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SMAC recommends staff explore emergency rule to allow short Eastern Shore season changes
Summary
The advisory committee recommended staff pursue emergency regulation authority so the Commission could short-set or adjust small Eastern Shore seasons if harvesting threatens resource health; staff cautioned emergency rules require justification and run against current executive-order review windows.
During "other business" SMAC members raised enforcement and emergency-season questions and recommended staff investigate an emergency-regulation pathway to permit short-term openings or shortened seasons on the Eastern Shore when resource protection warrants.
Speaker 10 argued the committee should recommend emergency regulation to give staff and the acting commissioner discretion to act quickly when resource conditions indicate an urgent need. "I would make a motion that we always recommend an emergency regulation to consider opening the Eastern Shore areas," Speaker 10 said. Speaker 7 seconded the motion; the motion received broad verbal support.
Staff noted legal and administrative constraints. A VMRC staff member explained that current executive orders require a 45—60-day process for regulatory changes and that, while emergency regulation is a path, it still requires demonstrating an urgent need for the resource and would need acting-commissioner approval. The group discussed whether the committee could build extension options into the seasonal-setting process later in the year to provide more predictable flexibility.
The committee urged staff to consider emergency regulation in cases where quick action would protect the resource and to prepare the factual justification that would be necessary for such a rule. Members also discussed enforcement questions tied to dealers knowingly buying over-limit harvests and asked staff to review the applicable oyster-season regulation (07/20) and code language for dealer responsibility and penalties.
Staff said they would consult with the acting commissioner and legal staff and return to the committee with options for emergency rulemaking or built-in seasonal flexibility during the regular season-setting process.
