NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 537

HOUSE BILL 803

 

 

AN ACT RELATING TO THE PROTECTION OF OYSTER AND CLAM LEASES.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  A new section is added to Chapter 113 of the General Statutes to read:

"§ 113-208.  Protection of oyster and clam leases. — (a) Any person, other than the lessee, who takes or attempts to take oysters or clams from any privately leased or owned oyster or clam bottom area without written authorization of the lessee is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. The written authorization shall include the lease number, name and address of authorized person, date of issuance, and date of expiration, and it must be signed by the lessee.

(b)        The prosecutor shall dismiss any case brought for a violation of this section if the defendant produces a notarized written authorization in conformance with subsection (a) which states that the defendant had permission to take oysters or clams from the leased area at the time of the alleged violation; except the prosecutor may refuse to dismiss the case if he has reason to believe that the written authorization is fraudulent."

Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of May, 1979.