TITLE 4. CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-610. Pertaining to Commercial Fishing and Mandatory Harvest Reporting.
Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Bill Dunn.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: Petition for regulation to ensure proper gear type use in Virginia waters pertaining to depth of current purse seine nets utilized by the Menhaden purse seine net fishery in relationship to the depth of the Chesapeake Bay.
Currently "Ocean Harvesters," a subsidiary of Omega Protein and two other private menhaden companies (i.e., Purse Seine Fishery) are utilizing purse seine nets that extend 50 to 60 feet down in the shallow water column within the confines of Virginia's portion of the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia waters inside the exclusive economic zone offshore. This has caused massive fish kills of both the primary target of menhaden as well as fish kills of game fish, such as Red Drum, that occurred this past year. Improper gear type usage in waters is allowing these nets to catch game fish that feed on menhaden, which can't escape through the bottom per design of the net before it is closed (or pursed), as they are dragged on the sea bottom. In addition, these nets when dragged along the bottom due to current cause net tears, which if the net has been "pursed" releases many now dead or dying fish into the waters.
This improper use of purse seine nets, that is, allowing them to scrape the sea bottom, is also destroying massive amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation, such as sea grass and other bottom growth. When conditions are right this dead submerged aquatic vegetation shows up on the shore as occurred at Kiptopeke State Park last year with bycatch and massive amounts of displaced seagrass along the beach.
The most recent description of net depths used by Ocean Harvesters was evidenced in the December 6 Marine Resources Commission (MRC) meeting seen at approximately 3:06:40. These were nets depths of 50 to 60 feet by Captain Thomas Moore of Ocean Harvesters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn-ow-dNfsE
This practice of ensuring a "safety zone" below the net when deployed is documented in many publications and is specifically outlined in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) of which Omega Protein has gone to great lengths to become an accredited member. MSC states that "Purse-seine fishing in open water is generally considered to be an efficient form of fishing. It has no contact with the seabed and can have low levels of bycatch (accidental catch of unwanted species)." https://www.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/fishing-methods-and-gear-types/purse-seine
Purse Seine net design dictates that the net be deployed to a depth that is above the sea bottom in order to alleviate the issues described in this petition, but for some reason their use in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay as well as inshore portions of Virginia's coastal waters has been overlooked by the management groups controlling their use and needs to be addressed as a gear type use restriction issue. Currently per § 28.2-410 of the Code of Virginia, Virginia only regulates a mesh size of these nets to not be less than 1-3/4 inches with no net depth restrictions listed to ensure a safety zone below the net when deployed.
The Virginia MRC has only recently acquired jurisdiction of this fishery, and the depth of these nets used has never been discussed as a regulation to prevent the problems discussed in this petition. These problems need to be addressed as the proper method to regulate in order to prevent menhaden spill/kills, unwanted bycatch, and damage to Virginia's sea bottom vegetation.
I hereby request that the MRC implement regulations prescribing the depth of these purse seine nets within the shallow waters of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay and offshore waters to meet the purse sein net design criterion in order to provide no contact with the seabed and eliminate these issues. This could be implemented with a regulation such as "No Purse Seine net may be placed in any area of Virginia's waters that is less than five feet deeper that the depth of the actual net utilized."
Agency Decision: Request denied.
Statement of Reason for Decision: Based on public comment and staff analysis, the Marine Resources Commission denies the petition for rulemaking for the following reasons:
Environmental impact: No evidence of improper gear usage as indicated by the petition for rulemaking. No evidence of purse seine nets dragging the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay. Empirical knowledge indicates a relatively low environmental impact across time and space. Due to the natural depth distribution of seagrasses in the Chesapeake Bay, this gear type is unlikely to encounter these seagrasses on the seafloor.
Goal alignment: The proposed rulemaking has the potential to inadvertently eliminate purse seine fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, which may not align with the original intent of the petition. A majority of the public comment conflated petition concerns and public discourse regarding the potential impacts of Atlantic menhaden fisheries removals from the spatial scale of the Chesapeake Bay. Multiple research proposals seek to address these potential impacts are being considered by the commission, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and other research partners, but are not pertinent to the petition's request for rulemaking.
Economic considerations: The petition has the potential to create unintended economic consequences across purse seine sectors and the end user of these fisheries products. A comprehensive economic impact assessment would need to be considered to ensure that any changes in regulation do not disproportionately affect the livelihoods of those economies involved in purse seine fishing.
Agency Contact: Jennifer Farmer, Regulatory Coordinator, Marine Resources Commission, 380 Fenwick Road, Building 96, Fort Monroe, VA, 23651, telephone (757) 247-2248, or email jennifer.farmer@mrc.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR24-19; Filed July 06, 2023, 12:01 p.m.
w –––––––––––––––––– w
TITLE 18. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING
BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 18VAC140-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Social Work.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Shanta Denard Clay.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The petitioner requests that the Board of Social Work amend 18VAC140-20-70 to set passage of the licensure examination at a score of 99 for all levels of licensure.
Agency Decision: Request denied.
Statement of Reason for Decision: At its meeting on November 3, 2023, the board voted to take no action on the petition because the board does not control or evaluate the passing score on the national examination. The passing score can change from year to year depending on the test version used, and the board does include individual passing scores in regulations for examinations as a policy.
Agency Contact: Jaime Hoyle, Executive Director, Board of Social Work, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico, VA, 23233, telephone (804) 367-4441, or email jaime.hoyle@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR24-17; Filed July 06, 2023, 12:13 p.m.
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 18VAC140-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Social Work.
Statutory Authority: §§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3708 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Erin Tomlinson.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The petitioner requests that the Board of Social Work amend 18VAC140-20-105 B 1 d to include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association and American Psychological Association approved trainings as approved continuing education.
Agency Decision: Request granted.
Statement of Reason for Decision: At its meeting on November 3, 2023, the board voted to initiate a rulemaking to include trainings approved by the American Psychological Association as approved continuing education in 18VAC140-20-105 B 1 d. The board will file a notice of intended regulatory action to begin the regulatory process for change.
Agency Contact: Jaime Hoyle, Executive Director, Board of Social Work, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico, VA, 23233, telephone (804) 367-4441, or email jaime.hoyle@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR24-18; Filed August 11, 2023, 2:58 p.m.