I support both HB 1013 and HB 1396 Terrapin excluders are needed to prevent the deaths of diamondback terrapins in crab pots. The cost of installation of these devices is minimal and needs to be part of the cost of doing business for crabbers. I strongly support HB 1013. In Mathews County, hunting dogs being run on posted private property is a big problem. When confronted by landowners, hunters basically shrug their shoulders and say dogs don’t recognize property boundaries. They make no attempt to keep their dogs off of private property and frequently release them in areas where they know they will enter posted property. Some hunters get belligerent when told their dogs aren’t welcome. Dogs have killed domestic animals and livestock. We need more regulation on dog hunting and HB 1396 is a good start.

Oppose HB1013

I oppose this bill HB1013 I have worked on the waters of Virginia since I was 12 years old. I am now 63! Never have we ever had a turtle in our pots. Consider looking at farmers and the pollution they put on farmers land as fertilizer that run off I'm sure doesn't help the turtle habitat.

I strongly support HB 1013! We need to protect the terrapin turtles . They are a keystone species of the Bay and as more and more inhabitants of the Bay get depleted we need to provide protections for them. It’s not all about us and us eating big crabs. We need a balance so those turtles can survive. Business interests can not always trump everything. That is just wrong. Fishermen will survive with different traps but the turtles won’t unless we protect them.

I strongly oppose this bill.

HB1013 We need to vote no. This will hurt Waterman small business and consumers of blue crabs. Please vote no. HB1396. We already spend a lot of money with state and local businesses. We do not need another cost on top of what we already spend. It cost aboutv5 grand to feed dogs every year,vet bills and equipment for the care of the dogs. That is already a lot of revenue for the state and local counties.

This bill is a common-sense approach to protect a keystone species that is in serious decline due to human activities (designated as a tier 2A species of greatest conservation need under the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan). Crab pots, both those in use and lost ghost pots, are known to entrap and drown large numbers of Diamondback terrapins. The use of By-Catch Reduction Devices (BRD's) nearly eliminates the entry of Diamondback terrapins into crab pots. BRD's are low cost devices that can easily be installed on crab pots. These brackish water turtles serve to protect the health of coastal marshes which provide significant ecosystem services for Virginians. The species is also culturally connected with the many native peoples of the coastal region of Virginia. Note that most other states require BRD's on all crab pots. The approach in this bill targets the actions and cost incurred by watermen to those areas where this species resides. One suggestion to the bill would be in addition to referencing pre-made plastic orange BRD's, VIMS has instructions on how to make your own BRD's using galvanized wire. Our calculations bring the cost to under 10 cents for each homemade BRD.

I am a 7th generation of waterman and I am here to support VMRC in opposition to bill HB1013 and HB390. VMRC is for fishery management. I did not get an opportunity to register as a registered speaker but if one is made available to make brief comment. Thank you

Speaking pertaining to bill HB1013. I have been a commercial crabber for 30 years and I can not believe there is any good science to back this bill pertaining to turtle excluders on Crabpots. This will be a terrible burden on fisherman in an already struggling industry. Please before moving this forward there needs to be some more studies done. I welcome anyone who would like to ride along with me a for a day crabbing and show proof that this not the problem that it’s being portrayed to be.

I am a 7th generation of waterman and I am here to support VMRC in opposition to bill HB1013 and HB390. VMRC is for fishery management. I did not get an opportunity to register as a registered speaker but if one is made available to make brief comment. Thank you

We must do better to protect our natural surroundings. Invasive plants are costing Virginians millions of dollars each year. These bills will help stop the spread of invasive plants across the Commonwealth by allowing regulators to add plants to the Noxious Weeds List based on merit and science, by ensuring that invasive plants are not planted along our state highways, by empowering local jurisdictions to raise funds to treat and control invasive plants, and by giving state agencies flexibility to use volunteers to help control invasive plants on state lands.

