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Virginia Cracks Down on Oyster Poaching

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - With Virginia oyster stocks on the rise, so is poaching and that has caught the attention of regulators.

The public oyster season opened Tuesday and the Virginia Marine Police are taking aim at what they call an epidemic of poaching. Last month, for instance, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission revoked the fishing licenses of five commercial oyster harvesters who pleaded guilty to poaching by overharvesting.

Marine Police will seek out oyster poachers by air, land and sea. The force has dedicated officers to seek out offenders as a top priority.

One attraction for poachers is the tenfold increase in the state's oyster harvest in the past decade, although oysters are still only a fraction of historic highs in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.