Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 49 - CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGY (§§ 49-NEW-001 — 49-39-7) › Chapter 15 - SEAFOOD (§§ 49-15-1 — 49-15-417) › Article 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 49-15-1 — 49-15-100.3) › Section 49-15-27 - Department granted authority to lease bottoms

The department is hereby granted full and complete authority to lease the bottoms within its jurisdiction upon the following terms and conditions:
(1)
All areas within the department's jurisdiction, not designated state-owned reefs by this chapter, including natural reefs and all areas not within the boundaries of riparian property owners may be leased by the department.
(2)
All individual lessees shall be residents of the State of Mississippi, or if a firm or corporation, such firm or corporation shall be organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi and owned by a resident of the State of Mississippi.
(3)
No individual, corporation, partnership or association may lease less than one (1) acre nor more than two thousand five hundred (2,500) acres total; however, in the case of an individual there shall be counted towards such limitation any lands leased by a corporation, partnership or association in which such individual owns ten percent (10%) or less interest and, in the case of a corporation, partnership or association, there shall be counted toward such limitation any lands leased by an individual stockholder, partner or associate thereof who owns ten percent (10%) or less interest in such corporation, partnership or association.
(4)
Individuals, firms or corporations desiring to lease bottoms shall make application to the department in writing, describing the area to be leased. Applications must include a plat showing the proposed lease area and description of cultch material type and amount to be deployed on the leased area.
(5)
(a)
Any person who qualifies and who desires to lease a part of the bottom or bed of any of the waters of this state as provided in this section shall present to the department a written application, and pay an application fee in the amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00). This application shall contain the name and address of the applicant and a reasonably definite description of the location and amount of land covered by water desired by the applicant. The department shall establish a system to determine qualifications of applicants. The department shall prioritize applications based on the following criteria, each of which shall be weighted equally:
(i)
Experience in oyster reef development;
(ii)
Experience in oyster cultivation and harvesting;
(iii)
Whether lease applicant is registered with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List for Mississippi, and the length of time the applicant has been registered;
(iv)
Amount of acreage to be leased; and
(v)
Evidence of applicant's financial ability to perform cultivation and propagation requirements. The department shall then order an examination to determine whether the water bottoms applied for are leasable .
(b)
If the applicant is found to be qualified and the area is found to be leasable, the department shall determine the acreage upon which the rent shall be fixed and enter into a lease with the applicant , who shall pay the prorated annual rent in advance for the remainder of the calendar year. If the applicant is not eligible for a lease, the department shall issue a written notice declining the application with specific reasons for same .
(c)
The department has the authority to lease an area to an applicant who has no experience in oyster cultivation as long as the applicant can demonstrate their financial stability and the area applied for has not been requested by another applicant with demonstrated experience.
(d)
The department has the authority to reconfigure the lease areas from that requested by the applicant in the manner that promotes maximum utilization of the state's resources. In the event the area requested by the applicant has to be reconfigured, the applicant has the right to refuse the reconfigured area and withdraw their application and receive a refund of their application fee.
(e)
The department shall require that the bottoms of water areas to be leased be as definable as possible, taking into consideration such factors as the shape of the body of water, permitted areas, and the condition of the bottom as to hardness or softness which would render it desirable or undesirable for the purpose of oyster cultivation.
(f)
A lease applicant may withdraw a lease application and receive a full refund from the department of all application fees, by submitting a written request for withdrawal to the department within ninety (90) days after the department received the application.
(6)
Such leases shall be for an initial term of fifteen (15) years, with the lessee having the right of first renewal of the lease for an additional fifteen (15) years, and continue to renew at fifteen-year intervals, at the same ground rental rate so long as lessee actively cultivates and gathers oysters, and complies with the provisions of this chapter. No lease may be transferred without approval by the department of the transfer.
(7)
The terms of every lease issued hereunder shall ensure the maximum cultivation and propagation of oysters. Throughout the term of every lease issued hereunder, each lessee shall add cultch and make other necessary efforts to ensure the maximum cultivation and propagation of oysters. The department shall promulgate regulations to set forth guidelines for lessees to follow to ensure the maximum cultivation and propagation of oysters under the lease. The lessee shall submit a written report with supporting documentation to the department of efforts to cultivate and propagate oysters for the previous year. If the department finds a lessee is not making efforts to cultivate and propagate oysters, and the lessee fails to take remedial steps to address same, such lease shall be subject to termination as provided for hereunder.
