Section 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 1,064,997 pounds of whole fish. At such time as the total commercial harvest of striped bass from the Chesapeake area is projected to reach 1,064,997 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 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 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.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 13, Issue 08, eff. December 6, 1996; amended, Volume 13, Issue 14, eff. March 1, 1997; Volume 14, Issue 08, eff. January 1, 1998; Volume 15, Issue 18, eff. May 1, 1999; Volume 18, Issue 22, eff. June 19, 2002; Volume 19, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2003; Volume 19, Issue 14, eff. March 1, 2003; Volume 20, Issue 10, eff. January 5, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 13, eff. February 2, 2005; Volume 22, Issue 15, eff. March 2, 2006; Volume 23, Issue 08, eff. January 1, 2007; Volume 24, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2008; Volume 26, Issue 08, eff. January 1, 2010; Volume 27, Issue 12, eff. February 1, 2011; Volume 29, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2013; Volume 30, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2014; Volume 31, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.