South Carolina Code 50-5-970. Mechanical harvest permits; penalties
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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 50-5-970
- Commercial equipment: means :
(a) any trawl, haul seine, gill net, channel net, bull rake, seed fork, grabs, escalator, or dredge; and
(b) any net, seine, trap, pot, tongs, rake, fork, trotline, or other device or appliance when used for taking or attempting to take fish for a commercial purpose. See South Carolina Code 50-5-15 - Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources unless otherwise stated. See South Carolina Code 50-5-15
- Person: means an individual, a partnership, a firm, a corporation, an association, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
- Shellfish: means oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and all nonmotile molluscan fish having shells. See South Carolina Code 50-5-15
- Take: means to harass intentionally, hunt, capture, gather, harvest, remove, catch, wound, or kill or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, gather, harvest, remove, catch, wound, or kill. See South Carolina Code 50-5-15
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane regulated by the federal government, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See South Carolina Code 50-21-10
It is unlawful to take or attempt to take shellfish from any bottoms or waters of this State for any purpose by mechanically operated devices, including dredges, hydraulic escalators, patent tongs, hoists, cranes, and mechanical shellfish harvesters without obtaining a mechanical harvest permit from the department. A person taking or attempting to take shellfish by mechanically operated devices without an appropriate, valid mechanical harvesting permit is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days and must have his saltwater privileges suspended for twelve months. Any commercial equipment or vessel used in violating this section and any shellfish in possession at the time of a violation is contraband.