or purse nets. Any person violating the provisions of this act shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and shall forfeit to the commonwealth all nets, seines, and boats used in violating the provisions of this act. One-half of the fines shall go to the informer provided, that no pound net shall be placed in York river above Gloucester Point and Yorktown.

Sec. 2120 a. The protection of terrapins.—If any person after the first As Amended 1897-8, p. 1007. day of May and before the fifteenth day of August of any year shall take Original Act terrapins or take or disturb terrapin eggs in the waters of the counties Extra Session 1887, p. 180. of Accomac, Northampton, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lancaster, Richmond, Essex, Isle of Wight, Surry, Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, James City, New Kent, and Charles City, or shall have terrapins in his possession, or shall buy or offer them for sale in said counties he shall forfeit two hundred dollars and be confined in the county jail not exceeding thirty days. And if any person after the first day of May and before the fifteenth day of August of any year shall take terrapins with a seine, net, or weir in the counties aforesaid he shall forfeit his boats, seines, and nets and pay a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars and be confined in the county jail not less than thirty days; but this act shall not be construed as preventing any person who has taken or purchased terrapins at any time other than between the first day of May and fifteenth day of August in any year from keeping the same in terrapin pounds or ponds during said period.

Sec. 2130. Payment of his expenses.-The commissioner of fisheries As Amended shall transmit a copy of his report, made according to the next preceding 1891-2, p. 644. section, to the commissioner of agriculture to be by him published in his annual report; and the auditor of public accounts on the presentation of the accounts of the commissioner approved by the governor shall issue warrants on the treasury for the payment thereof out of any sums appropriated by the general assembly for the purpose of paying the necessary expenses of the commissioner and carrying out the provisions of the three preceding sections.

CHAPTER XCVII.

OYSTERS (CRABS AND CLAMS).

Previous

Extra Session

1887, p. 118.

Sec. 2131. Inspectors of oysters; appointment and removal; term, As Amended qualification, and bond.—The county court of each county and the cor- 1893-4, p. 841. poration court of each city or the judge thereof in vacation in which oysters Amendments are caught or planted shall on or before the first day of May next appoint for the county or city one or more inspectors of oysters, whose term of office 1891-2, p. 595. 1893-4, p. 461. shall commence on May first, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and who 91 Va. 762. shall continue in office for the term of two years, but may be removed by the court for any malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, or gross neglect of official duty, and such removal shall be deemed a vacation of the office. All the vacancies in the office shall be filled by the court or the judge thereof in vacation. Every inspector shall, before the court which appoints him or the judge thereof in vacation, take the oaths and give bond prescribed by chapter thirteen of the code of Virginia. The bond shall be in a penalty not less than five thousand dollars. The clerk of the court shall transmit a copy of the bond to the auditor of public accounts within thirty days after its execution. An inspector appointed under this section shall be skilled in and acquainted with the oyster industry.

As Amended

1891-2, p. 595.

As Amended 1893-4, p. 841. Previous

Amendment 1891-2, p. 596. 91 Va. 762.

1895-6, p. 268.

Sec. 2133. Commissions of inspectors.-Each inspector shall be allowed all the fees allowed under this chapter to him and a commission of ten per centum on what is collected by him under the following section.

Sec. 2135. Reports required of inspectors; to be recorded; when to pay what they owe; what entries to make in their books. He shall report quarterly on oath to the commissioner or commissioners of fisheries the amount of fines, fees, rents, and taxes collected by him and his deputies during the preceding three months and the names of the persons from whom the same were collected, with the respective dates of collection, and also the number of boats registered under this act, whether tonger, patent tonger, or dredger; also the number of acres of planting ground rented and the location thereof. The commissioners of fisheries shall examine the report, and if in due form and correct in other respects shall certify to the auditor of public accounts the amount due on account of such fines, fees, rents, and taxes by the inspector, who shall within thirty days thereafter pay the same into the public treasury to the credit of the oyster fund. These reports shall be transmitted by said commissioner or commissioners of fisheries to the clerk of each county in the waters of which there may be oysters, which said reports shall be filed by the clerk of said court in his office, and shall be open at all times to public inspection; the fees of the clerk for filing the same to be paid by the auditor of public accounts on a certificate of the county court. The inspector shall give receipts for all fines, fees, rents, and taxes collected by him (an entry for which shall be made in a book to be kept by him for the purpose), which receipts, in addition to other facts stated therein, shall give the name of the county in the clerk's office of which his report is to be recorded. If any inspector fail to discharge any duty imposed on him by this section he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars and be removed from office, and for the amount of said fine he and his sureties shall be liable on his official bond.

