It shall be unlawful to take, buy, sell, process, ship, transport or possess herring which are less than 4 1/2 inches in length, except:
1. Bait.
2. Tolerance of 25%. Any person may take, buy, sell, process, ship, transport or possess herring that are less than 4 1/2 inches, if they comprise less than 25% by volume of an entire lot. The 25% tolerance by volume shall be determined by examination of 1/2 bushel chosen at random from each 30 hogsheads of herring or fraction thereof.