Virginia Administrative Code › Title 4 - CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Agency 20 - MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION › Chapter 252 - PERTAINING TO ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS › Section 4VAC20-252-150 - Individual commercial harvest quota

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The commercial harvest quota for the
				Chesapeake Bay area shall be determined annually by the Marine Resources
				Commission in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
				The total allowable level of all commercial harvest of striped bass from the
				Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and the Potomac River tributaries of
				Virginia for all open seasons and for all legal gear shall be 983,393 pounds of
				whole fish. At such time as the total commercial harvest of striped bass from
				the Chesapeake Bay area is projected to reach 983,393 pounds and announced as
				such, it shall be unlawful for any person to land or possess striped bass
				caught for commercial purposes from the Chesapeake Bay area.
B. The commercial harvest quota for the
				coastal area of Virginia shall be determined annually by the Marine Resources
				Commission in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
				The total allowable level of all commercial harvest of striped bass from the
				coastal area for all open seasons and for all legal gear shall be 116,282
				pounds of whole fish. At such time as the total commercial harvest of striped
				bass from the coastal area is projected to reach 116,282 pounds and announced
				as such, it shall be unlawful for any person to land or possess striped bass
				caught for commercial purposes from the coastal area.
C. For the purposes of assigning tags to a
				person for commercial harvests in the Chesapeake Bay area as described in
				4VAC20-252-160, the individual
				commercial harvest quota of striped bass in pounds shall be converted to an
				estimate in numbers of fish per individual harvest quota based on the average
				weight of striped bass harvested by the permitted person during the previous
				fishing year. The number of striped bass tags issued to each person will equal
				the estimated number of fish to be landed by that individual harvest quota,
				plus a number of striped bass tags equal to 10% of the total allotment
				determined for each person.
D. For
				the purposes of assigning tags to a person for commercial harvests in the
				coastal area of Virginia as described in
				4VAC20-252-160, the individual
				commercial harvest quota of striped bass in pounds shall be converted to a
				quota in numbers of fish per individual commercial harvest quota based on the
				reported average coastal area harvest weight of striped bass harvested by the
				permitted person during the previous fishing year, except as described in
				subsection E of this section. The number of striped bass tags issued to each
				person will equal the estimated number of fish to be landed by that individual
				harvest quota, plus a number of striped bass tags equal to 10% of the total
				allotment determined for each person.
E. For any person whose reported average
				coastal area harvest weight of striped bass in the previous fishing year was
				less than 12 pounds, a 12-pound minimum weight shall be used to convert that
				person's harvest quota of striped bass, in pounds of fish, to harvest quota in
				number of fish.
Statutory Authority: §
											28.2-201 of the Code of
					 Virginia.