(a) Any person, firm, or corporation who purchases or otherwise obtains freshwater mussels taken from Alabama waters shall pay to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries the amount equal to $0.05 per pound of mussel shells, with or without meat, purchased or obtained.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $6,000
Violationup to 30 daysup to $200
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-7

Terms Used In Alabama Code 9-11-375

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • month: means a calendar month. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) The payment to the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries shall be calculated from receipts filled out by the buyer for each transaction. A copy of each receipt shall be given to the seller and a copy retained by the buyer, and shall be made available by the buyer for inspection by agents of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries for a period of two years. When mussels are exported without first going through a buyer, the method of payment shall be as described in the rules and regulations promulgated by the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. For purposes of this section, a buyer is any person, firm, or corporation who buys, or otherwise obtains, mussels from mussel harvesters or mussel buyers from Alabama.
(c) Payments from buyers shall be made monthly and shall be received by the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries no later than the 15th day of the month following payment.
(d) Revenue from this section shall be used for mussel management, research, enforcement, and administration. However, no more than 50 percent of the total revenue shall be spent on enforcement.
(e) Violation of this section shall be punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.
  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 13 Contents