reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MS Code § 49-15-38 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-38. Culling requirements; collection and planting of shells; penalties and fees for failure to deliver shells

    Unless otherwise permitted by the commission, no oysters shall be taken from the reefs of this state unless culled upon the natural reefs, and all oysters less than three (3) inches from end to end, and all dead shells, shall be replaced, scattered and broadcast immediately on the natural reefs from which they are taken. It is unlawful for any captain or person in charge of any vessel, or any canner, packer, commission man, dealer or other person to purchase, sell or to have in that person's possession or under that person's control any oysters off the public reefs or private bedding grounds not culled according to this section, or any oysters under the legal size. A ten percent (10%) tolerance shall be allowed in relation to any culling.   The commission may authorize the culling of oysters of a lesser measure. That authorization shall be in response to special circumstances or extreme natural conditions affecting the habitat, including, but not limited to, flooding. The department may establish checkpoints in any area within its jurisdiction to conduct inspections, collect fees and issue tags in the enforcement of this chapter and regulations adopted by the commission.     The commission shall acquire and replant shells, seed oysters and other materials, when funding is available, for the purpose of growing oysters.   Any person, firm or corporation failing or refusing to pay the shell retention fee required under Section 49-15-46 to the department when called for by the department, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each barrel of shells for which they fail or refuse to tender the shell retention fee. In addition to the fine, the violator shall pay the reasonable value of the oyster shells and shall be ineligible to be licensed for any activity set forth in this chapter for a period of two (2) years from the date of conviction.   The planting of oyster shells as provided under this chapter shall be under the direction and supervision of the executive director of the department. The governing authorities of each county and municipality bordering upon the Mississippi Sound may assist the commission in the planting and replanting of oyster shells.
MS Code § 49-15-39 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-39. Dredging limits; reefs reserved for tonging; penalties

  It is unlawful for any person to catch or take oysters by means of dredging in any of the waters designated as tonging reefs by the commission.   The commission shall designate certain areas as tonging reefs. The commission shall mark the boundaries of the areas designated by appropriate poles, stakes or buoys of material that will not injure watercraft. The commission may authorize the taking of oysters on reefs designated as tonging reefs by dredge, drag or scoop if the commission finds that the dredging, dragging or scooping is necessary to manage the resource properly. Any dredging, dragging or scooping authorized under this section shall be for a specific time period as provided by the commission.   Unless otherwise authorized under this section, any boat or vessel which catches or takes oysters by means of dredges, drags or scoops, other than hand tongs, from any of the areas described in this section, or with a dredge or dredges in the water, shall have all oysters on board the boat or vessel declared to be contraband. The oysters shall be taken and confiscated by the department or any marine law enforcement officer without court procedure. The captain and crew of the boat or vessel, promptly upon being ordered so to do, shall transport the oysters to a point on the public reefs of the state where the boat or vessel is found and there scatter the oysters according to the instructions of the enforcement officers.   A violation of this section is punishable by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). For a second offense when the offense is committed within a period of three (3) years from the first offense, the violation is punishable by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). For a third or subsequent offense when the offense is committed within a period of three (3) years from the first offense, the violation is punishable by a fine of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).   In addition, upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense within three (3) years of the first offense, it shall be the duty of the court to revoke the license of the convicted party and of the vessel used in the offense, and no license shall be issued to that person or for the vessel to engage in the catching or taking of any seafood from the waters of this state for a period of one (1) year following the conviction.   The fine imposed under this section shall not be suspended or reduced.
MS Code § 49-15-40 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-40. Projects to create or establish new oyster beds; molluscan depuration facilities; lease of water bottoms to political subdivisions

  The commission may support projects in the nature of digging or constructing canals or ditches to bring additional water to existing oyster reefs or beds in need of that water, or for the purpose of creating or establishing new oyster reefs or beds. All reefs created or established under this section shall be public reefs. The commission may expend any monies as it deems necessary and expedient to participate in the digging of those canals. The commission may also enter into interstate or intrastate efforts to support these projects and may seek and utilize aid from all federal, state and local sources in this endeavor. To aid in the construction of any canals or ditches, the commission may exercise the right of eminent domain in the manner provided by law.   The commission may construct, operate and maintain onshore, molluscan facilities using any federal or special funds, other than general funds, for the purpose of testing and proving technology relating to oysters and other shellfish. In connection with the construction, operation and maintenance of the facilities, the commission may contract with any persons it deems necessary for the operation, testing, maintenance and evaluation of the facilities, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. The commission may locate the facilities on any available public properties, subject to the approval of the governing body of that jurisdiction and all other applicable state laws. Once the technology has been tested and proven, the commission may conduct any other tests and experiments with oysters or other shellfish as may be necessary to enhance production or quality of shellfish.   The commission may lease to political subdivisions of the State of Mississippi up to one thousand (1,000) acres of water bottoms for development of oyster reefs and those political subdivisions may permit residents of the State of Mississippi to harvest oysters from the reefs. The political subdivision may charge and receive a fee for each sack of oysters harvested. The commission shall consider and approve the application of a political subdivision after determining that (a) no conflicts exist with sites requested in applications filed before the application of the political subdivision; (b) a fair and reasonable rental payment has been set; and (c) the lease will insure the maximum culture and propagation of oysters.
MS Code § 49-15-41 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-41. Oysters not to be caught at night

