THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610050391
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 72 lines
Calling it ``a blunder'' and ``short-sighted,'' two state lawmakers from Virginia Beach want the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to reconsider its decision to open parts of the Chesapeake Bay to oystering.
But commission chairman William Pruitt responded late Friday that he does not favor revisiting the issue. Further, Pruitt said he stands by his tie-breaking vote last month to allow a limited oyster harvest, despite objections from scientists and conservationists.
Virginia closed its half of the Bay to commercial oystering two years ago to try to preserve the remnants of a once-bountiful oyster population devastated by parasites and pollution.
Last month, over the warnings of its own biologists, the commission voted 5-4 to allow a 2,500-bushel oyster harvest in Pocomoke and Tangier sounds, two large inlets of the Bay near the Maryland border with rich fishing histories.
But now, state Dels. Robert F. McDonnell and Leo C. Wardrup Jr. say they want a new vote because they believe that any harvest will inhibit chances of an oyster recovery in Virginia.
Echoing sentiments from environmental groups, the two Republican lawmakers cite scientific testimony that Pocomoke and Tangier sounds contain some of the last, large adult oysters capable of spawning in the lower Bay.
``It is certainly my hope that you and the other members of the commission will rethink your position and reverse this unwise policy,'' McDonnell, a member of the governor's Commission on Environmental Stewardship, said in a letter to Pruitt. ``This purported short-term gain could lead to long-term devastation.''
Under commission rules, an item can be reconsidered with the consent of one member who originally supported its passage or defeat, said Wilford Kale, a commission spokesman.
Pruitt said that he contacted the four other commission members who voted for the oyster measure and that two responded they might be interested in a second vote. The commission meets again at the end of the month.
The issue is reminiscent of one last year in which the commission opened sections of the Rappahannock River to oystering at the urging of a few local watermen in need of work.
Scientists objected, again citing the presence of healthy adult oysters and the chance that they could spawn baby oysters. But the commission voted for a limited harvest.
Only about 120 bushels were pulled from the Rappahannock over several days last year, and the commission has voted to close the river this season.
Pruitt grew up on Tangier Island, a small community in Tangier Sound renowned for its commercial fishing heritage. He has often been criticized as favoring the interests of watermen over science and is facing that same chorus with his support for oystering in waters near his hometown.
But he said Friday his deciding vote last month had more to do with scientific uncertainty than any favoritism for commercial fishing.
Pruitt said that experts from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science could not say that, if the oysters in Pocomoke and Tangier sounds were left alone, they could survive record flooding of the Bay from snow and storms this winter and summer.
``I would rather see these hard-working people make something from these oysters that, as far as we know, could die anyway,'' Pruitt said.
Wardrup and McDonnell are not among the frequent critics of fishing policies handed down by the commission. In the past, other state lawmakers have tried to curtail the commission's regulatory power, alleging a pro-fishing slant.
Instead, they said, they received numerous phone calls from constituents, scientists and others concerned that the commission's oyster vote was a serious error.
``The last thing I want to do is undermine Bill Pruitt,'' Wardrup said, ``but from what I can tell, I think they really made a blunder on this one.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
State Dels. Robert F. McDonnell, left, and Leo C. Wardrup Jr.
KEYWORDS: OYSTERS by CNB