NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A proposal to encourage oyster farming in some prime Virginia waters is on hold while the General Assembly is in session.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted 7-0 Tuesday to table the proposal, which it unveiled last year. Under the proposal, 1,000 acres in waters off the Northern Neck, the Middle Peninsula and Tangier Island would have been designated for commercial shellfish farming zones.
The proposal, however, is opposed by large aquaculture operations, which view the so-called aquaculture opportunity zones as competition.
Meeting in Newport News, the commission set aside the proposal until legislators act on a bill that removes the commission's authority to create the shellfishing zones.
