Virginia Slashes This Year's Oyster Catch and Season From: The Washington Post | Date: September 29, 1993| Author: D'Vera Cohn | Copyright 1993 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

Virginia officials today significantly limited this season's oyster catch on the state's part of the Chesapeake Bay, but stopped short of a proposed ban to protect a shellfish stock that has plummeted because of disease and overfishing.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission staff had urged the panel to cancel this year's harvest in public shellfish grounds, set to begin next month, to allow the oyster population to recover.

Last year's harvest in Maryland and Virginia was the...