Oysters

Del. Code tit. 7, ch. 21
in effect

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2101 Oyster harvesting license.

Except in the case of shellfish aquaculture leases on Delaware’s Inland Bays pursuant to Chapter 20 of this title, it shall be unlawful for a person to harvest oysters from the natural oyster beds or from leased shellfish grounds in the State unless said person has been issued an oyster harvesting license by the Department. (1) An oyster harvesting license shall be valid only on the vessel listed on said license by the Department. The Department shall not simultaneously list a vessel on more than 3 oyster harvesting licenses. (2) The Department may list no more than 1 person as an apprentice on an oyster harvesting license. (3) The fee for an oyster harvesting license shall be $57.50 for residents of this State. (4) The fee for an oyster harvesting license shall be $575 for nonresidents of this State. (5) The Department shall not issue any oyster harvesting licenses to any new licensee after June 30, 2011. (6) An oyster harvesting license shall automatically expire on December 31 of each calendar year. If a person does not renew a license within 1 year of expiration of any oyster harvesting license such person forfeits any right to such license. (7) An oyster harvesting licensee may transfer a license at any time, including posthumously, to a member of the immediate family. A member of the immediate family shall mean a parent, child, sibling or spouse. The transfer of the license shall be in writing.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2102 Natural oyster beds.

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to harvest oysters from the natural oyster beds at any time except as specifically authorized by the Department. (b) The Department shall determine on an annual basis the amount of oysters available for harvest from specific natural oyster beds by analyzing the best available scientific data on said oysters.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2103 Eligibility to harvest oyster for direct sale.

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to harvest oysters from the natural oyster beds for direct sale unless said person meets 1 of the following criteria: (1) Held at least 2 specific commercial shellfish licenses on September 30, 1999; (2) Held an oyster harvesting license to harvest oysters from natural oyster beds in Delaware prior to September 30, 1999; (3) Held a public oyster tonger’s license to take oysters from public tonging areas in Delaware prior to September 30, 1999; (4) Held an oyster harvesting license and was eligible to harvest oysters for direct sale pursuant to this section prior to June 30, 2011; (5) An oyster harvesting license has been transferred to such person pursuant to § 2101(7) of this title and the prior holder of such license was eligible to harvest oysters for direct sale pursuant to this section; or (6) An oyster harvesting license was transferred to such person pursuant to § 1920 of this title and the prior holder of such license was eligible to harvest oysters for direct sale pursuant to this section. (b) “Direct sale” shall mean to immediately sell or attempt to sell oysters harvested from the State’s natural oyster beds to another person. (c) It shall be unlawful for a person to harvest oysters from the natural oyster beds for subsequent use other than direct sale.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2104 Oyster harvesting methods.

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to use any hydraulic dredge or mechanical device employing a vacuum or suction for the harvesting of oysters from any natural oyster bed without the prior written permission of the Department. (b) It shall be unlawful for a person to harvest oysters from the State’s natural oyster beds without immediately culling said live oysters from all shell and other materials and returning said shell and other materials to the State’s natural oyster beds. Oysters shall be culled as aforesaid so that 2 bushels of oysters shall not contain more than 5 percent shells and other materials.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2105 Oyster harvest fees and tags.

Except where otherwise noted, nothing in this section shall apply to oyster aquaculture products harvested from leased sites on Delaware’s Inland Bays: (1) An annual oyster harvest fee of $1.25 per bushel of oysters harvested from the State’s natural oyster beds shall be prepaid to the Department by a resident of this State on or before specific dates established by the Department. (2) An annual oyster harvest fee of $12.50 per bushel of oysters harvested from the State’s natural oyster beds shall be prepaid to the Department by nonresidents of the state area before specific date or dates established by the Department. (3) A person’s total oyster harvest fees shall be determined by dividing the number of bushels of oysters authorized to be harvested in a given year by the number of eligible persons who sign up to participate in the oyster harvest during said year multiplied by the appropriate oyster harvest fee. (4) The Department shall issue tags to those persons who prepay their annual oyster harvest fees at the rate of 1 tag per bushel or 1 tag per 30-bushel cage. (5) The Department shall notify each person who has been issued an oyster harvesting license of the amount of oysters available for harvest during a given year. (6) Oyster harvesting tags, once issued to a person by the Department, shall not be reimbursable or transferable. (7) It shall be unlawful for a person who harvests oysters from the natural oyster beds of this State for direct sale to not place said oysters in a bushel bag or 30-bushel cage prior to landing said oysters. “Landing” shall mean to bring to shore. (8) It shall be unlawful for a person who harvests oysters from the natural oyster beds of this State for direct sale to not attach an oyster harvesting tag in the locked position to a bushel bag or 30-bushel cage containing oysters prior to landing said oysters. (9) It shall be unlawful for a person to attach an oyster harvesting tag which had been previously attached to a bushel bag or a 30-bushel cage to another bushel bag or 30-bushel cage. (10) It shall be unlawful for any person to have any bushel bag or 30-bushel cage that is empty or partially filled with oysters on board a vessel that has an oyster harvesting tag attached. (11) It shall be lawful for anyone with a valid oyster harvesting license to transfer oyster harvesting tags to another licensed oyster harvester authorized to participate in the oyster harvesting season, provided said transfer is made prior to said tags being issued by the Department. All transfers shall be in writing on forms supplied by the Department.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2106 Authority.

(a) The Department is authorized to adopt shellfish regulations to establish the dates for annual open seasons to harvest oysters from the State’s natural oyster beds. (b) The Department is authorized to adopt shellfish regulations to establish the areas where oysters that are harvested from the State’s natural oyster beds for direct sale shall be landed. (c) The Department is authorized to adopt shellfish regulations to govern the type and amount of gear or equipment that may be used to harvest oysters from the State’s natural oyster beds. (d) The Department is authorized to adopt shellfish regulations to establish a minimum size of oysters for harvest. (e) The Department is authorized to adopt shellfish regulations to establish an annual oyster harvest quota.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2107 Oyster Recovery Fund.

(a) There is hereby established an Oyster Recovery Fund which shall be funded from the following sources: (1) Fee received by the Department for oyster harvesting licenses; (2) Revenue received by the Department for oyster harvest fees; and (3) Fees received for leasing shellfish grounds in Delaware Bay. (b) Oyster Recovery Funds shall be used by the Department for the following: (1) To purchase shells to be placed on natural oyster beds; (2) To purchase oysters to be placed on natural oyster beds; (3) To conduct research on oysters; and (4) To transfer oysters from one natural bed to another.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2108 Importation of oysters prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for a person to bring oysters from outside the State to be placed in the waters of the State without the prior written permission of the Department.

Del. Code tit. 7, § 2109 Oyster harvesting from private leased beds.

(a) Except in the case of shellfish aquaculture leases on Delaware’s Inland Bays, it shall be unlawful for any person to harvest oysters from leased shellfish grounds unless said person notifies the Department of said harvest at least 48 hours prior to harvesting oysters from leased shellfish grounds. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to harvest oysters from natural oyster beds on any date said person notified the Department when he or she would be harvesting oysters from leased shellfish grounds.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c021/index.htmlFetched: 6/28/2026

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