                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

OYSTER MEASURES; STANDARDS; PENALTY (§ 28.2-526)

A. Except as provided in subsection B, C, or D, it is unlawful for any person to
buy or sell oysters in the shell by any measure other than:

   1. One-half bushel or one bushel metallic measures. Such containers shall be
   metallic circular tubs with straight sides and straight bottoms and may have
   holes for draining one inch in diameter. A half-bushel tub shall have the
   following dimensions, all measured from inside to inside: 15 inches across the
   top, 13 inches across the bottom, and 17 inches diagonally from the inside
   chine to the top; and a bushel tub shall measure 18 1/2 inches across the top,
   17 inches across the bottom, and 21 1/2 inches diagonally from the inside
   chine to the top. Oysters harvested from the public rocks in the Potomac River
   or its tributaries may be bought or sold in one bushel metallic measures which
   shall measure 18 inches across the top, 16 1/2 inches across the bottom, and
   21 inches diagonally from the inside chine to the top. Such containers shall
   be level full across the entire top of the container to be considered a full
   measure; or

   2. A container of not less than 2,500 cubic inches and not more than 3,000
   cubic inches, the make and model of which has been approved by the Commission.
   				Any seller of oysters or oyster shells who fails to furnish at the point
   of landing a full measure as defined in this section, or a buyer of any seed
   oysters or oyster shells who accepts less than a full measure as defined in
   this section, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. Oysters may be sold in containers of a size greater than 18 1/2 inches across
the top, 17 inches across the bottom, and 21 1/2 inches diagonally from the
inside chine to the top if such container has been approved by the Commissioner
and its use to measure oysters has been approved by both the buyer and seller.

C. On the eastern or ocean side of the Eastern Shore, oysters may be sold
without being measured if both the buyer and the seller agree to the number of
bushels of oysters in the transaction.

D. Cultured oysters in the shell may be sold in any measure or container
agreeable to the buyer and seller.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 28-188; 1960, c. 517; 1962, c. 406, § 28.1-136; 1970, c.
132; 1980, c. 33; 1992, cc. 239, 836; 1996, c. 434; 2007, c. 36; 2011, c. 627;
2014, c. 132.