The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1909-04-08
The fish Law
A Much Vexed QuestlOn-1e1t Of the
Law Applying to this County.

| tl0n tnaC Che answer We gave last
week, as coming from Senator Bass,
to the inquiry of our Mouzon CORE
spondent with reference to the close
time for fishing was not entirely
correct, inasmuch as one section OF
the law makes the prohibited inter.
val to extend from sunset Thursday
until sunrise Monday, while another
section, the one cited by the game
warden, provides a close time from
Saturday, 10 o'clock p m, to sunrise
Tuesday morning. Thus, it seems,
we have under the present law two
close periods, which, added together,
form a continuous prohibited inter-
val of from sunset Thu 'ay until
Tuesday after sunrise.As II appear
from the above, the law, as it stands,
is badly muddled, piece of patch
work, and even lawyers find it diff
cult to construe. In justice to MI
Bass we wish to say that he looked
into the law only casually, as we
were in his Office only few minutes,
and when he found the first section
referring to a "close time, it was
only natural to suppose that this
covered the inquiry of our correspon.
dent.
AS a matter of information to the
public we give below all the law we
can find on the subject of fishing, as
it applies to Williamsburg county.
We may add i'll this connection
that the Audubon society bills in
troduced by Senator Bass were left
on the calendar and therefore nc
change was made in the fish law at
the last session of the General AS
sembly.
Section SIT. At no time during
the year shall there be aHy perma'
nent obstructlons of any kind or na.
ture whatever IN any of the inland
creeks, streams or waters of the
State to the free migration Of fish;
nor shall any seine, net or any plan
or device for the ssoppsge OF collec'
ting of fish which obstructs any
portion of any creek, stream or in
land waters Of the State be set or
used in any manner whatever in any
such creek, stream or inland water
within three miles of the ocean, nor
within one mile of the mouth of
Waccamaw, Great Pee Dee and Bull
Creek River, and not below a line
from where Mosquito Greek emptiet
into Winyah Bay, across said bay in
an easterly direction to the opposite
shore of said bay; and there shall be
la close time in all the creeks, streams
and inland waters of the State, from
the setting of the sun each Thurs
day until the rising of the sun or
each Monday, daring which time all
seines, nets or any plan or device fol
the stoppage or collecting Of fish
which obssructs any portion of any
creek, stream or inland waters, othel
than a dam for manufacturing pur
poses, shall be removed from said
creeks, streams or inland water; and
any person or persons using any
such seine, net, plan or device in vi.
olstion of the provision of this Sec
ton shall be deemed guilty of
misdemeanor, and upon conviction
thereof before any court of com
petent jurisdiction shall be fined in
the sum of two hundred dollars
one-half of which shall 20 to the in
former and the other half to the
courts in which the case shall b
tried, or be imprisoned for a period o.
not less than three nor more than 81,
months, or both, in the discretion Of
the court trying the case.
! Nothing herein contained shall
apply to fishing with dip nets usee
by hand.
Section 524. 1t shall not be law
full for any person IN the Countie'
of Horny, Marion, Darlington
Clarendon, Chesterfield, Georgetown
Marlboro, Williamsburg, Florenc
and Richland to fish with nets o
gigs, or set traps, or shoot fish will
any kind of gun In any Of the fresl
waters, rivers, creeks, lakes or othe
streams in said counties between tn