INSIDE SALT WATER ACT 
HOUSE BILL 267. 
An Act to prohibit the use of trawl nets, purse nets or other 
nets, except hand drawn nets, in the inside salt waters; to 
define outside salt waters and inside salt waters ; to provide 
for a uniform license for boats and salt water commercial 
fishermen; to provide for a non-resident license for com¬ 
mercial fishermen and boats; to provide a penalty for viola¬ 
tion of same, and for other purposes. 
Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
State of Georgia, and it is hereby enacted by authority of the 
same, That from and after the passage of this Act the use of 
trawl nets and purse nets and all other nets of every description, 
except hand drawn nets, in the inside salt waters of this State, 
for the purpose of taking fish therefrom, be and the same are 
hereby prohibited, and the operation of all nets, except hand 
drawn nets, shall be confined to outside salt waters. Outside 
salt waters” are defined as those waters from the outermost 
parts of the coast line to the limit of the three mile jurisdiction, 
and embrace that part of the Atlantic Ocean under the jurisdic¬ 
tion of the State of Georgia, and all sounds upon the Atlantic 
Ocean which have a direct outlet to the ocean shall be deemed 
and held, for the purpose of this Act, as outside salt waters. 
Inside salt waters embrace all the waters not included in the 
outside salt waters, and include all the salt water rivers, estuaries 
and creeks. For the purpose of this Act boundaries for sounds 
as described above shall be held to be the same as in the United 
States Geodetic Survey, known as Bulletin No. 19, and recogniz¬ 
ed heretofore by a resolution of the General Assembly of the 
State of Georgia. In all questions of boundaries this chart 
shall be recognized as authority for the Game and Fish Depart¬ 
ment of this State. 
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That any person desiring to 
take or catch fish from the salt waters of this State for commer¬ 
cial purposes shall first obtain from the Game and Fish Com¬ 
mission a license therefor and said license shall have effect for 
the remainder of the calendar year in which issued. The fee 
for such individual license for a resident of the State of Georgia 
shall be two dollars, and for a non-resident or an alien this fee 
shall be ten dollars. Said license shall contain the name and 
post-office, address, height, weight, and race of the fisherman, 
and shall be issued either by the Department of Game and Fish 
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or by the Coast Inspector in the district in which said fisherman 
in located. 
Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the following uniform 
system of licenses for boats in this State shall be established and 
shall be in lieu of all licenses heretofore charged. That no boat 
shall engage in commercial fishing in this State without being 
provided with a license, and shall take no individual fisherman 
upon said boat unless said fisherman be duly licensed. A license 
fee of five dollars shall be levied on all batteaux, and all boats 
propelled by sail or power of less than five tons shall pay a 
license fee of ten dollars; all boats of over five tons shall pay a 
license fee of two dollars per ton or fraction of a ton thereof. 
The owner of any vessel desiring to take or catch fish under the 
provisions of this Act shall first obtain from the Commissioner 
of Game and Fish a license for said boat; said license shall have 
effect for twelve months from the first day of the month in which 
it is issued, and no vessel shall be used for catching fish in the 
waters of this State, unless so licensed. Each license shall state 
the name of the applicant, the name of the vessel, and the 
license, under the provisions of this Act, shall not be used except 
upon vessels so mentioned in said license. Said commissioner 
shall have the right to use and expend the moneys received, 
under the provisions of this Act, for carrying out the provisions 
of the same, so far as such expenditures may be necessary, and 
the residue, if any, shall be paid into the Treasury of the State 
of Georgia, to be applied as other funds of the Game and Fish 
Department under existing laws. 
Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That if any person not a citizen 
of this State shall desire to catch or take fish from any of the 
waters of this State he shall pay an additional tax of ten dollars, 
non-resident license on his boat and the non-resident fisherman 
license of ten dollars on each fisherman so employed. If any 
citizen of the State of Georgia employs non-resident or alien 
fishermen, said fishermen shall pay a non-resident license of 
ten dollars each, license to be issued in the manner heretofore 
described. 
Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That after the passage of this 
Act, so far as the autthority of the State shall extend, oysters, 
clams, 'and other fish, crabs, shrimp, prawn, turtles and terra¬ 
pins and other crustaceans, found in the said waters of this 
State, suitable for food, shall be considered fish. 
Sec. 6. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
That any person violating any of the provisions of this Act shall 
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined 
not less t.ha/n twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred 
dollars and costs or to sefve upon the public works of the county 
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