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Alabama Code (Last Updated: November 28, 2014) |
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Title9 CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES. |
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Chapter12. MARINE RESOURCES. |
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Article2. Seafoods. |
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Division1. General Provisions. |
§9-12-67. Sacking and tagging oysters; penalties.
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(a) All oysters taken from the public or private oyster bottoms of the State of Alabama for commercial purposes shall be sacked in burlap, or similar material, bags containing not more than one-quarter Alabama barrel of oysters. Oysters shall be sacked and each sack tagged and identified in accordance with the requirements of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish, as adopted by the state Department of Public Health, prior to leaving the harvest location or oyster management station. The tag shall remain attached to each sack until the sack is emptied or retagged with a certified dealer tag. Sacks shall not be emptied prior to reaching the destination where the oysters shall be opened, repacked, or processed. If less than the entire sack is to be opened at one time, the tag shall remain attached to the sack until the last oyster is removed. Upon emptying each sack or retagging with a certified dealer's tag, the harvester tag shall immediately be removed from the sack and filed or disposed of as required by rule of the state Department of Public Health. Containers of oysters imported into this state shall be tagged and identified as required by rule of the state Department of Public Health. It shall be unlawful to possess empty sacks with oyster tags attached thereto.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell, purchase, or possess oysters in violation of this section and upon conviction, persons, firms, or corporations shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) Tags shall be purchased at a cost of twenty-five cents ($.25) per tag, plus cost of printing rounded to the nearest five cents, from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Resources, or its duly authorized agents. Receipts shall be deposited to the credit of the Marine Resources Fund and shall be used solely for cultch planting and other oyster management purposes.