My name is Rachel Rilee, and write in strong support of HB 1013. Diamondback terrapins are one of Virginia’s most iconic salt-marsh residents and a keystone species in our coastal ecosystems. But over the last fifty years, terrapin populations have collapsed by roughly 75%, and each year an estimated 80,000 terrapins drown in blue crab traps. With more than 3 million traps deployed annually and half of them lost or abandoned, this silent, unnecessary mortality is pushing the species toward an Endangered Species Act listing. Virginia’s own 2025 Wildlife Action Plan already designates terrapins as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. The good news is that we have a proven, inexpensive solution. Bycatch Reduction Devices, also known as Turtle Excluder Devices, prevent 94% of terrapin deaths while having minimal impact on crab harvests. They cost less than a dollar, many states distribute them for free, and crabbers who use them gain access to Seafood Watch certification that can increase the value of their catch. Our neighboring states from New York to Florida have already enacted these requirements, and the science behind them comes from right here at home at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the nation’s leading terrapin research center. HB 1013 would require recreational traps and commercial traps in designated Terrapin protection areas to be outfitted with bycatch reduction devices. It is a simple, science-based, inexpensive solution to a problem that will cost Chesapeake Bay one of it’s most iconic residents if it is not addressed. For terrapins, the health of the bay, and the continued sustainability of our working waterfronts, I urge you to pass HB 1013.

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Diamondback Terrapin Protection Areas; Mandatory Blue Crab Gear Regulations House Bill 1013 imposes mandatory gear requirements on recreational and commercial blue crab pots based on asserted diamondback terrapin conservation concerns. The bill does so without establishing the factual predicates necessary to justify regulation of a managed fishery, and without engaging Virginia’s established fishery management framework. At its core, HB 1013 relies on an unproven premise: that blue crab pots in Virginia waters constitute a source of terrapin “bycatch.” The bill uses the term “bycatch” as a regulatory trigger without producing Virginia‑specific, peer‑reviewed Chesapeake Bay or Commonwealth waters evidence demonstrating (1) terrapin presence in the regulated areas, (2) interaction rates with crab pots, or (3) a causal relationship between crab pot use and terrapin mortality or injury in Virginia. Absent such findings, the term “bycatch” is not descriptive—it is conclusory. This raises a threshold evidentiary question that the bill leaves unanswered: Where are the existing, identified diamondback terrapin habitats in Virginia waters that justify mandatory regulation of blue crab gear? HB 1013 authorizes the creation of “protection areas” without identifying mapped, verified, or scientifically substantiated terrapin habitat within the Commonwealth. No baseline habitat data, population assessments, or Virginia‑specific impact analysis is cited. Regulation imposed without demonstrated presence, harm, or causation converts conservation policy into speculative restriction. Although framed as wildlife conservation, the bill’s operative effect is unmistakable: it regulates blue crab fishing practices. Yet HB 1013 is not presented as fishery management legislation, does not reference existing blue crab stock management plans, and does not address interstate obligations under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Instead, it delegates broad discretion to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission without clear statutory standards to prevent conflict with existing fishery management authority. In a Dillon Rule state, such delegation without defined limits is especially problematic. The absence of a meaningful fiscal impact analysis compounds these defects. Virginia’s blue crab fishery is a cornerstone of the Commonwealth’s seafood economy. Mandatory gear requirements impose compliance, enforcement, and economic costs that have not been quantified, justified, or weighed against demonstrated conservation benefit. Conservation regulation must rest on documented Virginia‑specific science, clear statutory authority, and established fishery management principles. Until peer‑reviewed evidence substantiates both terrapin habitat presence and a causal bycatch relationship in Virginia waters, HB 1013 fails to meet the evidentiary threshold necessary to justify mandatory blue crab gear regulation. I am in full support of Conservation, under federal-state consistency and authorities. Not in support of co-mingling to Fishery Management: a highly regulated federal-state framework that requires very specific fishery based studies to further regulate Blue Crab. Amendment to Title 28.2 is respectfully requested to be fully reviewed under Fishery Management Federal and State frameworks, by Fishery Management first. There is no Virginia Chesapeake Bay evidentiary linked causal relationship provided to warrant amendment of Title 28.2

I urge you to support this Bill. I have researched this Bill out of concerns raised by local watermen. It seems like this Bill is science-driven and will not unfairly burden any crabbers that are in areas with low turtle populations. The crab pots in high turtle population areas should definitely have excluders but perhaps there is a grant program to help pay for it. This Bill is a reasonable approach that will conserve the terrapins while not unfairly burdening the crabbers.

Invasives should be pulled or killed by herbicide and not be permitted to be sold in nurseries

Vote no on this bill. I will hurt the crab industry.