 It shall be unlawful for any person to fish, catch or take oysters from the waters of Mississippi during the hours between sunset and sunrise of each day.   Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year in the county jail, or both.
MS Code § 49-15-42 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-42. Tagging, unloading and transporting of oysters

  All oysters caught in Mississippi territorial waters shall be tagged and unloaded in Mississippi. Before tagging and unloading, the oysters must be sacked or packaged in containers or by other methods approved by the department. However, a person is exempt from the unloading requirement if he is transporting the oysters to a state that has a reciprocity agreement with Mississippi exempting Mississippi residents from the unloading requirements of that state.   The driver of any vehicle used in the transporting of oysters in the shell from outside the territorial limits of the State of Mississippi, whether the vehicle is a boat or motor vehicle, shall possess an invoice, statement or other bill of lading which bears the name of the person, firm or corporation from whom the oysters were purchased, the name of the purchaser and the number of barrels or bushels of oysters which the vehicle or vessel contains.
MS Code § 49-15-43 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-43. Packaging of oysters; containers

 Oysters for sale either wholesale or retail may be packaged in glass jars covered with a screw-type top or lid of the type customarily and heretofore used in the seafood industry in the State of Mississippi, but this section shall automatically be repealed if and when such type packaging becomes prohibited by any agency of the United States Government for shipment in interstate commerce.
MS Code § 49-15-44 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-44. Sale or possession of illegal oysters prohibited; penalties

 The commission shall prohibit the sale or possession of illegal oysters. It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to possess or to engage in the sale of oysters not certified in this state, or to shuck or repack for sale any illegal oysters, unless that person, firm or corporation possesses a bill of sale, valid permit or affidavit of another state, properly dated, evidencing the legality of the sale or possession of the oysters in that state. Any person in possession of illegal oysters shall be subject to civil or criminal prosecution and shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or punished as provided in Section 49-15-63.
MS Code § 49-15-45 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-45. Certain municipalities may enforce oyster laws

  Any municipality bounded by the Gulf of Mexico or Mississippi Sound, which has wholly or partly within its corporate limits, or in the waters adjacent thereto, a public oyster reef reserved for catching oysters exclusively by use of hand tongs, is hereby authorized to aid and cooperate with the commission in enforcing all laws regulating the catching, taking and transporting of oysters, including all of the provisions of this chapter, and all regulations and ordinances of such commission relating to such oyster reefs.   Such municipality may, in its discretion, extend its corporate limits by continuing its boundaries at right angles to the shore line, into the waters of the Mississippi Sound or Gulf of Mexico or waters tributary thereto to any line within the boundaries of the State of Mississippi, and may, by ordinance spread upon its minutes, provide that all violations of such laws and ordinances regulating the catching, taking and transporting of oysters shall be violations of the municipal ordinances and punishable as such.   In carrying out the provisions of this section such municipality may purchase, equip and maintain a suitable patrol boat and employ and pay the salaries of a crew to operate same and officers to enforce such laws and ordinances.   Neither prosecutions nor convictions by such municipality shall bar further prosecution and conviction by the commission or its officers for the same offense.   All fines collected by such municipality in enforcing the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the general fund of the municipality and all costs and expenses incurred in connection with this chapter shall be paid out of the general fund of the municipality.   Officers employed or deputized by the municipality to carry out the provisions of this section shall have the right to make arrests without warrant for any violations of the laws, ordinances or regulations referred to in subsection (1) hereof, committed in the presence or in the view of such arresting officer.   Nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize any municipality to adopt any ordinances regulating catching, taking or transporting oysters. The authority vested in such municipality under this section being limited to enforcement of statutes passed by the Legislature and ordinances and regulations adopted by the commission.
MS Code § 49-15-47 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-47. Prohibition against discharging human waste in Mississippi's marine waters from vessels harvesting or transporting oysters; approved marine sanitation devices required; penalties

  It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to discharge solid or human waste from any vessel while the vessel is used to harvest or transport oysters in the marine waters of the state.   Each vessel used to harvest or transport oysters is required to have an approved functional marine sanitation device (MSD), portable toilet or other sewage disposal receptacle designed to contain human sewage.The approved marine sanitation device (MSD), portable toilet or other sewage disposal receptacle shall:   Be used only for the purpose intended.   Be secured while on board and located to prevent contamination of shell stock by spillage or leakage.   Be emptied only into an approved sewage disposal system.   Be cleaned before being returned to the vessel.   Not be cleaned with equipment used for washing or processing food.     The use of other receptacles for sewage disposal may be approved by the department if the receptacles are:   Constructed of impervious, cleanable materials and have tight-fitting lids; and   Meet the requirements listed in subsection (2).     The commission shall promulgate administrative penalties for violations of this section, which may include, but not be limited to, revocation of the license of the oyster vessel for up to one (1) year for the first offense, revocation up to two (2) years for the second offense, and permanent revocation for the third offense.   Upon issuance of a citation for a violation of this section, the vessel shall be removed from the oyster reef and any oysters on board the vessel shall be confiscated and disposed of by the department.The vessel shall not be permitted to harvest from any public or private reefs until the vessel is properly equipped as determined by an inspection by the department.
MS Code § 49-15-49 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-49. Pass Christian Harbor oyster check station named the Colonel George J. Wright, Sr., building

