Crab tagging part of regulatory program

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) – The state's belt-tightening has delayed a Virginia plan to better regulate blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.

The plan by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission would have required watermen to put a new colored tag on each of their crab pots every year.

The tag would make it much easier for marine officers to enforce illegal crab pots and for the commission to keep track of how many pots are in the water.

But now, the commission's deputy commissioner, Jack Travelstead, said Tuesday it's clear the General Assembly will not be able to provide the approximate $300,000 needed to run the program.

Earlier this year, the Marine Resources Commission put in place regulations designed to cut the female crab harvest by 34 percent.

Information from: Daily Press, http://www.dailypress.com