4 Va. Admin. Code § 20-720-40 - Open oyster harvest season, harvest areas, and harvest limits

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.

Table 1 Clean Cull Oyster Harvest Area, Harvest Dates, Harvest Gear, and Daily Bushel Limits
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 Area 3	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 February 14, 2024	Hand Scrape	8	16
Rappahannock River Area 7	December 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023	Hand Scrape	8	16
Rappahannock River Rotation Area 2	February 15, 2024, through February 29, 2024	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 Area 3	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 March 15, 2024	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 March 31, 2024	Patent Tong	8	16
Rappahannock River Rotation Area 1	October 15, 2023, through February 29, 2024	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.

Table 2. Seed Oyster Harvest Area, Harvest Dates, and Harvest Gear
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.

Notes

4 Va. Admin. Code § 20-720-40

Derived from VR450-01-0095 § 4, eff. October 1, 1993; amended, Virginia Register Volume 10, Issue 14, eff. February 23, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 3, eff. October 5, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 7, eff. December 1, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 16, eff. April 4, 1995; Volume 12, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1995; Volume 13, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1996; Volume 13, Issue 7, eff. December 1, 1996; Volume 14, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1997; Volume 15, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1998; Volume 15, Issue 20, eff. June 1, 1999; Volume 16, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1999; Volume 16, Issue 12, eff. February 4, 2000; Volume 17, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2000; Volume 18, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2001; Volume 18, Issue 9, eff. January 1, 2002; Volume 19, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2002; Volume 19, Issue 9, eff. December 27, 2002; Volume 20, Issue 4, eff. October 8, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 6, eff. November 1, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2004; Volume 20, Issue 14, eff. March 1, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 8, eff. December 1, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 14, eff. March 1, 2005; Volume 22, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2005; Volume 22, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2006; Volume 23, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2006; Volume 24, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2007; Volume 24, Issue 12, eff. February 1, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2009; Volume 26, Issue 14, eff. March 1, 2010; Volume 27, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2010; Volume 28, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2011; Volume 29, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2012; Volume 30, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2013; amended, Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 4, eff. November 1, 2013; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 31, Issue 02, eff. 10/1/2014; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 01, eff. 9/1/2015; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 04, eff. 10/1/2015; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 06, eff. 11/1/2015; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 12, eff. 2/1/2016; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 33, Issue 02, eff. 8/31/2016; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 02, eff. 10/1/2017; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 35, Issue 02, eff. 10/1/2018; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 35, Issue 09, eff. 12/11/2018; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 36, Issue 3, eff. 10/1/2019; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 37, Issue 02, eff. 10/1/2020; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 38, Issue 02, eff. 10/1/2021; Errata, 38:14 VA.R. 2113 February 28, 2022; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 2, eff. 10/1/2022; Errata, 39:4 VA.R. 380 October 10, 2022; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 15, eff. 3/1/2023; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 40, Issue 3, eff. 10/1/2023; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 40, Issue 13, eff. 2/1/2024.

Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.