OYSTERS ^: 2743

1933 (Special Sess.), ch. 77, sec. 154BB.

154. The following waters of Worcester County, subject to the pro-
visions of this Section, are hereby designated as clamming grounds for
Worcester County, viz:

All waters easterly of a line drawn as follows: Beginning at a point
about 1,500 yards westerly of the western extremity of an unnamed island
lying westerly of an island charted as Pope's Island, which point is on the
Maryland-Virginia boundary line in the waters of Chincoteague Bay;
thence running a northerly course to White Rock; thence running a north-
easterly course to a point known as Whittington Point, thence running a
northerly course to the southernmost point of the newly constructed channel
from the Ocean City Inlet, which point is located about one mile northeast-
erly of Robins Marsh; thence running in a northeasterly direction by and
with the said channel up to the inlet which connects the Atlantic Ocean and
Sinepuxent Bay; and all waters in Sinepuxent, Isle of Wight and Assa-
woman Bays lying north of said inlet on the eastward or beach side of
said bays, known as sand shoals.

The Conservation Department is hereby directed to file in its office in
the City of Baltimore and in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court
of Worcester County a chart showing the lines designated above as clam-
ming grounds.

The Conservation Commission may at any time hereafter survey and
examine any portion of the areas which are subject to lease and the clam-
ming grounds for the purpose of re-locating the lines designated above.
If upon such survey, it shall find that conditions warrant a change of
said lines, it shall publish an amended chart showing the lines thus re-
established. Said amended chart shall be filed in the office of the Con-
servation Department in the City of Baltimore within ninety days there-
after and copies shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of
Worcester County, provided that such surveys shall not in any way affect
leases of a part or all of the areas re-surveyed, actually issued and in force
at the time of such survey, unless the respective lessees thereof shall volun-
tarily surrender their leases or shall have forfeited same by reason of non-
payment of rentals; and provided further that before filing any amend-
ments to the chart, he shall cause to be published in a paper of Worcester
County for three successive weeks a notice of his intention so to do and set
a date in said notice when and where a public hearing will be held.

1931, ch. 432, sec. 154C.

155. After the application has been advertised for four successive
weeks in one of the newspapers of Worcester County and if no protests are
sustained by the Conservation Commission and after the payment of $5.00
for application fee, $5.00 for advertising fee, $5.00 for survey fee, and
$2.50 for the recording of the lease, and $1.00 per acre for the first year's
rent, all in advance, it shall be the duty of the Conservation Commission
to cause same to be surveyed and a lease issued.

The term of said lease shall be twenty years and the price not less than
$1.00 per year per acre.

At the expiration of said lease, the lessee shall be considered as having
prior right and shall be given first consideration in making application
for a new lease.