Final Text
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to harvest oysters from public and unassigned grounds except within the dates and areas and with the harvest gears set forth in this section.
B. It shall be unlawful to harvest clean cull oysters from the public oyster grounds and unassigned grounds except within the seasons and areas and with the harvest gears as described in Table 1 in this subsection.
It shall be unlawful to exceed the daily individual bushel harvest limit or the daily vessel bushel limit of clean cull oysters in Table 1 in this subsection.
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Table 1 Clean Cull Oyster Harvest Area, Harvest Dates, Harvest Gear, and Daily Bushel Limits |
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Harvest Area |
Harvest Dates |
Harvest Gear |
Daily Individual Bushel Limit |
Daily Vessel Bushel Limit |
|
Great Wicomico River Rotation Area 1 |
December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024, and February 15, 2024, through February 29, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
James River Area 1 and 2 |
October 15, 2023, through February 29, 2024, and March 16, 2024 through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
James River |
November 1, 2023, through March 15, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Middle Ground |
November 1, 2023, through November 15, 2023 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Rotation Area 1 |
March 1, 2024, through March 15, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Area 8 |
January 1, 2024, through |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Area 7 |
December 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Rotation Area |
|
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Rotation Area 6 |
November 1, 2023, through November 30, 2023 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Upper Chesapeake Bay - Blackberry Hangs Area |
February 1, 2024, through February 29, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
York River Rotation Area 1 |
November 1, 2023, through November 30, 2023, and February 15, 2024, through February 29, 2024 |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
|
Coan River Area |
October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Corrotoman Hand Tong Area |
October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Indian Creek |
March 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
James River Area 1 and 2 |
March 1, 2024, through March 15, 2024, and April 1, 2024, through April 30, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
James River |
March 16, 2024, through April 30, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
James River Seed Area, including the James River Seed Area, including the Deep Water Shoal State Replenishment Seed Area |
October 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Little Wicomico River |
October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Milford Haven |
November 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Nomini Creek Area |
October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Pocomoke Sound Area Public Ground 9 and 10 |
November 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Rappahannock River Area 9 |
October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Yeocomico River Area |
October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
York River Hand Tong Area |
November 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
York River Rotation Area 1 |
October 1, 2023, through October 31, 2023, and December 1, 2023, through February 15, 2024, and March 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Beasley Bay Area |
March 1, 2024, through March 15, 2024 |
Oyster Dredge |
8 |
16 |
|
California Rock Area |
November 15, 2023, through November 30, 2023 |
Oyster Dredge |
8 |
16 |
|
Pocomoke Sound Rotation Area 1 |
December 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024 |
Oyster Dredge |
8 |
16 |
|
Tangier Sound Rotation Area 1 |
December 1, 2023, through |
Oyster Dredge |
8 |
16 |
|
Larsons Bay Area |
December 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024 |
Patent Tong |
8 |
16 |
|
Deep Rock Area |
November 1, 2023, through |
Patent Tong |
8 |
16 |
|
Rappahannock River Rotation Area 1 |
October 15, 2023, through |
Patent Tong |
8 |
16 |
|
Seaside Eastern Shore |
November 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024 |
By Hand or Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
C. It shall be unlawful to harvest seed oysters from the public oyster grounds or unassigned grounds, except within the dates and areas and with the harvest gears described in Table 2 in this subsection.
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Table 2. Seed Oyster Harvest Area, Harvest Dates, and Harvest Gear |
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|
Harvest Area |
Harvest Dates |
Harvest Gear |
|
James River Seed Area, including the Deep Water Shoal State Replenishment Seed Area |
October 1, 2023, through May 31, 2024 |
Hand Tong |
D. In the Pocomoke and Tangier Sounds Rotation Areas, it shall be unlawful to possess on board any vessel more than 250 hard clams.
E. It shall be unlawful to possess any blue crabs on board any vessel with an oyster scrape or oyster dredge.
F. It shall be unlawful for any person or vessel to harvest oysters with more than one gear type in any single day from the public oyster grounds or unassigned grounds in the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia.