Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-06-09
THE NEW CRAB LAW
MYST|F|ES CRADDERS
Repeats Former Law and Requires
Crab License for Catching
Hard and Soft Shell Crabs.
MANY LICENSES GRANTED.
State Law Thought to Apply to Somer.
set Applies to Whole State---
9S Crabbers Licenses Granted
at $l.O0 Each and Two
Packers and Shippers
Licenses at $40, Each.

ne new crab law, which became
effective June /, has been "a delusion
and a snare" to some crabbers who
did not know the technicalities of the
new law
AT first it was thought the law ap-
Piled to Somerset county alone. but il
applies to the whole State. For SOM
erset county however, the law also ap-
plies to the size of the crab, but this is
not true for the rest of the State.
All crabbers must take out a license
for the privilege of catching hard
crabs and for this license fee of 81
is paid. To date 9S licenses have been
granted to crabbers by the Clerk of
the Court Packers licenses have
been granted to two packers and ship
pers These licenses are $40 each.
All commanders of the oyster navy
boats are directed to look out for vio-
lations of the crab law, and to notify
crabbers that violators of the law will
be dealt with summarily. The follow
ing Is the full text of the new crab
law Chapter No 544 passed by the
Legislature of 1916 and approved by
the Governor April Is:
IAN ACT to repeal and re-enact with
amendments Section 93 of Article 80
of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(Bagby's Edition) entitled Fish and
Fisheries so as to prescribe certain
duties for the State Fishery Force,
and to add to said Article 80 five new
sections requiring certain crab Lenses
to be obtained at fixed amounts. reg
ulating the size and kind of crabs to be
caught or sold prescribing penalties
for violating the provisions hereof. and
distributing the license fees and penal
ties collected hereunder said addition
al sections to follow Section SO. to be
known as Sections 93A, 93B, 93C, ODD,
and "a, and to be grouped together
with Sections 81 92 and SO under
new subtitle Crabs; and to repeal
the section now known as Section 9
of said Article 80.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Gen
eral Assembly of Maryland, That Sec
ton SO of Article 80 of the Annotated
Code of Maryland. (Bagby's Edition)
entitled Fish and Fisheries, be and
the same is hereby repealed and re
enacted so as to read as follows:
Section 90. 1t shall be the duty of
the State Fishery Force to assist ir
enforcing the provisions oft he crab
laws of this State, and to that end the
deputy-commanders of said Force now
or hereafter assigned by law to certain
districts shall be specially charged
with the enforcement of said laws
within their respective districts and
with power to arrest all violators
thereof wherever found within the
State
Section 2. And be ii further enact
ed, That five additional sections be and
they are hereby added to said Article
49, to follow Section SO of said Article,
and be known as Sections 93A. 93B,
93C. ODD and "a of said Article 39,and
to be grouped together with Sections
81 80 and SO, under new subtitle
Crabs said additional sections to be
and read as follows:
Section 93A. Any resident of Mary
land desiring to take or catch crabs
from the waters thereof, for market
by any of the means hereinafter men
toned, shall first obtain numbered
license from the Clerk of the Circuit
Court for the county in which he re-
sides, or from the Clerk of the Court
of Common Pleas if he resides in Bal
timore City, such license TO be good for
the year of issuance only, and shall
pay the following fees: I'D For each
person working on any boat used in
taking of catching soft shell or shed
der crabs with scrapers or with net
other than dip net with handle. IL
cense fee of $1.00; (2), For each per-
son taking or catching soft-shell or
shedder crabs by dip net with handle,
a license fee of $100; (S), For each
person taking or catching hard crabs
by trot line or by any other means. us
ing either sail, motor boat or row boat,
4 license fee of $1.00.
Provided. that such license shall
not authorize the taking or catching of
crabs in any creek. cove, river, inlet,
bay or sound within the limits of any
county other than that wherein the
license shall have been granted; and
that the boundaries of the counties or
navigable waters shall be strictly con-
strued so as not 10 permit the residents
of either county to take or catch crabs
beyond the middle of the dividing chan
mel; provided, that nothing in this sec
tion shall be so construed as to pre-
vent the citizens of counties divided BY
a river from using said dividing river
Patuxent RIVER and its Tributaries) in
common.
'.All persons taking or catching
crabs under these provisions of this
article shall exhibit their license for
so doing when required by an officer
of the oyster police force, or other Of