Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 20 - MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION › Chapter 900 - PERTAINING TO HORSESHOE CRAB › Section 4VAC20-900-35 - Monitoring requirements

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Any
				individual harvesting or landing horseshoe crabs in Virginia shall report
				monthly on forms provided by the Marine Resources Commission all harvests of
				horseshoe crabs including, but not limited to, bait fisheries, bycatch,
				biomedical industry, and scientific and educational research harvests.
				Reporting requirements shall consist of numbers and pounds landed by sex,
				harvest method and harvest location.
B. It shall be unlawful for any valid
				Horseshoe Crab Trawl Permittee, Horseshoe Crab Class A Dredge Permittee, or
				Horseshoe Crab Class B Dredge Permittee to fail to contact the Marine Resources
				Operations Station prior to offloading horseshoe crabs. The horseshoe crab
				permittee shall provide the Marine Resources Commission the name of the vessel
				and its captain and the anticipated or approximate offloading time and site.
				Following offloading, the horseshoe crab permittee shall contact the Marine
				Resources Operation Station and provide the total number of horseshoe crabs
				landed, gear type, and location of harvest.
C. It shall be unlawful for any valid
				Horseshoe Crab Pound Net Permittee, Horseshoe Crab Hand Harvest Permittee, or
				Horseshoe Crab General Category Permittee to fail to contact the Virginia
				Marine Resources Commission Interactive-Voice-Response (IVR) System within 24
				hours of landing and provide his Commercial Fisherman Registration License
				number, and the time, date, number of horseshoe crabs landed, gear type, and
				location of harvest.
D. It shall be
				unlawful for any individual, firm, or corporation to buy any horseshoe crabs
				from any lawful harvester on or after July 1, 2007, without first having
				obtained a Horseshoe Crab Buying Permit from the Marine Resources Commission.
				The permit application shall be completed in full by the licensed seafood
				buyer, and a copy of the permit shall be kept in possession of the licensed
				buyer while buying or possessing horseshoe crabs.
E. Any licensed seafood buyer permitted to
				purchase horseshoe crabs shall provide written reports to the Marine Resources
				Commission of daily purchases and harvest information on forms provided by the
				Marine Resources Commission. Such information shall include the date of the
				purchase, the buyer's horseshoe crab permit number and harvester's Commercial
				Fisherman Registration License number, gear type used, water area fished, city
				or county of landing, and number of female horseshoe crabs and male horseshoe
				crabs purchased. These reports of any current weekly purchases shall be
				completed in full and submitted to the Marine Resources Commission no later
				than Thursday of the following week. In addition, once it has been projected
				and announced that 65,065 male horseshoe crabs have been landed from waters
				east of the COLREGS Line , each permitted buyer shall call the Marine Resources
				Commission's IVR on a daily basis to report his name and permit number, date,
				number of female horseshoe crabs and number of male horseshoe crabs purchased,
				gear used, and water area fished by the harvester.
F. Individuals harvesting horseshoe crabs for
				biomedical use and owners of facilities using horseshoe crabs for biomedical
				purposes shall monitor and report monthly to the Marine Resources Commission
				all harvests or purchases of horseshoe crabs and the percentage of mortality up
				to the point of release including that mortality that occurs during harvest,
				shipping, handling, and bleeding.
G. Owners of biomedical facilities using
				horseshoe crabs shall participate in the tagging program of the Marine
				Resources Commission to evaluate the post-release mortality of horseshoe
				crabs.
H. Monthly reports shall be
				due to the Marine Resources Commission no later than the fifth day of the
				following month.
Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of
					 Virginia.