The blue crab pot season is officially shorter than last year after the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce bushel limits and end the season 16 days earlier than in 2016.
The final vote comes a month after commissioners adopted an emergency measure to end the 2017 season on Nov. 30 and start the 2018 season on March 17 following an alarming 54 percent drop reported in juvenile crab numbers.
The shorter timeline actually means watermen will return to a more typical season, which normally begins mid-March and runs through November. But, last year, crabbers were granted extra weeks to harvest in early December and again in early March after a survey showed crab numbers were booming.
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