas shall only be at points designated by the Commission.

(10) Should the occasion arise for any emergency unloading of any
conveyance engaged in transporting shellfish from a condemned area, the
Commission shall be notified immediately and disposition of said cargo
shall be made under the supervision of the said Commission.
(11) Penalties for violation of these regulations.—Any person, firm
or corporation knowingly violating any provision of these regulations shalt
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be confined in jail
not less than fifteen days nor more than six months, or fined not less than
one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, either or both.

__ Upon conviction, the boat and/or equipment, used in connection there-
with, may be forfeited as provided by law.

_ § 28-170. Licenses to take crabs; amount of tax; restrictions on
privilege.—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 inspector 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, * three dollars and seventy-five cents; provided that no boat shall
be used to pull or push any rake or scrape except as provided for in sub-
sections (4) and (5) of this section;

(2) For each person taking or catching crabs with patent trot lines, *
fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents; provided, no steam or motorboat
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,
Jackson Creek, or Broad Creek in the county of Middlesex;

(3) For each person catching blue crabs by means of a device made
of wire or thread net and commonly known as a crab pot, * fifteen
dollars and seventy-five 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 catching
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, * eight dollars and twenty-five cents; but such boat shall
mot be used as a boat for buying crabs, when the Commission limits the
taking of crabs under § 28-172.1;

(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, * thirty-
nine dollars; but such boat shall not be used as a boat for buying crabs,
when the Commission limits the taking of crabs under § 28-172.1;

(6) For each picking or crating house, * sixteen dollars and fifty
cents;

(7) For each canning and packing house, * thirty-nine dollars;

(8) For each boat or motor vehicle used in buying crabs, * and for
each person or firm engaged in marketing hard crabs by barrel or crate, *
eight dollars and twenty-five 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 this section for the remainder of the season in which the
license was issued during the season not prohibited by law.
__ (9) For each trap used for taking crabs or peelers * two dollars and
fifty cents.

(10) For scraping crabs with a hand scrape * eight dollars and
twenty-five cents;

§ 28-171. Use of scrapes or dredges.—No scrapes or dredges shall be
used for catching crabs between the first day of April and the first day of
December of any year; provided that the Commission of Fisheries, when
in its Judgment it is deemed advisable on account of weather conditions
and not contrary to the public interest to do so, may open any season on
the sixteenth day of November and it may likewise extend any season to
the sixteenth day of April; nor shall scrapes or dredges be used at any
time of the year in any of the rivers, or their estuaries, inlets, sounds, or
creeks for the purpose of taking crabs except on the ocean side of Acco-
mack and Northampton counties. This section shall not apply to the taking
or catching of soft crabs or the crab known as the “peeler” crab.

§ 28-172. Limitations on sizes of crabs to be taken.—It shall be
unlawful for any person to catch, take or have in possession at any time
* more than ten per centum by count per barrel of hard crabs, or fraction
thereof if the total amount is less than one barrel, which * measure less
than five inches across the shell from tip to tip of spike, except the crab
commonly known as the peeler crab, nor * more than ten per centum by
count per barrel, or fraction thereof if the total amount is less than one
barrel, buckram (a paper shell crab) or * soft crabs measuring less than
three and one-half inches from tip to tip of spike; or to destroy them in
any manner, but shall immediately return the same to the water alive
when taken out of the net or scrape. In enforcing this section the law
enforcement officer shall check at least one barrel of crabs if the person
has that amount of crabs; it shall not be necessary to check more than
one barrel.

§ 28-178. License tax for buying, marketing and shipping clams or
scallops.— (1) Amount of tax.—Every person engaged in the business of
buying, marketing and shipping scallops or clams shall for such privilege,
on or before January first of each year, pay to the inspector of the district
in which such person does business, a license tax per year as follows: less
than twenty thousand scallops or clams per year, * three dollars and sev-
enty-five cents; from twenty thousand to fifty thousand scallops or clams
per year, * eight dollars and twenty-five cents; from fifty thousand to one
hundred thousand scallops or clams per year, * fifteen dollars and seventy-
five cents; over one hundred thousand scallops or clams per year, * thir-
ty dollars and seventy-five cents.

(2) Penalty for violation—Any person found guilty of making false
report to an inspector as to the number of scallops or clams he has handled
for market when obtaining license under this section, or any person failing
to comply with the requirements of this section or of violating any of its
provisions, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than two hundred

ollars.

(3) Illegal possession of oysters.—If any person shall have in his
possession any oysters while taking or catching clams or scallops during
the season in which it is not lawful to take or catch oysters from the
natural rocks, beds, or shoals, he shall be prima facie guilty of violating
the law against taking or catching oysters therefrom during such season,
and upon conviction, the penalty shall be the same as for taking or catch-
ing oysters from the natural rocks, beds, or shoals during the prohibited
season.

§ 28-187. Bathing grounds; assignment; rental.—Any person de-
siring to obtain a location for bathing grounds shall apply to the oyster
inspector of the district in which the grounds lie to have his location
designated, surveyed and assigned for the purpose aforesaid, and for such
ground shall pay an annual rental of * seven dollars and fifty cents per
acre. Any such application, surveying, assigning and marking shall conform
to the law pertaining to oyster-planting grounds. Any license so granted
shall be for bathing grounds for public or commercial use only.

