VirginiaMarine board would create a voluntary blue catfish certification
Virginia’s Marine Products Board would offer a voluntary label for blue catfish caught in the Chesapeake region and substantially processed at an inspected Virginia facility.
What it does
Virginia’s Marine Products Board would run a voluntary label program for blue catfish caught in the Chesapeake Bay region and substantially processed in Virginia.
Anyone using the Chesapeake Wild Harvest name would have to meet both the required Chesapeake-area catch and Virginia processing standards.
Argument forA voluntary label could help buyers identify blue catfish caught in the Chesapeake region and processed at an inspected Virginia facility.
Argument againstSellers could lose flexibility in product marketing because they could not use the Chesapeake Wild Harvest name unless every listed catch and processing condition is met.
More detail
The Marine Products Board would establish and maintain a voluntary certification and labeling program for eligible blue catfish products. The program would cover blue catfish caught in the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries and substantially processed at a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected facility in Virginia. A product could use the Chesapeake Wild Harvest label only if it meets both the catching and Virginia processing requirements. Processing would include slaughtering, cutting, deboning, filleting, or another substantial change into a different marketable form.
A person would not be allowed to label a product as Chesapeake Wild Harvest unless it meets the program’s definition. The restriction would apply to anyone labeling blue catfish products as Chesapeake Wild Harvest. The product would need to come from the Chesapeake Bay or its tributaries and be substantially processed at a USDA-inspected facility in Virginia.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jul 21Continued from last sessionLatest
- Mar 4Continued to next session in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
- Feb 24Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)Minor
- Feb 11Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural ResourcesMinor
- Feb 11Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- Feb 10Read third time and passed House (93-Y 4-N 0-A)Passed House
- Feb 9Engrossed by House - committee substituteMajor
- Feb 9committee substitute agreed toMajor
- Feb 9Read second timeMinor
- Feb 6Read first timeMinor
- Feb 6Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1110)
- Feb 4Committee substitute printed 26106061D-H1Major
- Feb 4Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (19-Y 3-N)Minor
- Feb 3Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1110)
- Feb 2Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (9-Y 1-N)Major
- Feb 2House subcommittee offered
- Jan 30Assigned HACNR sub: ChesapeakeMinor
- Jan 14Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural ResourcesMinor
- Jan 14Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103700DIntroduced
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