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nually the owner of the boat shall pay to the inspector a fee of fifty cents. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than thirty dollars, to be recovered as other fines are recovered.

4. For the purpose of registering boats as aforesaid the oyster portion of the state shall be laid off into districts so that when a boat is properly registered the registration can be recognized by all the inspectors in the state. The districts shall be as follows: Accomac, number one to number seven inclusive; Elizabeth City, number eight; Essex, number nine; Gloucester, number ten; Isle of Wight, number eleven; James City, number twelve; King George, number thirteen; King and Queen, number fourteen; King William, number fifteen; Lancaster, number sixteen; Mathews, number seventeen; Middlesex, number eighteen; Nansemond, number nineteen; New Kent, number twenty; Norfolk county, number twenty-one; Norfolk city, number twenty-two; Northampton, number twenty-three; Northumberland, number twenty-four; Portsmouth city, number twenty-five; Princess Anne, number twenty-six ; Richmond county, number twenty-seven; Warwick county, number twenty-eight; Westmoreland, number twenty-nine; York,. number thirty. The inspector of each district shall with a stamp place on the prow of each boat the number of boats registered, and under the number of the boat the number of his district. For example, shows that the boat is numbered one and registered in district number one in Accomac.

Previous

1893-4, p. 570, 816.

5. Any person being a resident of this state who shall be desirous of As Amended catching or taking oysters from the natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals of 1878, p. 1026. the waters of this commonwealth with ordinary or patent tongs shall first Amendment apply in writing to the inspector of the county or district in which he resides for registration, and shall specifically state whether the applicant desires to pay weekly the amount hereinafter mentioned on the aggregate amount of sales of oysters made by him during the week preceding or whether he prefers to pay the specific sum hereinafter provided for at the time and in the manner hereinafter mentioned; and thereupon the said applicant shall conclusively be deemed to have elected the method of ascertaining the sum, amount, and manner of payment of the same for the exercise of the right of taking and catching oysters from the natural beds, rocks, and shoals of the waters of this commonwealth; and thereupon the said inspector shall give to the said person so applying for registration as aforesaid a certificate showing that he has registered and whether he has elected to pay said specific sum or whether he has to report his sales on each Saturday or within three days thereafter.

If the applicant elects as aforesaid to pay upon his weekly sales of oysters caught from natural rocks, beds, or shoals the inspector shall require such applicant so registered in his district or county to report to him in writing under oath, certified to by some person authorized by the laws of Virginia to administer an oath, on the Saturday of each week or within three days therafter during the lawful season a true and accurate return of the amount of sales of oysters caught from the natural rocks, beds, or shoals made by him during the preceding week; and the inspector shall collect and receive weekly from the said tongman on the aggregate amount of his sales for the week an amount equal to the amount of tax that may be levied by the state on any other species of property; and thereupon the said inspector shall deliver to the said tongman a receipt for the amount so paid as aforesaid, showing the date of payment, the amount paid, and the week for which paid. Any person taking and catching oysters from the natural oyster beds, rocks, or shoals

As Amended 1893 4, p. 778.

As Amended

1895-6, p. 600. Previous

after the expiration of the period limited for said weekly payment as aforesaid without having paid the same shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of this section.

If at the time of registering as aforesaid the tongman prefers and elects as aforesaid to pay to the inspector the sum of two dollars for using and working ordinary tongs and five dollars for using and working patent tongs during the entire lawful season, the said specific sum shall be paid to the inspector as follows: One-half of said amount on the fifteenth day of September and the remaining one-half on the first day of October, and upon the payment of the same the said inspector shall endorse upon the said certificate the payment of the amount and whether the same be the first or second payment.

If any tongman takes or catches oysters from the natural oyster rocks, beds, or shoals after the period limited for said payments or either of them, whether weekly or specific, without having paid the same or either of them he shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of this section.

All forms required by this section shall be furnished by the auditor to the several inspectors of this commonwealth.

Any persons violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.

6. Any resident of the state who is now occupying oyster-planting ground or desires to occupy any oyster-planting ground shall notify the inspector of his desire to continue to occupy or his desire to occupy certain oyster-planting ground, and the inspector shall notify the county surveyor or his deputy, who shall survey said ground and make a plat of the same, the surveyor to receive for surveying and making plat fifty cents per acre or fraction thereof for five acres or less, twenty-five cents per acre for each acre more than five and up to thirty acres, fifteen cents for each acre more than thirty acres and up to fifty acres, and ten cents per acre for all over fifty acres, the cost of survey and plat to be paid by the renter; and the surveyor shall have the same privileges as to the collection of his fees that the inspector has as to his fees; this survey and plat to remain good so long as the rent is annually paid and the ground occupied by the party paying for survey and plat. The said survey and plat shall indicate the metes and bounds, courses and distances, having their beginning and ending marked by fixed and permanent objects on the shore as accurately as may be, and the same as soon as possible after completion shall be filed by the inspector in the clerk's office of his county, there to be forthwith recorded in a well-bound and substantial book and indexed in the name of the assignee; and thereupon at once a written memorandum thereof to be posted by the clerk at the front door of the court-house stating the name of the assignee, the date of the record, the number of acres assigned, and the general location of the grounds. The clerk shall receive the said survey and plat and record the same, and shall be paid by the assignee for his services the same fees he now receives for recording deeds or plats. After the same is recorded the assignee is entitled to withdraw the original from the clerk's office. Each county or city shall furnish the clerk with necessary books for recording the same. The fees due the clerk for the recordation and filing of said surveys and plats shall be collected as other fees due said clerk.

