Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-252. Pertaining to the Taking of Striped Bass (amending 4VAC20-252-50, 4VAC20-252-60, 4VAC20-252-70, 4VAC20-252-110, 4VAC20-252-150, 4VAC20-252-230).

Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: January 1, 2015.

Agency Contact: Jane Warren, Agency Regulatory Coordinator, Marine Resources Commission, 2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Newport News, VA 23607, telephone (757) 247-2248, FAX (757) 247-2002, or email betty.warren@mrc.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments (i) establish the Virginia commercial Chesapeake Bay striped bass quota as 1,064,997 pounds, (ii) establish the Virginia commercial coastal striped bass quota as 138,640 pounds, (iii) establish a Virginia recreational coastal striped bass size minimum limit and possession limit that equal a 25% or greater reduction in harvest from the amount of harvest in 2013, (iv) establish a Spring Recreational Striped Bass Trophy Permit for any individual targeting spring trophy striped bass recreationally, (v) establish sanctions pertaining to the failure of any individual to submit mandatory harvest reports for harvested spring recreational trophy striped bass in Virginia, and (vi) clarify that the Striped Bass Charter Boat Permit is for any for-hire vessel fishing for striped bass recreationally.

4VAC20-252-50. Concerning recreational fishing: general.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to take, catch, or attempt to take or catch any striped bass by any gear or method other than hook and line, rod and reel, hand line, or spearing.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to possess any striped bass while fishing in an area where or at a time when there is no open recreational striped bass season, except as described in 4VAC20-252-115. Striped bass caught contrary to this provision shall be returned to the water immediately.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to possess, land, and retain any striped bass in excess of the possession limit applicable for the area and season being fished within the 24-hour period of 12 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. Striped bass taken in excess of the possession limit shall be returned to the water immediately.

When fishing from a boat or vessel where the entire catch is held in a common hold or container, the possession limit shall be for the boat or vessel and shall be equal to the number of persons on board legally eligible to fish multiplied by the applicable personal possession limit. The captain or operator of the boat or vessel shall be responsible for any boat or vessel possession limit.

D. It shall be unlawful to combine possession limits when there is more than one area or season open at the same time.

E. It shall be unlawful for any person while actively fishing pursuant to a recreational fishery to possess any striped bass that are smaller than the minimum size limit or larger than the maximum size limit for the area and season then open and being fished, except as described in 4VAC20-252-115. Any striped bass caught that does not meet the applicable size limit shall be returned to the water immediately.

F. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, trade or barter any striped bass taken by hook and line, rod and reel, hand line, or spearing provided, however, this provision shall not apply to persons possessing a commercial hook-and-line license and a striped bass permit and meeting the other requirements of this chapter.

G. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to transfer any striped bass to another person, while on the water or while fishing from a pier or shore.

H. It shall be unlawful for the captain of any charter boat or charter vessel to take hook-and-line, rod-and-reel, hand line, or spear fishermen for hire unless the captain has obtained a permit Striped Bass Charter Boat Permit from the commission and is the holder of a Coast Guard charter license licensee.

I. Charter boat captains Striped bass charter boat permittees shall report to the commission, on forms provided by the commission, all daily quantities of striped bass caught and harvested, and daily fishing hours for themselves or their customers, respectively. The written report shall be forwarded to the commission no later than 15 days following the last day of any open season. In addition, charter boat captains striped bass charter boat permittees engaging in the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size Striped Bass Recreational Fishery and the Potomac River Tributaries Spring Striped Bass Recreational Fishery shall provide the report required by 4VAC20-252-60 and 4VAC20-252-70, respectively. Failure to provide these reports is a violation of this chapter.

4VAC20-252-60. Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size Striped Bass Recreational Fisheries.

A. The open season for the Bay Spring Trophy-size Striped Bass Recreational Fishery shall be May 1 through June 15, inclusive; however, the season may be adjusted as set forth in subsection G of this section.

B. The area open for the Bay Spring Trophy-size fishery shall be the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, except the spawning reaches of the James, Pamunkey, Mattaponi, and Rappahannock Rivers.

C. The open season for the Coastal Spring Trophy-size Striped Bass Recreational Fishery shall be May 1 through May 15, inclusive; however, the season may be adjusted as set forth in subsection G of this section.

D. The area open for the Coastal Spring Trophy-size Striped Bass Recreational Fishery is the coastal area as described in 4VAC20-252-20.

E. The minimum size limit for the fisheries described in this section shall be 32 inches total length.

F. The possession limit for the fisheries described in this section shall be one fish per person.

G. The Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size fisheries, combined with the fishery defined by 4VAC20-252-70, shall have a target take of 30,000 total fish coming from both the Virginia and Maryland portions of the Chesapeake Bay and any tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River, and includes the area under the jurisdiction of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. The season for this fishery shall be closed when it is determined that this total target has been reached.

H. Persons engaging in the Bay and Coastal fisheries shall report the retention of any striped bass to the commission. Filing the report shall be the responsibility of the person retaining the striped bass or, in the case of any charter boat or vessel, the captain of the charter boat or vessel. These reports are due 15 days after the close of this fishery and shall be on forms provided by the commission. There will be separate forms for persons and for charter boats or vessels. It shall be unlawful for any person, 16 years of age or older, participating in the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size striped bass recreational fisheries to fail to obtain a Spring Recreational Striped Bass Trophy Permit from the commission prior to any participation, except when fishing from a legally licensed headboat or charter boat.