Sec. 2135 a. Authorizing inspectors of oysters to assign to the owners, managers, or lessees of hotels ground under the water for bathing ground.-It shall be lawful for and shall be the duty of the inspectors of oysters of the several counties, cities, and districts in this state, upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set out, to designate, survey, and assign to any owner, manager, or lessee of any hotel adjacent or near to any water front on any bay, river, creek, or sea of this state within their respective jurisdiction any location under the water on said water front or on the beds of said bays, rivers, creeks, or seas for the purpose of bathing grounds which under the laws of this state may be assigned to any person for the purpose of the planting and the propagation of oysters.

2. That it shall be the duty of any such person, firm, or corporation desiring to obtain a location for the purpose aforesaid to apply to the inspector of oysters of the county, city, or district in which the location lies to have his location ascertained and designated and surveyed, and the same shall be marked with suitable stakes, smooth and free from snags, or by other metes and bounds, courses and distances, having their places of beginning and ending designated by permanent objects on the shore agreed upon between the applicant and the inspector, and the said applicant shall pay the inspector for his services a fee of two dollars, and he shall also pay to the inspector rent for the use of the said location assigned him at the rate of two dollars per acre for each and every year of his rental. The said applicant so long as he continues to pay such rent shall have the exclu

sive right to occupy said location for the purpose aforesaid, subject, however, to the right of revocation at any time by the general assembly of Virginia.

3. That if any such location be occupied by such applicant as bathing grounds or held by such applicant under proper assignment evidenced by the receipt or certificate of the inspector at the time a location is made under this act or other laws of the state the said occupant shall have the prior right against all others to have the location so occupied by him assigned to him by the inspector: provided, the said occupant shall have the location so occupied by him ascertained and designated within thirty days from the time the inspector is called on by any person to locate the

same.

4. That the application for the assignment of such location shall be made to the oyster inspector of the city, county, or district in which said grounds are located, stating as near as may be the number of acres applied for (which in no case shall exceed thirty acres), the name of the waters in which located, the purpose for which the said grounds are to be used, and the name of one or more prominent points or places convenient to said grounds; thereupon the said inspector shall cause notice of said application to be posted for at least thirty days at the court-house door of said county and at two or more places in the vicinity of said grounds. The said notices shall contain the name or names of the applicants, the number of acres applied for, the name of the waters where located, the purpose for which the grounds are to be used, and the name of one or more prominent points or places in the vicinity of said grounds. After the expiration of the thirty days' notice aforesaid the inspector shall cause the said grounds so applied for to be surveyed at the cost of the applicant, and thereupon the inspector shall assign the same to said applicant: provided, that the said grounds be not a natural bed, rock, or shoal within the meaning of the laws of this state.

5. That the inspector shall pay over the rental received by him under this act in the same manner as is now provided by law in the case of rentals received for oyster-planting grounds, stating specifically in his report the object for which said grounds are assigned: provided, that nothing in this act shall be construed to interfere with or impair any vested right acquired under the oyster laws of this state prior to the passage of this act provided, further, that this act shall not be construed to interfere with or impede the progress of navigation in any way.

Amendment 1891-2, p. 596.

Sec. 2137. Assignment to riparian owners and others of locations As Amended for planting oysters; locations to be marked with suitable stakes; Previous 1893-4, p. 842. payment of fees and rent to inspectors.-If any owner or occupant of land having a water front thereon suitable for planting oysters shall desire to obtain a location thereon for planting oysters he may make application to the inspector for the county or district in which the land lies, who shall assign to him such location as such owner or occupant may designate in front of his land. No assignment shall exceed one-half acre, and a survey and plat whereof to be made by the county surveyor, which shall indicate the metes and bounds, courses and distances, starting from fixed and permanent objects on the shore as accurately as may be, the same to be recorded as provided for recordation of other plats; the cost of survey and plat and recordation to be paid by the riparian owner or occupant. The surveyor's fee shall be one dollar. It shall be the duty of such owner or occupant to cause the location to be marked with suitable stakes according to the assignment, and thereafter he shall have the exclusive right to the use thereof for the purpose aforesaid, and the privilege is accorded to