7. Any person holding oyster-planting ground who has not had it assigned or paid any rent for the same shall forthwith apply to the inAmendments spector of his district to have said ground surveyed, assigned, and pay 1891-2 p. 595. 1893-4, p. 779. the rent, and if he fails to do so the inspector shall serve notice on said occupant giving him thirty days to comply with the law, and then if he

fails or refuses to rent as the law directs he shall be fined one dollar per month per acre (collectible by the inspector as other oyster revenues are collected) for each month he continues to hold or occupy the same or refuses to remove the stakes after being notified by the inspector so to do, and the inspector shall rent out the ground to the first applicant: provided, that the riparian owners of land on Jackson's creek, Sturgeon creek, and Broad creek, in the county of Middlesex, Virginia, shall not be subject to the provisions of this act.

8. It shall not be lawful for any person to rent oyster-planting ground As Amended 1897-8, p. 1027. and afterwards sub-rent or sub-let the same to another person at a greater Previous Amendment sum than he paid the state therefor unless he shall have improved the 1893-4, p. 846. same by planting oysters or shells thereon. If he should sub-let or sub-rent, it shall be only to a resident of this state after notifying the inspector of his intention, and then the sub-letting or sub-renting shall be in writing, and said writing shall describe accurately the ground sub-let or sub-rented and be recorded in the clerk's office of the county as the original survey and plat were recorded and under the same conditions, the fee of the clerk to be paid by the person directing the recordation of the same. The sub-lessee or sub-renter shall have all the rights and privileges of the original lessee or original renter. Any person violating this section shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars.

9. [Repealed. Acts 1893-'94, page 848.]

Previous

Amendment 1893-4, p. 847.

10. If any person other than a resident of this state shall take or catch As Amended crabs, oysters, or other shell fish in any of the waters of the state or rent 1895-6, p. 334. any oyster-planting ground or plant oysters in any of the waters of the state he shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than three years, or at the discretion of the jury be confined in jail not exceeding one year and fined not exceeding five hundred dollars.

11. All oysters taken from any natural rock, bed, or shoal in the waters As Amended of this state, except on the eastern side of Accomac and Northampton 1895-6, p. 910. counties, shall be culled upon their natural bed, rock, or shoal as taken; and oysters whose shells measure less than two and a half inches in length, measuring from hinge to mouth, and all shells shall be included in said culling and replaced upon said rock, bed, or shoal: provided, that where small oysters are adhering so closely to the shell of the marketable oyster as to render its removal impossible without destroying the young oyster then it shall not be necessary to remove it. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars: provided, however, that so much of this section as prohibits the taking and catching of oysters whose shells measure less than two and a half inches in length, measuring from hinge to mouth, shall not apply to James river above a line drawn from Day's point in the county of Isle of Wight to Deep creek in the county of Warwick.

12. When the purchaser or any other person shall have reason to believe that any cargo of oysters has been brought to market in violation of this law the inspector shall be called in to ascertain the fact, and he shall thereupon cause the contents of every fiftieth tub or measure to be dumped in any convenient place to be agreed on between the vender and purchaser, and the same shall be kept away and separate from other oysters or oyster shells, and after the whole cargo, vessel load, or quantity of oysters so sold shall have been measured and the quantity ascertained the inspector shall, in the presence of the vender or his duly authorized agent or employee, proceed to separate from the oysters so set aside all shells and small

As Amended
1893-1, p. 942.
Previous
Amendment

oysters less than two and one-half inches in length, and he shall proceed to measure the shells and small oysters set aside as herein before provided, and if said shells and small oysters so set aside after being so separated from the marketable oysters shall be found to exceed five per centum of the whole quantity so set aside as aforesaid then the vender shall be deemed to have violated this section, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.

13. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act be and the same are hereby repealed: provided, however, that this act shall not be so construed as to affect in any way the riparian rights of any owner or owners of land on the east side of the Elizabeth river lying south of the north line of the property of the Lambert's Point water front company or to affect in any way the present jurisdiction of the board of harbor commissioners of the port of Norfolk and Portsmouth, nor shall this act be construed to repeal in any way chapter ninety-six of the code of Virginia.

