Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-670. Pertaining to Recreational Gear Licenses (amending 4VAC20-670-20, 4VAC20-670-25, 4VAC20-670-30, 4VAC20-670-40).

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

Effective Date: June 1, 2009.

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 amendment establishes a five-pot license to take or possess one bushel of hard crabs and two dozen peeler crabs during June 1 through September 15 season.

4VAC20-670-20. Recreational gear licenses.

A. Any person desiring to take or catch finfish or shellfish for recreational purposes in the tidal waters of Virginia using commercial gear authorized under § 28.2-226.1 of the Code of Virginia shall first obtain the license for the appropriate gear.

B. Any license to use fishing gear for recreational purposes shall be issued to an individual for his exclusive use and shall not be transferable.

C. No person shall be issued more than one recreational gill net license, more than one recreational crab pot license, more than one crab trap license, nor more than one recreational eel pot license.

D. After May 1, 2008, no license to take crabs by crab pot for recreation or personal use shall be issued and any license purchased prior to May 1, 2008, shall be null and void. The commission shall establish a five-pot recreational crab pot license, at such time that it determines from the Virginia-Maryland Baywide Winter Dredge Survey that the abundance of age one and older blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay meets or exceeds an interim abundance target of 200 million crabs.

E. D. No license shall be required of any person taking minnows, menhaden, or mullet with a cast net for personal use as bait which is not to be sold, traded, or bartered.

4VAC20-670-25. Harvest limits.

It shall be unlawful for any person licensed to use recreational crab pots, recreational crab trap, or recreational ordinary crab trotline, as described in 4VAC20-670-20, to take or possess more than one bushel of hard crabs and two dozen peeler crabs, in any one day, for personal use.

4VAC20-670-30. Gear restrictions.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to use any gill net greater than 300 feet in length when licensed for recreational purposes under this chapter except as described in subsection B of this section. Any person licensed to use a recreational gill net up to 300 feet in length shall stay within 100 yards of such net when it is overboard. Failure to attend such net in this fashion is a violation of this chapter.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person to use any anchored gill net when licensed for recreational purposes under this chapter that is greater than 110 feet in length in any of the tidal waters upriver of the saltwater-freshwater boundaries. Any anchored gill net set or placed in areas upriver of the saltwater-freshwater boundaries shall be retrieved within one hour of setting or placing that gill net. Any person licensed to use a recreational anchored gill net shall stay within 100 yards of such net when it is overboard. Failure to attend such net in this fashion is a violation of this chapter, and any unattended anchored gill net shall be confiscated by the marine police officer.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person to use more than five crab pots or more than two eel pots when licensed for recreational purposes under this chapter.

D. Any law or chapter applying to the setting or fishing of commercial gill nets, cast nets, dip nets, crab pots, crab traps, or crab trot lines shall also apply to the gear licensed under this chapter when set or fished for recreational purposes, except that (i) certain commercial gear used for recreational purposes shall be marked in accordance with the provisions described in 4VAC20-670-40, (ii) the daily time limits for commercial crab potting and peeler potting established in this section shall not apply to the setting and fishing of recreational crab pots licensed under this chapter, and (iii) the closed season and area established in § 28.2-709 of the Code of Virginia shall not apply to the setting and fishing of recreational crab pots licensed under this chapter.

E. It shall be unlawful for any person to use any recreational gill net to catch and possess any species of fish whose commercial fishery is regulated by an annual harvest quota.

F. It shall be unlawful for any person using a recreational gill net, fish cast net, or fish dip net to take and possess more than the recreational possession limit for any species regulated by such a limit. When fishing from any boat, using gear licensed under this chapter, the total possession limit shall be equal to the number of persons on board legally eligible to fish multiplied by the individual possession limit for the regulated species, and the captain or operator of the boat shall be responsible for adherence to the possession limit.

G. It shall be unlawful for any person using a recreational gill net, fish cast net, or fish dip net to take and possess any fish which is less than the lawful minimum size established for that species. When the taking of any fish is regulated by different size limits for commercial and recreational fishermen, that size limit applicable to recreational fishermen or to hook-and-line fishermen shall apply to the taking of that species by persons licensed under this chapter.

H. It shall be unlawful for any person to use any ordinary crab trot line greater than 300 feet in length when licensed for recreational purposes under this chapter.

I. It shall be unlawful for any person licensed to use five crab pots under this chapter to fish those pots on Sunday or to fish those pots from September 16 through May 31.

4VAC20-670-40. Gear marking requirements.

A. Buoys of any crab pot, eel pot, gill net or ordinary crab trot line used for recreational purposes shall be marked with the licensee's last four numbers of his social security number or driver's license number, preceded by the letter "R."

B. An offshore stake of any crab trap used for recreational purposes shall be marked with the licensee's last four numbers of his social security number or driver's license number, preceded by the letter "R."

C. In accordance with subsections A and B of this section, licensees shall mark their gear in a legible and visible manner and in figures of not less than one inch in height.