The public oyster season opens Tuesday, and the Virginia Marine Police have said enforcement of regulations on oyster farming is a priority.
A news release from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission identified oyster poaching as an “epidemic,” saying they will try to counter the act via air, land and sea.
“We mean business. We will vigorously pursue anyone who violates the oyster regulations, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Virginia Marine Police Chief Rick Lauderman said in the release. “Stealing oysters from the public oyster grounds, private leased grounds or from oyster sanctuaries in particular will not be tolerated. Oyster poaching in Virginia will stop.”
Several Marine Police Officers have been dedicated to the task of searching for oyster violations. An airplane will aid them in their search for suspicious activity. A new state law allows those found to have violated laws pertaining to oyster farming to have their saltwater fishing privileges revoked. The previous law only allowed for a license suspension after three convictions in a single calendar year.
“Those who violate our oyster laws will face arrest as well as the revocation of both their licenses and their right to fish in tidal waters,” VMRC Commissioner Jack Travelstead said in the release. “They could be banned from any type of commercial fishing activity, even packing fish someone else caught. They’ll need another line of work for awhile. We anticipate a good oyster season this year, and law-abiding watermen should not have to suffer because of thieves.”
VMRC Spokesperson John Bull said typical violations of oyster regulations include taking oysters from management areas, from privately leased land and from oyster sanctuaries. Others include harvesting at night, and harvesting more than the daily bushel limit, which is eight bushels per person.
The release said oysters are important to the ecosystem and to the economy, meaning the commission is committed to ensuring a resurgent stock of oysters in Virginia waterways.
A single adult oyster can purge up to 50 gallons of water a day to help clean the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Oyster reefs also provide important forage and refuge habitats for invertebrates, juvenile crabs and finfish species. The release said every $1 from the state to plant oyster shells yields $7 in economic benefits from larger harvests and increased jobs from oyster shuckers.
Oyster harvests in Virginia have climbed tenfold in the past decade. In 2001, 23,000 bushels were harvested compared to the estimated 250,000 bushels harvested in 2012. The value of those harvests have surged from $575,000 to $8.26 million.
