Coastal HarvestA distinct section of Charted Waters, for crabbing and shellfishing rather than rod-and-reel fishing. Looking for fishing instead? →
Protected and Non-Target Species: Check Before You Keep
Learn why this guide treats identification uncertainty as a real safety and legal issue, not a minor detail.
Requiredstandard
Why it matters
This guide's own horseshoe crab page exists specifically because it's a real, commonly encountered species that is not open to casual recreational harvest — confusing 'I can touch it' with 'I can keep it' is a real, avoidable mistake.
Steps
- Horseshoe crabs are not true crabs and are not open to casual recreational take in Virginia — see this guide's own species page for the real, dated seasonal/geographic restrictions.
- Ghost crabs and mole crabs (sand fleas) are real beach species most visitors encounter, but neither is a food species in this guide's own research — ghost crabs for lack of any confirmed harvest allowance, mole crabs because they're used as fishing bait, not food.
- When genuinely uncertain whether something is a legal target, a protected species, or simply not a food species at all, the safest and simplest choice is to leave it — this guide restates that rule in nearly every section rather than assuming it's obvious.
Safety considerations:
- Misidentifying a protected species is both an ecological harm and, for some species, a real legal violation — treat identification uncertainty as a stop condition, not a minor detail to sort out later.
Sources
Last reviewed 2026-08-10