Virginia Law

A. Any person harvesting shellfish for commercial purposes shall affix a shellfish harvester tag to each container of shellfish, except as provided in subsection E of this section, before leaving any single harvest area. The shellfish harvester tag shall remain in place while the shellfish are transported from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to a certified dealer or for any other use. Any transport of shellfish to a certified dealer requires that the shellfish harvester tag remain affixed to each container of shellfish until the container is emptied or shipped and re-tagged by a certified dealer.

B. The shellfish harvester tag, the bulk shellfish tag, and the green restricted-use shellstock tag shall be durable, waterproof, approved by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission or the Virginia Department of Health prior to use, and at least 13.8 square inches in size.

C. The shellfish harvester tag shall contain all of the following indelible and legible information, in the following order:

1. The harvester's Virginia Marine Resources Commission identification number or Virginia Marine Resources Commission oyster aquaculture harvester permit number or clam aquaculture harvester permit number;

2. The date of harvest, time that any shellfish harvest began, and time that harvested shellfish were offloaded and placed under temperature control;

3. An acknowledgement of whether or not those shellfish, described in subdivision 2 of this subsection, were placed in a Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Sanitation-approved storage container with a layer of ice that continuously and completely covered the oysters;

4. The most accurate identification of the harvest location or aquaculture site, including the abbreviated name of the state of harvest and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission's designation of the growing area by indexing, administrative, or geographic designation, and the minimum identification requirement shall be to specify a single harvest area from the listing, as described in 4VAC20-1250-50;

5. The type and quantity of harvested shellfish; and

6. The following statement, in bold capitalized letters: "THIS TAG IS REQUIRED TO BE ATTACHED, UNTIL THE CONTAINER IS EMPTY OR IS RE-TAGGED, AND THEREAFTER KEPT ON FILE FOR 90 DAYS."

D. For any quantities of shellfish commercially harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, that are loose and not containerized aboard any conveyance, the harvester shall prepare a shellfish harvester tag for that quantity of shellfish, which shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the single harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to a certified dealer or for transport to any area for replanting.

E. When multiple containers of shellfish are harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, and placed in any conveyance, the lot may be tagged with a bulk shellfish tag, for that quantity of shellfish, which shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to a certified dealer or for transport to any area for replanting. In addition to the information required in subsection C of this section, any bulk shellfish tag shall also include:

1. The following statement in bold capitalized letters: "ALL SHELLFISH CONTAINERS IN THIS LOT HAVE THE SAME HARVEST DATE AND ARE FROM A SINGLE AREA OF HARVEST"; and

2. The number of individual containers in the lot.

F. Certified shucker packers shall use a green restricted-use shellstock tag for the harvest of restricted-use shellstock from a single harvest area in any one day. The restricted-use shellstock tag shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to the certified shucker packer. In addition to the information required in subsection C of this section, any restricted-use shellstock tag shall also include:

1. The certified shucker packer name and address; the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish and Sanitation certification number; and the following statement in bold capitalized letters: "FOR SHUCKING BY A CERTIFIED DEALER OR POST HARVEST PROCESSING ONLY"; and

2. The quantity of restricted-use shellstock in the lot.

G. Certified dealers may use their certified dealer tag in place of a shellfish harvester tag as provided in subsection A of this section, except as provided in subsection F of this section.

H. All commercially harvested shellfish shall be tagged by a certified dealer prior to being sold, marketed, consumed, or transported to any location other than to a certified dealer or for replanting.