4VAC20-260-40. Culling tolerances or standards.
A. In the clean cull areas, if more than a four-quart measure of any combined quantity of oysters less than three inches and shells of any size are found in any basket inspected by any police officer, it shall constitute a violation of this chapter, except as described in 4VAC20-260-30 E.
B. In the James River seed areas, if more than a six-quart measure of shells is found in any basket of seed oysters inspected by any police officer, it shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
C. In the James River seed areas, if more than a four-quart measure of any combined quantity of oysters less than three inches and shells of any size are found in any basket of clean cull oysters inspected by any police officer, it shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
D. From the seaside of the Eastern Shore, if more than a four-quart measure of any combined quantity of oysters less than three inches and shells of any size are found per basket of clean cull oysters inspected by any police officer, it shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
E. Any oysters less than the minimum cull size or any amount of shell that exceeds the culling standard shall be returned immediately to the natural beds, rocks, or shoals from where they were taken.
F. Oysters less than the minimum cull size that are adhering so closely to the shell of any marketable oyster as to render removal impossible without destroying the oysters less than the minimum cull size need not be removed, and those oysters shall be considered lawful and shall not be included in the culling tolerances or standards as described in subsections A through D of this section.
G. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell any oysters less than the minimum cull size as described in this section.
Statutory Authority
§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR450-01-0035 § 4, eff. October 1, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 3, Issue 5, eff. October 29, 1986; Volume 3, Issue 13, eff. March 9, 1987; Volume 4, Issue 1, eff. September 1, 1987; Volume 10, Issue 4, eff. October 15, 1993; Volume 10, Issue 14, eff. February 23, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 17, eff. April 14, 1995; Volume 15, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 1998; Volume 24, Issue 4, eff. October 1, 2007; Volume 25, Issue 6, eff. November 1, 2008; Volume 27, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2010; Volume 29, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2012; Volume 30, Issue 3, eff. October 1, 2013; Volume 30, Issue 6, eff. November 1, 2013; Volume 30, Issue 13, eff. February 1, 2014; Volume 31, Issue 2, eff. October 1, 2014; Volume 34, Issue 10, eff. December 13, 2017.