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NEWPORT NEWS — A weak female blue crab population, continued predator infiltration and a need to conserve juvenile blue crab growth have prompted members of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to move forward with staff recommendations to reduce the female blue crab harvest by 10 percent.

 

The commissioners Tuesday voted 4-2 to adopt new regulation measures that would limit the number of blue crabs being harvested in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay.

 

Effective July 5, all Virginia commercial crabbers will see their bushel limits slashed by 10 percent for a year.

 

That means from July 5 this year to July 4, 2015, blue crab harvesters with up to 425 crab pots in the bay can only collect up to 47 bushels under the new regulations, down from 55 bushels currently.

 

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