The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted Aug. 28 to lower the daily possession limit of oysters from 10 to eight bushels per waterman.

During a meeting at its headquarters in Newport News, the commission also set a 24-bushel daily vessel limit.

In related matters, the commission voted to set the 2012-13 oyster season opening and closing dates and to close the York River Management Area. VMRC spokesman John Bull said that management area will be replaced by a new rotational harvest management plan.

The new management plan, Bull said, would be similar to rotational harvest management plans in the Rappahannock River and off Tangier Island.

Commissioner Jack Travelstead noted that staff is reevaluating agency policy to have the commission consider sanctions against watermen who have acquired three or more violations in a year. Travelstead said in a staff report that "some types of violations, such as violating oyster sanctuaries or harvesting shellfish from condemn...