1956                             Laws of Maryland                       Ch. 690

governing the taking of soft shell clams in Maryland, establishing
a uniform law applicable in all counties where such taking is not
prohibited and providing exceptions in certain waters.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 713 through 715C, inclusive, of Article 66C of the
Annotated Code of Maryland (1967 Replacement Volume and 1969
Supplement), title "Natural Resources," subtitle "Oysters and
Clams," be and they are hereby repealed; and that new Section 713
be and it is hereby enacted in lieu thereof, to stand in the place of the
section so repealed, and to read as follows:

713.

(a)    As used in Section 713, unless the context otherwise re-
quires :

(1)    "Bushel" means U. S. Standard Bushel of 215042 cubic
inches.

(2)    "Department" means the Department of Chesapeake Bay
Affairs or its successor agency.

(3)    "Hydraulic clam dredge" means the device described as such
in Resource Study Report No. 11, Department of Research and Edu-
cation. 1957, or any device substantially conforming to that de-
scription, including the vessel on which the dredge is carried.

(4) "Operate" means to physically control.

(5)    "Person" means any person, firm, copartnership, associa-
tion, or corporation.

(6)    "Resident" means a person who has principally resided in
the State and/or the county in which he claims residency, as
evidenced by the extent of his physical presence therein, his status
as a taxpayer, the ownership of real property, and registration as a
voter. For the purposes of this section, the Department is the sole
judge of the validity of claims to residency.

(7)    "Soft shell clams" means mollusks of the species Mya
arenaria.

(8)    "Take" means to catch, remove, or harvest.
License To Dredge; Privileges; Qualifications

(b)    The Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs is authorized
to issue to any qualified citizen RESIDENT of Maryland a license to
take soft shell clams with a hydraulic clam dredge in the waters of
Chesapeake Bay, as defined in this Article, and in the territorial
waters of any county of which he has been a resident during the whole
of the immediately preceding year, subject to all restrictions imposed
by this Article. Application for license shall be made as prescribed by,,
and the applicant must submit such evidence of his qualifications
as may be required by, the Department. The fee for issuance and
for annual renewal of the license shall be $25.00. All licenses shall
expire on June 30 next following the date of issuance. A person
licensed to take soft shell clams with a hydraulic clam dredge may
sell his catch to any person licensed in Maryland to deal in soft shell
clams, but to none other unless the person licensed to take such
clams is also licensed to deal in soft shell clams under the provi-
sions of subsection (g) or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.