W. Va. Code § 20-2-48

This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 20-2-48, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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§20-2-48. License for private plant or pond for propagating fish, frogs, turtles and other forms of aquatic life for commercial purposes.

Official statutory text

The director may issue a license for the operation of a private plant, pond or business for the propagation, sale or purchase of fish, frogs, turtles and other forms of aquatic life for commercial purposes. The license shall authorize the holder to breed or raise fish, frogs, turtles and other forms of aquatic life as specified by the license and to buy and sell the same dead or alive or the eggs thereof in accordance with regulations prescribed by the director.

Application for a license under this section shall designate the size, character and location of the plant or pond. Before the license is issued, the director shall determine that the pond or plant will not interfere with the free passage of fish; that any water diverted to such plant or pond does not violate the riparian rights of other landowners and that such plant, pond or diversion will not interfere with the public stocking or propagation of fish frequenting such waters.

A licensee selling fish shall furnish the purchaser with a certificate or invoice of sale, bearing date of sale, the number of the license under which sold, the number of fish and number of pounds sold, and such other information which the director may require.

The certificate or invoice shall be shown by the holder on demand of any person authorized under the provisions of this chapter to enforce the provisions hereof.

The annual license fee shall be $10.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.