(a) A commercial collecting permit shall be required of any individual 16 years of age or older, (including a property owner), collecting horseshoe crabs, except for personal, noncommercial uses. The collection fee to obtain a commercial collecting permit for residents of Delaware shall be $100. The collection fee to obtain a commercial collecting permit for nonresidents shall be $1,000. A commercial collecting permit shall not be required of a property owner, or a property owner’s tenant or agent, on those lands from which crabs are taken for personal usage. An agent or tenant shall mean a person who has written permission from the property owner of the land from which horseshoe crabs are taken to act on the owner’s behalf.

(b) Any municipality, town, other local government or individual who collects dead horseshoe crabs in order to clean up a beach or to otherwise dispose of said crabs properly shall be required to obtain a beach clean-up collecting permit. There shall be no fee for a beach clean-up collecting permit.

(c) Unless authorized by a scientific collecting permit issued by the Department, it shall be unlawful for any person to take or attempt to take horseshoe crabs by any method unless said person has obtained a valid collecting permit as provided in this section.

(d) When by, or pursuant to, the laws or regulations of any other state should said state impose any tax, other fee or restrictions on nonresidents for the privilege of commercially collecting horseshoe crabs within its boundaries, which tax or other fee is in the aggregate greater or restriction is greater, to include but not be limited to, the nonavailability of a permit for nonresidents, the similar or identical taxes, other fees, permit requirements and restrictions shall be imposed by the Department upon the residents of that state who seek to apply for a commercial collecting permit from the Department to collect horseshoe crabs within the boundaries of this State.

68 Del. Laws, c. 33, § 2; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.