 The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources' oyster check station located at the Pass Christian Harbor, Pass Christian, Mississippi, shall be named the Colonel George J. Wright, Sr., building. The Department of Finance and Administration shall prepare or have prepared a distinctive plaque to be placed in a prominent place within the Colonel George J. Wright, Sr., building, which states the background, accomplishments and public health service to the state and nation of Colonel George J. Wright, Sr.
MS Code § 49-15-61 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-61. Marine museum

 The governing body of any municipality or county on the Mississippi Sound having located therein a United States Department of Interior and wild life service facility are hereby authorized either severally or jointly to contribute to the cost of the construction and erection of a marine museum for the purpose of displaying aquatic products available in the Mississippi Sound and in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the United States Department of Interior shall contribute at least fifty percent (50%) of the cost of the construction and erection of such marine museum.
MS Code § 49-15-64 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-64. Shrimping during closed season prohibited; penalties; promulgation of rules and regulations

 Any operator, firm or corporation engaged in commercial shrimping during the closed season shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00).   Upon an arrest for a violation of this section, catch and nets may be confiscated. Any catch may be sold by the law enforcement agency making the arrest at the average wholesale price being paid for shrimp. The monies derived from the sale shall be held in escrow pending disposition of the charge. If a conviction is obtained, the monies held in escrow shall be forfeited. The monies so forfeited shall be paid to the department, to be paid into the seafood fund. If the operator, firm or corporation is acquitted of the charge or if the charge is dismissed, then the monies obtained from the sale shall be paid to the proper operator, firm or corporation. Forfeiture of confiscated nets and paraphernalia shall be instituted under Sections 49-7-251 through 49-7-257. If the person in possession of or using the nets in the violation is not the owner or licensee of the nets, the department shall notify the owner or licensee of the nets. The nets shall be subject to forfeiture unless the nets were stolen and prosecution for the theft is initiated.   The commission may issue special permits for the purpose of catching shrimp prior to the official opening of shrimp season, to those nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and which have on file with the State Tax Commission a tax exemption letter issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service. However, until January 1, 1992, the requirement that a nonprofit organization have on file with the State Tax Commission a tax exemption letter issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service shall be considered as having been met if the organization has actually made application for such exemption and has on file with the State Tax Commission a copy of its application.   The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the taking of shrimp by the nonprofit organization and shall issue such regulations to all organizations upon request and at the issuance of the special permit.
MS Code § 49-15-64.2 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-64.2. Shrimping permitted with cast net

 Any person shall be allowed to take shrimp in the bays located within and surrounding the cities of Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gautier, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula with a cast net, but shall not take more than fifty (50) pounds of shrimp per person per day for personal consumption. The cast net shall not exceed twelve (12) feet in length.
MS Code § 49-15-64.3 (2020)
2020 Mississippi Code|Title 49 - Conservation and Ecology|Chapter 15 - Seafood|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 49-15-64.3. Shrimping during closed season prohibited; penalties; promulgation of rules and regulations

  It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to take, catch or have in their possession within territorial waters of the State of Mississippi shrimp of a size weighing in the raw state less than one (1) pound to each sixty-eight (68) shrimp, except as provided under Section 49-15-64.1, except when a valid permit or affidavit of another state identifies the catch as having been taken in non-Mississippi waters, or except in case of live bait shrimp.   It is unlawful to take, catch or have in possession live bait shrimp of a size weighing in the raw state less than one (1) pound to each one hundred (100) shrimp. This provision may be changed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the commission. The commission may adopt rules, regulations, guidelines and other operation criteria in conjunction with licensing live bait dealers and live bait catcher boats as it deems appropriate to ensure that only bona fide operations will be licensed.   If a live bait dealer or live bait catcher boat is convicted of a violation of this chapter or a duly adopted ordinance of the commission, the commission may, in addition to punishment duly adjudicated, revoke the license of the vessel or dealer to whom it is issued for a period not exceeding two (2) weeks following conviction of the first offense, not exceeding six (6) months following conviction of the second offense, and up to one (1) year following conviction of the third and subsequent offenses, if the subsequent offenses are committed within three (3) years of the first offense. Upon the revocation of the license, the commission may require the posting of a cash performance bond not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) before the reissuance of that revoked license. The commission may require the forfeiture of that bond upon the subsequent conviction of any violation of this chapter or a duly adopted ordinance of the commission. If a person who posts bond under this section desires to no longer engage in the live bait business, that person shall certify that fact to the commission who shall return the bond. If that person desires to again engage in the live bait business, a cash performance bond may be required before the issuance of a license.