the said owner in consideration of the extra valuation ordinarily assessed upon such land for the water privileges supposed to attach thereto. The inspector making the assignment of reservation shall be paid by such owner or occupant a fee of fifty cents, said assignment to the riparian owner or occupant to pass with the land to the subsequent owner or occupant. If any portion of said water front herein reserved or provided for said riparian owner or occupant of land shall be occupied by others with oysters actually planted thereon at the time a location is made of said reservation the person so occupying the same shall have eighteen months to remove the oysters so planted. The residue of said water front in excess of what is herein reserved for the riparian owner, and the residue of the beds of the bays, rivers, and creeks other than natural oyster beds or rocks, may be occupied by any resident for the purpose of planting or propagating oysters thereon: provided, that no assignment hereafter made shall exceed two hundred and fifty acres; but this limit shall not affect assignments heretofore made in excess of that amount: and provided, further, that no limit herein provided for shall affect assignments made in the Chesapeake bay. It shall be the duty of any such person desiring to obtain a location for planting or propagating oysters in any portion of the water fronts and beds aforesaid, not located or reserved as herein before provided for owners and occupants of land aforesaid, to apply to the inspector of the district in which the land lies to have his location ascertained and designated and surveyed, and the same shall be marked with suitable stakes, smooth and free from snags and spurs, or by other metes and bounds, courses and distances, having their places of beginning and ending designated by permanent objects on the shore agreed upon between the applicant and inspector, and he shall pay the inspector for his services a fee of one dollar; and he shall also pay to the inspector rent for the land assigned him at the rate of one dollar per acre for each and every year of his rental, to be payable on the first day of September of each year; and so long as he continues to pay such rent he shall have the exclusive right to occupy said land for a period of twenty years, subject to such rights, if any, as any other person or persons may previously have acquired. If any portion of said water fronts or beds of bays, rivers, and creeks be occupied with oysters actually planted thereon or held by any person under proper assignment evidenced by the receipt or certificate of the inspector at the time a location is made or sought to be made under this section, the occupant shall have the prior right against all others to have the land so occupied by him assigned to him by the inspector: provided, the said occupant shall have the land so occupied by him ascertained and designated and surveyed and rent paid within thirty days from the time the inspector is called on to locate the same: provided, however, that on the ocean side of the counties of Accomac and Northampton he shall pay a rental of twenty-five cents per acre for the same. All applications for assignments of oyster-planting grounds other than for the ground reserved for riparian owners shall be made to the oyster inspector of the county or district in which said grounds are located, stating as near as may be the number of acres applied for, the name of the waters in which located, and the name of one or more prominent points or places convenient to said ground, notices of said application to be posted for at least thirty days at the courthouse of said county and at two or more prominent places in the vicinity of said grounds. Said notices shall contain the name or names of applicants, the probable number of acres applied for by each, the name of the waters where located, and the name of one or more prominent points convenient to said grounds. After the expiration of the thirty days' notice

as aforesaid the inspector shall proceed to survey and assign the grounds so applied for: provided, he ascertains it is not a natural rock, bed, or shoal within the meaning of this act: provided, 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 Richmond, Northampton, Northumberland, and Westmoreland; but section six of chapter two hundred and fiftyfour, acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-three and eighteen hundred and eighty-four, shall continue in force as to the said counties: provided, that nothing in the said section which restores to riparian owners in said counties one-fourth of their respective water fronts suitable for planting oysters shall be so construed as to permit the owners of water fronts to compel occupants of said fronts to remove their oysters from any fourth of said shore if the residue of said shore be already in his (the land owner's) possession or be occupied.

93 Va. 780.

Sec. 2137 a. Who to be considered a renter; his rights.-No person 1893-4, p. 847. shall be considered a renter of oyster-planting ground in this state until 84 Va. 557, 701. he shall have received from the inspector a receipt for the rent in full for one year in advance and shall also have paid the fee to the inspector for assigning and the fee to the surveyor for the survey and plat.

When the above amounts are paid then so long as the rent is paid annually in advance the state will guarantee the absolute right to the renter to continue to use and occupy the same for the period of twenty years the renter acquired. The interest in said planting ground shall be construed to be a chattel real, and shall at the death of the renter pass into the hands of the personal representatives for the benefit of creditors and the heirs of the decedent.

Sec. 2138 a. To protect the oyster industry of the commonwealth.— 1891-2, p. 816. The board on the Chesapeake and its tributaries shall as soon as possible after the passage of this act cause to be made a true and accurate survey of the natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals of the commonwealth, said survey to be made with reference to fixed and permanent objects on the shore, giving courses and distances, to be described in the written report of said survey hereinafter required; and a true and accurate delineation of the same shall be made on copies of the published maps and charts of the United States coast and geodetic survey, which said copies shall be filed in the archives of this state in the capitol at Richmond. And the said board shall further cause to be delineated on a copy of the published maps and charts of the United States coast and geodetic survey of the largest scale for each of the counties of the commonwealth in the waters of which there are natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals all the natural rocks, beds, or shoals lying within the waters of each of said counties, which said maps shall be filed in the clerk's office of the county court of the county wherein may be the grounds so delineated. For example: The map delineating the grounds lying in the waters of the county of Accomac to be filed in the clerk's office of the county court of Accomac, and so on.

2. And the said board on the Chesapeake and its tributaries in order to As Amended carry into execution this law shall direct the fish commissioner, who is 1893-4, p. 605. hereby appointed a shell-fish commissioner, whose duty it shall be to direct and control the survey herein provided for. Said commissioner shall cause to be marked and defined as accurately as practicable the limits and boundaries of the natural oyster rocks, beds, and shoals as established by said survey; and he shall take true and accurate notes of said survey in writing and make up such an accurate report of said survey, setting forth a description of the lines, with courses and distances, and a description of