Section 50. Culling and inspection procedures

A. All oysters taken from natural public beds, rocks, or shoals shall be placed on the culling board, or in only one basket upon the culling board, and culled by hand at the location of harvest.

1. Culled oysters shall be transferred immediately from the culling board to either the inside open part of the boat, a loose pile, or baskets, but only one transfer method may be used on any boat or vessel in any one day.

a. Oysters shall not be stored in both a loose pile and in baskets.

b. A single basket may be on board any boat during transfer of culled oysters from the culling board to the inside open part of the boat in a loose pile.

2. The entire harvest shall be subject to inspection, as provided in subsection F of this section.

B. Any oysters taken lawfully by hand from natural public beds, rocks, or shoals from the seaside of the Eastern Shore, and held in sacks, bags, or containers, shall be culled when taken and placed in those sacks, bags, or containers for inspection by any police officer as described in subsection G of this section.

C. If oysters from leased grounds and oysters from public grounds are mixed in the same cargo on a boat or motor vehicle, the entire cargo shall be subject to inspection under this chapter.

D. It shall be unlawful for any person to buy, sell, or report clean cull oysters by any measure other than those described in § 28.2-526 A of the Code of Virginia filled to level full. The container described in § 28.2-526 A 2 is a basket. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, purchase, or report the sale or purchase of any clean cull oysters harvested from public grounds, as described in 4VAC20-720-40, in excess of the harvest limits described in 4VAC20-720-80.

E. It shall be unlawful for any person to buy, sell, or report seed oysters by any measure other than as described in § 28.2-526 of the Code of Virginia.

F. Oysters may be inspected by any police officer according to any one of the following provisions:

1. For any oysters transferred from the culling board to the inside open part of the boat, vehicle, or trailer or a loose pile, any police officer may use a shovel to take at least one bushel of oysters to inspect, at random, provided that the entire bushel or basket shall be taken from one place in the open pile of oysters.

2. For any oysters transferred from a vessel to a motor vehicle or trailer, any police officer may select one or more baskets of oysters and empty the contents of those baskets into a bushel or basket, as described in § 28.2-526 of the Code of Virginia, for inspection.

G. In the inspection of oysters harvested by hand from waters of the seaside of the Eastern Shore, the police officer may select any sacks, bags, or containers at random to establish a full metallic measuring bushel or basket for purposes of inspection.

H. On the seaside of the Eastern Shore oysters may be sold without being measured if both the buyer and the seller agree to the number of bushels of oysters in the transaction.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR450-01-0035 § 5, eff. October 1, 1985; amended, Volume 03, Issue 05, eff. October 29, 1986; Volume 03, Issue 13, eff. March 9, 1987; Volume 04, Issue 01, eff. September 1, 1987; Volume 10, Issue 04, eff. October 15, 1993; Volume 10, Issue 14, eff. February 23, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 17, eff. April 14, 1995; Volume 27, Issue 03, eff. October 1, 2010; Volume 28, Issue 12, eff. February 1, 2012; Volume 29, Issue 03, eff. October 1, 2012; Volume 29, Issue 12, eff. February 1, 2013; Volume 30, Issue 03, eff. October 1, 2013; Volume 30, Issue 06, eff. November 1, 2013; Volume 31, Issue 02, eff. October 1, 2014; Volume 33, Issue 02, eff. September 1, 2016.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.