I strongly oppose HB1013. This bill places additional financial burdens on Virginia’s watermen by requiring them to pay out of pocket for a “problem” that is not yet supported by sufficient, conclusive research. Our watermen already operate on narrow margins, facing rising fuel costs, regulatory pressures, and unpredictable environmental conditions. Requiring them to absorb new costs without clear, evidence-based justification is unfair and harmful to their livelihoods. Additionally, HB1013 grants the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) broad authority to determine where designated areas will be established, with limited transparency and little meaningful input from the watermen who depend on these waters to make a living. Decisions of this magnitude should not be made without robust stakeholder engagement, clear standards, and accountability. Before imposing new mandates and expenses on working watermen, the Commonwealth should ensure that the underlying issue is well-researched, clearly defined, and broadly agreed upon by independent experts and affected stakeholders. HB1013 fails to meet that standard and risks shifting the cost of uncertainty onto those least able to bear it. For these reasons, I urge legislators to reject HB1013 and instead pursue a more collaborative, science-driven approach that protects both Virginia’s marine resources and the watermen who have long been responsible stewards of them.

I strongly oppose HB 1013- this will destroy the blue crab fishery. I'm a commercial fisherman who depends on this fishery. It's 90% of my income, I've been doing this for 40 years. Im currently a member of the crab management advisory committee. We're currently addressing this in the committee and feel that we're better suited to address it than the Virginia legislature at this time. If I am required to put these excluders in my pots I will see a big decline in catch and also the size of the crabs will be smaller and less desirable to the consumer.

I strongly object to this bill. The environmental group that has been pushing these excluders at VMRC meetings to require them in commercial and/or recreational crab pots has been unsuccessful multiple times, with no scientific data to support their claim. The impact on commercial crabbing if this bill is passed would be significant. It would sharply reduce the annual catch, cost commercial crabbers significant funds to purchase excluders, and may, in fact, put some out of business. I have spoken to many crabbers, none, including myself as a Va crabber, have never seen a terrapin on the western side of the Bay. However, some crabbers on the Va eastern shore do see an occasional terrapin in their crab pots. Specifically in the creeks and shallow waters less then 6 ft. Passing this bill would significantly reduce Virginia's commercial catch and cost watermen and our crab wholesalers/retailers' significant amounts of money.

I oppose this bill due to have never had a turtle in any of my pots in the 15 years that I've been crabbing in Virginia. This will put such a cost that will put the crab prices through the roof. On top of that it will put the commercial crabbers out of business due to cost. Virginia also would loose a ton of taxes due to sales tremendous reduction in crab sales.

I oppose this bill because in the nine years I’ve been working on the water. I’ve never had an issue nor seen turtles in my crab pots

I oppose this bill because in the 9 years I’ve been working on the water I have never seen turtles in my crab pots

I highly disagree with the turtle extruder. I have been crabbing for 15 years and have never caught a turtle. I don't know anyone personally that has caught a turtle. I believe the information that has been given is very wrong. Also the cost and th decline in catch will drastically impact or lively hood. Please do not let this bill pass

I strongly oppose hb1013 99% of the crab pots in Va are set in waters that contain no turtles that could enter a crab pot. The insert proposed is so restrictive that it would eliminate the catching of the higher more valuable jimmy crabs that people love to eat. Bills like these do not solve problems but they do make certain people/companies rich while the little man struggling to survive poorer.

Strongly oppose,

I oppose House bill 1013

Oppose I love my crabs.

Strongly oppose HB 1013 as it is a major costly investment to recreational and commercial fisherman when the state has data that doesn’t show the turtles being harmed by our means of fishing

I do not support HB1013 and I’m asking the House of Delegates to oppose this bill because I believe there is a lot of misinformation about the type of pot watermen will be used for crabbing.

I love turtle they are one of my favorite creatures. But this bill will affect the lively hood of Virginia crab fishing and would destroy the life of a watermen so I oppose this bill and please vote no.

Please vote YES on this.

I am in support of this bill.

Comments Document

On behalf of the Quiyoughcohannock and Warraskoyack Indian Tribes on the Surry Side of the James River, and as the Tribal River Keeper to the Monitor Merrimac and the Chesapeake Bay. I stand in solidarity in support of HB1013 and ask you to vote YES. It will help to preserve the sea animals not intended to be collected in crab pots. Thank you, Principal Chief of the Tribes.