Section 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 Striped Bass Charter Boat Permit from the commission and is a Coast Guard charter licensee.

I. Striped bass charter boat permittees shall report to the commission, on forms provided by the commission, permit identification number, the number of striped bass caught, whether harvested or released; the water body where any striped bass is caught; and the number of anglers on board, captain included, within seven days after the trip occurred. It shall be unlawful for any striped bass charter boat permittee to fail to report (i) trips where striped bass are targeted but not successfully caught or (ii) the permittee's lack of participation in the fishery to the commission no later than 15 days following the last day of any open season. In addition, 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.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 13, Issue 08, eff. December 6, 1996; amended, Virginia Register Volume 14, Issue 08, eff. January 1, 1998; Volume 20, Issue 10, eff. January 5, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 13, eff. February 2, 2005; Volume 22, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2006; Volume 29, Issue 02, eff. September 1, 2012; Volume 31, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2015; Volume 33, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2017.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.