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 |
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Great Wicomico River Rotation Area |
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Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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James River Area 1 |
|
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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Rappahannock River Rotation Area |
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Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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Rappahannock River Rotation Area |
|
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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Upper Chesapeake Bay - Blackberry Hangs Area |
February 1, |
Hand Scrape |
8 |
16 |
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Coan River Area |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
|
Corrotoman Hand Tong Area |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Indian Creek |
March 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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James River Seed Area, including the James River Seed Area, including the Deep Water Shoal State Replenishment Seed Area |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Little Wicomico River |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Milford Haven |
November 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Nomini Creek Area |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Pocomoke Sound Area Public Ground 9 and 10 |
November 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Rappahannock River Area 9 |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Yeocomico River Area |
October 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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York River Hand Tong Area |
November 1, |
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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York River Rotation Area 1 and 2 |
|
Hand Tong |
14 |
28 |
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Pocomoke and Tangier Sound Rotation Area |
December 1, |
Oyster Dredge |
8 |
16 |
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Deep Rock Area |
November 1, |
Patent Tong |
8 |
16 |
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Rappahannock River Rotation Area 1 |
|
Patent Tong |
8 |
16 |
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Seaside Eastern Shore |
November 1, |
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, |
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 clean cull 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.
A. It shall be unlawful to take, catch, or possess oysters on Saturday and Sunday from the public oyster grounds or unassigned grounds in the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia for commercial purposes, except that this provision shall not apply to any person harvesting no more than one bushel per day by hand or ordinary tong for household use only during the season when the public oyster grounds or unassigned grounds are legally open for harvest.
B. It shall be unlawful to do any of the following from the harvest areas described in Table 1 or Table 2 of 4VAC20-720-40:
1. Harvest or attempt to harvest oysters prior to sunrise or after sunset.
2. For any vessel to leave the dock until one hour before sunrise or return to the dock after sunset if the vessel has an oyster dredge or hand scrape aboard.
3. From October 1, 2023, through October 31, 2023, for any person to harvest or attempt to harvest clean cull oysters after 11 a.m.
4. Beginning November 1, 2023, for any person to harvest or attempt to harvest clean cull oysters after noon with patent tongs, hand scrapes, or oyster dredges.
5. Beginning November 1, 2023, for any person to harvest or attempt to harvest oysters after 2 p.m. with hand tongs.
In addition, it shall be unlawful for any vessel to leave the dock until one hour before sunrise or return to the dock after sunset if the vessel has an oyster dredge or hand scrape aboard.