Should any lessee of bathing ground have his ground or any portion
thereof resurveyed or should he reassign any or all of the ground, such
resurvey or reassignment shall not be construed to be a twenty-year re-
newal of his lease, or as a new assignment of such ground, but shall be
deemed to be a continuation of the original assignment, subject to all the
limitations and conditions under which such ground was originally
assigned.

The lessee of any bathing ground, the rent of which is to be paid to
the following September of any year, may abandon his holdings at any
time without being liable for the payment of the rent for the following
year, provided he notifies the inspector, deputy inspector or the Commis-
sion of Fisheries in writing of his intention so to do before September
first. Such notice, when received by the inspector or deputy inspector, shall
be immediately forwarded by such inspector or deputy inspector to the
office of the Commissioner.

§ 28-188. Oyster measures.—It shall not be lawful at any time for
any person to buy or sell oysters in this State in the shell by any other
than one-half bushel or one bushel metallic measures, and such measures
shall be iron circular tubs with straight sides and straight solid bottoms
with holes in bottom, if desired, for draining, such holes to be no larger,
however, than one inch in diameter. A half-bushel tub shall have the fol-
lowing dimensions, all measurements to be from inside to inside: Fifteen
inches across the top, thirteen inches across the bottom, and seventeen
inches diagonally from the inside chine to the top; and a bushel tub shall
measure eighteen and one-half inches across the top, seventeen inches
across the bottom, and twenty-one and one-half inches diagonally from the
inside chine to the top. Such metallic measure must be level full across
the entire top of the measure to be considered a full measure.

If the seller of any oysters or oyster shells fails to furnish a full meas-
ure as defined in this section, or a buyer of any seed oysters or oyster shells
accepts less than a full measure as defined in this section, he shall be
punished as hereinafter provided.

When the oysters are bought or sold out of the shell, they shall be
measured by the gallon, half gallon, quart, pint, etc.

Any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined not
less than * fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned
in jail for not less than ten days nor more than six months, either or
both, in the discretion of the court or jury trying the case; but, upon con-
viction of a second offense his license or permit to take or buy oysters
shall be revoked for one year and his boat and equipment subject to seizure
under Section 28-206. Moreover, if any inspector or other oyster official
have reason to believe that measures not conforming to the above re-
quirements are used on board any vessel or craft, or in any oyster house,
he is hereby empowered to search for, seize and destroy such unlawful
measures.

§ 28-191. Stealing oysters or oyster bed shells.—If any person take,
steal or carry away, without permission of the owner, oysters, bedded or
planted, oysters deposited by any person making up a cargo for market,
or shells planted for formation of oyster beds, he shall be deemed guilty
of the larceny thereof, and upon conviction be confined in jail not less
than * thirty days nor more than * twelve months, and fined not less than *
fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, either or both, for each
offense. But if the offense shall be committed in the nighttime, he shall be
confined in jail not less than three months nor more than one year, and
fined not less than * one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand
dollars for each offense, either or both.

_ § 28-195. Taking shellfish or loading on vessel on Sunday or in night-
time.—* No person shall take oysters or clams in the waters of this State,
from either public or private grounds, on Sunday or in the nighttime be-
tween the hours of sunset and sunrise; nor shall any person load any
vessel or boat for such purpose with any oysters from any of the waters
of the Commonwealth on Sunday or in the nighttime between the hours
of sunset and sunrise; however, shucking oysters from the public grounds
may be unloaded on shore at packing houses or loaded on trucks or motor
vehicles one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise; but
those oysters which have been inspected by an oyster inspector and pur-
chased by the packer or planter, and the oysters owned by the packer or
planter, may be unloaded at any time except Sunday within the discretion
of the packer.

No person shall take from the waters of the Commonwealth crabs
for commercial purposes on Sunday or between one hour after sunset and
one hour before sunrise.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not
less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.

§ 28-201.1. Leasing of certain bottoms in James river or tributaries
prohibited.—The Commission of Fisheries shall have no power to lease
any oyster bottom or assign riparian acreage in the James river, or its
tributaries, above the James River Bridge, west of the James River Bridge,
not theretofore leased, and nothing herein contained shall apply to any
renewal of existing leases.

§ 28-201.4. Mouth of Rappahannock River defined.—Whenever the
mouth of the Rappahannock River is used in Title 28 of the Code, it shall
mean: Beginning on the west edge of a concrete breakwater located on the
extreme eastmost point of Stingray Point, Middlesex county, designated
as point “B’’, said point is located in line with the north side and 98.3 feet
from the northeast corner of a porch on a dwelling owned by William E.
Meyers; thence north 21° 50’ east (magnetic), 20,240 feet (approxi-
mately), to a pipe designated as point ‘‘C’’, located on the extreme east-
most point of land on Windmill Point, Lancaster county. This area is to
anclude all of the Rappahannock River and its tributaries except as set out
in § 28-98.1, Code of Virginia.

2. That §§ 28-102, 28-144, 28-163 and 28-164 of the Code of Virginia
are repealed.