I. It shall be unlawful for any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittee or any charter boat striped bass permittee to fail to report the take, harvest, or possession of any trophy-size striped bass, as described in subsection E of this section, on forms provided by the commission by the 15th day after the close of the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size striped bass recreational fisheries. The report requirements shall be as follows:

1. Any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittees or charter boat striped bass permittees shall provide the permittee name, commission permit identification number, the date of any harvest, the water body where the trophy-size striped bass was caught, number of trophy-size striped bass kept or released, and the length of each trophy-size striped bass kept or released. Any weight information on any kept or released trophy-size striped bass may be provided voluntarily by the permittees.

2. Any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittees or charter boat striped bass permittees who did not participate in the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size striped bass recreational seasons shall notify the commission of their lack of participation by the 15th day after the close of the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size striped bass recreational seasons on forms provided by the commission.

J. It shall be unlawful for any permittee, as described in 4VAC20-252-50 H and subsection H of this section, to fail to report either the harvest of trophy-size striped bass or no harvest activity within 15 days of the closing of the Bay and Coastal Spring Trophy-size striped bass recreational seasons.

4VAC20-252-70. Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational fishery.

A. The open season for the Potomac River tributaries spring striped bass recreational fishery shall correspond to the open season as established by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission for the mainstem Potomac River spring fishery.

B. The area open for this fishery shall be those tributaries of the Potomac River that are within Virginia's jurisdiction beginning with, and including, Flag Pond thence upstream to the Route 301 bridge.

C. The minimum size limit for this fishery shall correspond to the minimum size limit as established by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission for the mainstem Potomac River spring trophy-size fishery.

D. The possession limit for this fishery shall be one fish per person.

E. This fishery, combined with the fishery defined by 4VAC20-252-60, shall have a target take of 30,000 total fish coming from both the Virginia and Maryland portions of the Chesapeake Bay and any tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River, and includes the area under the jurisdiction of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. The season for this fishery shall be closed when it is determined that this total target has been reached.

F. Persons engaging in this fishery shall report the retention of any striped bass to the commission. Filing the report shall be the responsibility of the person retaining the striped bass, or, in the case of any charter boat or vessel, the captain of the charter boat or vessel. These reports are due 15 days after the close of this fishery and shall be on forms provided by the commission. There will be separate forms for persons and for charter boats or vessels. It shall be unlawful for any person, 16 years of age or older, participating in the Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational fishery to fail to obtain a Spring Recreational Striped Bass Trophy Permit from the commission prior to any participation, except when fishing from a legally licensed headboat or charter boat.

G. It shall be unlawful for any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittee or any charter boat striped bass permittee to fail to report the take, harvest, or possession of any trophy-size striped bass, as described in subsection E of this section, on forms provided by the commission by the 15th day after the close of the Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational fishery. The report requirements shall be as follows:

1. Any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittees or charter boat striped bass permittees shall provide the permittee name, commission permit identification number, the date of any harvest, the water body where the trophy-size striped bass was caught, number of trophy-size striped bass kept or released, and the length of each trophy-size striped bass kept or released. Any weight information on any kept or released trophy-size striped bass may be provided voluntarily by the permittees.

2. Any spring recreational striped bass trophy permittees or charter boat striped bass permittees who did not participate in the Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational season shall notify the commission of their lack of participation by the 15th day after the close of the Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational season on forms provided by the commission.

H. It shall be unlawful for any permittee, as described in 4VAC20-252-50 H and 4VAC20-252-60 H, to fail to report either the harvest of trophy-size striped bass or no harvest activity within 15 days of the closing of the Potomac River tributaries spring trophy-size striped bass recreational season.

4VAC20-252-110. Coastal striped bass recreational fishery.

A. The open seasons for the coastal striped bass recreational fishery shall be January 1 through March 31 and May 16 through December 31, inclusive.

B. The area open for this fishery shall be the coastal area as defined in this chapter.

C. The minimum size limit for this fishery shall be 28 inches total length.

D. The possession limit for this fishery shall be two one fish per person per day.

4VAC20-252-150. Individual commercial harvest quota.

A. The commercial harvest quota for the Chesapeake area shall be determined annually by the Marine Resources 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 1,402,325 1,064,997 pounds of whole fish. At such time as the total commercial harvest of striped bass from the Chesapeake area is projected to reach 1,402,325 1,064,997 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 area.

B. The commercial harvest quota for the coastal area of Virginia shall be determined annually by the Marine Resources 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 184,853 138,640 pounds of whole fish. At such time as the total commercial harvest of striped bass from the coastal area is projected to reach 184,853 138,640 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 an individual's tags for commercial harvests in the Chesapeake 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 individual during the previous fishing year. The number of striped bass tags issued to each individual 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 individual.

D. For the purposes of assigning an individual's tags 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 individual during the previous fishing year, except as described in subsection E of this section. The number of striped bass tags issued to each individual 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 individual.

E. For any individual 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 individual's harvest quota of striped bass, in pounds of fish, to harvest quota in number of fish.

4VAC20-252-230. Sanctions.

A. Any person failing to submit any report required by this chapter shall be denied a any striped bass permit for the following year.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person with a pending violation of this chapter or found guilty of violating any provision of this chapter to receive or transfer striped bass commercial harvest quota as described in 4VAC20-252-160.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person with a pending violation of this chapter or found guilty of violating any provision of this chapter to receive additional tag distributions as described in 4VAC20-252-160.

D. Any person found guilty of violating any provision of this chapter may have his permit or license revoked at any time upon review by the commission as provided for in § 28.2-232 of the Code of Virginia. If the commission revokes any person's permit for an aquaculture facility, then that person shall not be eligible to apply for a like permit for a period of two years from the date of revocation.

FORMS (4VAC20-252)

2015 Striped Bass Charter Boat Fishing Reporting Form (rev. 12/2014)

2015 Trophy-Size Striped Bass Season Charter Boat Fishing Reporting Form (rev. 12/2014)

Spring Striped Bass Recreational Trophy-Size Report Form (rev. 12/2014)