(8)
The department shall fix a ground rental rate at Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre per year. The annual rental payments shall be due by December 31 for the next calendar year.
(9)
Any lessee who pays the rent on or after the first day of January shall pay the rent due plus an additional ten percent (10%) penalty. The failure of the lessee to pay the rent punctually on or before the first of each March, ipso facto and without demand or putting in default, terminates and cancels the lease and forfeits to the department all the works, improvements, betterments, and oysters on the leased water bottom. The department may at once enter on the water bottom and take possession thereof. Such water bottom shall then be open for lease in accordance with subsections (5) through (8) of this section. Ten (10) days thereafter the department shall enter the termination, cancellation, and forfeiture on its books and give public notice thereof by publication in one (1) local paper in the county where the formerly leased water bottoms are located. On or before the first day of each February, the department shall issue a written notice of delinquency by certified mail to each lessee who has not yet paid the rent. The department shall also publish notice of such delinquency on its website.
(10)
The department shall keep an accurate chart of the areas within its jurisdiction and shall mark on such chart those areas which are under lease. All leases shall be marked by appropriate poles, stakes or buoys of such material as will not injure watercraft, at the expense of the leaseholder. The department shall keep an accurate book, designated "Mississippi Oyster Farms" which shall contain copies of all leases. The department shall maintain a map of designated state-owned, leased areas, and areas available for lease on the department's website. If any lease be cancelled or expire, such fact shall be noted on the face of such lease. Lessees shall be "oyster farmers" for the purposes of any grants, aid, subsidies or other assistance from the federal government or other governmental or private agencies.
(11)
All funds derived from leasing shall be paid into the Seafood Fund under Section
49-15-17
, for use by the department to further oyster production in this state, which includes plantings of oysters and cultch materials.
(12)
All leases made by the department under the authority of this section shall be subject to the paramount right of the state and any of its political subdivisions authorized by law, to promote and develop ports, harbors, channels, industrial or recreational projects, and all such leases shall contain a provision that in the event such authorized public body shall require the area so leased or any part thereof for such public purposes, that the lease shall be terminated on reasonable notice fixed by the department in such lease. On the termination of any lease, the lessees shall have the right to remove any oysters within the leased area within such time as may be fixed by the department and in accordance with such reasonable rules and regulations as the department may adopt.
Any person convicted of taking oysters from leased land or from waters that are not of a safe sanitary quality without a permit as provided in Section
49-15-37
shall, on the first offense, forfeit all equipment used, exclusive of any boat or boats; and be fined not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) or sentenced not to exceed one (1) year in the county jail, or both. Subsequent convictions shall be punishable by forfeiture of all equipment, including any boat or boats; and a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or not to exceed two (2) years in prison, or both such fine and imprisonment.
The department is enjoined to cooperate with the Jackson County Port Authority, the Harrison County Development Commission, the municipal port commission and other port and harbor agencies, so that oyster beds shall not be planted in close proximity to navigable channels. The department or lessee shall have no right of action as against any such public body for damages accruing to any natural reef or leased reef by any necessary improvement of such channel in the interest of shipping, commerce, navigation or other purpose authorized by law.
(13)
A lessee has the exclusive use of the water bottoms leased and all oysters and cultch grown or placed thereon. However, this exclusive right is subordinate to the rights and responsibilities of the state, any political subdivision of the state, the United States, or any agency or agent thereof, to take action in furtherance of coastal protection, conservation or restoration.
(14)
In order to protect the health and safety of the residents of the State of Mississippi, the terms and conditions relating to the leasing of bottoms provided in this section shall be fully applicable to any lease executed by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources prior to April 17, 2023, and the department shall revise any lease issued prior to April 17, 2023, as necessary in order to comply with the provisions of this section.
Codes, 1942, § 6047-11; Laws, 1960, ch. 173, § 11; Laws, 1977, ch. 463, § 1; Laws, 2005, ch. 343, § 1, eff. 3/14/2005.
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 530, SB 2648,§ 2, eff. 5/13/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 496, SB 2544,§ 9, eff. 4/17/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 363, HB 1057,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 412, HB 879, 1, eff. 7/1/2015.