Sec. 2159. Captains of steamers and vessels; their appointment; term of office; employment of crews; their pay.-The said board shall 1889-90, p. 144. appoint the captains of steamers and vessels used by the state for the protection and guarding the oyster beds of this commonwealth and to enforce the oyster laws thereof, who shall be experienced seamen acquainted with the waters of the Chesapeake bay and its tributaries, one of whom shall be designated as captain-in-chief, and all of whom shall hold their office at the will and pleasure of the board of Chesapeake and its tributaries, and said appointments be made on or after first of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-four. Each captain shall employ by the month the necessary crew to man his steamer or vessel as the case may be, subject, however, to the approval of the board. The pay of the captains and crews shall be fixed by the board. The captains shall co-operate in carrying out the provisions of all the oyster laws of this state subject to the orders of the captain-in chief, all of whom shall be subject to the command of the governor as commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of the state.

As Amended 1895-6, p. 515. Previous

Amendments

Extra Session

1887, p. 26. 1893-4, p. 844.

NOTE. Under section 2082 a the duties prescribed by section 2159 to be performed by board of Chesapeake and its tributaries are to be performed by board of fisheries.

Sec. 2164. When license to dredge oysters granted to residents; application therefor.-The said board shall on and after the first of January, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, provided the police force established in this bill is fully equipped and in operation, or if in the judgment of the board said police force is sufficient to protect the grounds in which dredging is prohibited, authorize any resident of this state to take and catch oysters with dredges or instruments other than ordinary oyster tongs in the Chesapeake bay; but this privilege shall not extend to Pocomoke sound, Hampton roads, Mobjack bay, or Tangier sound, or west of a line drawn from the light-house on Rappahannock spit to the light-house on Wolf Trap spit, or west of a line drawn from the lower end of Guinea marshes to York spit light-house and thence to Back river light-house, nor to any inlet, creek, or river, nor to the mouths thereof, except the river Potomac and the following rocks in Tangier sound-to wit: Johnson's rock, Thoroughfare rock, Hoxe's island rock, and California rock: provided, that for the purposes of this act the southern boundary of Pocomoke sound shall be a right line running through the southeast buoy on Watt's island bar, it being buoy number three, and the outer buoy at the mouth of Chesconessex creek: provided, that no dredging shall be permitted between the fifteenth day of March and the fifteenth day of October of any year. Any resident de

siring to dredge for oysters shall make application for such privilege to the inspector of the district and county in which he resides, which application shall be sworn to and shall plainly state the name of his vessel, the owner or owners thereof, the commander or person in charge, and the tonnage at which she is rated. Such statement shall further show the district or county in which the owner or owners reside, that they are and have been residents of the state twelve months next preceding the application, that no non-resident owners in whole or in part own said vessel, and that she is not held with any intention or under any agreement to return her at any subsequent time to a non-resident. Upon being satisfied of these facts the inspector shall register such vessels and shall thereupon issue to such person a license granting him the privilege of dredging for oysters within the prescribed limits and season, which shall be plainly set forth in the license; and the inspector shall also furnish him two numbers twenty-two inches long in black painted on canvas or domestic, which shall be placed on the side as herein prescribed; the number on his mainsail to be placed above the balance-reef in the centre of the sail half-way between the gaff and said reef on the jib above the bonnet in centre of jib, and on the opposite side of that of the mainsail. For such registration he shall pay to the inspector a fee of one dollar: provided, no boat propelled in whole or in part by steam shall be used for purposes of dredging for oysters in the waters of this commonwealth. The form of the application and license required by this section shall be prescribed by the auditor of public accounts and blanks furnished to each inspector.

Sec. 2177. SUB-DIVISION 2. Restriction as to time and manner of As Amended taking them.—And be it enacted, That it shall not be lawful for 1893-4, p. 800. any citizen of Maryland or Virginia to take or catch oysters with a scoop, scrape, dredge, or any such instrument in the waters of the Potomac between the fifteenth day of March and the fifteenth day of October of each year; it shall not be lawful for any citizen of either state to take oysters with tongs from the waters of the Potomac river between April twentyfifth and September first of each year; it shall not be lawful for any person to have in possession any oysters in the waters of the Potomac between the fifteenth day of April and the first day of September of each year. Every person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for each offence, and the vessel by which the oysters are illegally taken, or which receives oysters so illegally taken, or which has oysters on board within the limits of said river within the time specified shall be held as security for the payment of the fine herein before mentioned, and be subject also to a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred and fifty dollars; and in event of such fines not being paid within a period of twenty days then such vessel to be forfeited and sold, the surplus, after payment of fines and costs, to be paid to the owner or owners of the boat; one-half of fines to go to the informer, the other half to the state.

This act shall be in force from its passage and shall continue in operation until repealed or altered by either the states of Maryland or Virginia.

Sec. 2178 a. To protect the crab industry of the commonwealth.-1. As Amended It shall be unlawful for any person to catch crabs with scrapes or dredges 1895-6, p. 516. Original Act on the planted grounds of private individuals or the natural oyster rocks in 1893-4, p. 896. the state of Virginia.

2. Any person violating the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be confined in the penitentiary not more than one year, or in the discretion of the jury may be

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