4VAC20-20-30. Location, measurements, and modified pound net leader requirements.
A. A fixed fishing device shall be perpendicular to the shoreline insofar as possible.
B. In determining compliance with the requirements prescribing minimum distances between fixed fishing devices, measurement shall be made from the center line of each device.
C. An applicant shall state the desired length of the fixed fishing device, which shall not exceed the maximum limit prescribed by law. Such length shall be stated on any license issued by the officer. A licensee may apply for a new license to include a greater length provided such additional length does not make the device exceed the maximum legal length or the legal requirement of a minimum distance between successive fishing structures in the same row. In the event a licensee fishes a length less than that stated on the license, the unfished length shall be subject to the provisions of 4VAC20-20-50 B.
D. Any offshore pound net, licensed and fished in Virginia tidal waters located within the Bottlenose Dolphin Pound Net Regulated Area, shall be equipped with a modified pound net leader as defined in 4VAC20-20-20 year-round.
E. It shall be unlawful to set, fish, or fail to remove a modified pound net leader, unless the pound net licensee has completed modified pound net leader compliance training and possesses onboard the vessel a valid modified pound net leader compliance training certificate issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
F. It shall be unlawful to set, fish, or fail to remove pound net gear in the Bottlenose Pound Net Regulated Area or Pound Net Regulated Area II unless it has all three continuous sections, as defined in 4VAC20-20-20, except that one or more sections may be missing for a maximum period of 10 days for purposes of setting, removing, or repairing pound nets.
Statutory Authority
§ 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR450-01-0004 § 3, eff. January 23, 1985; amended, Virginia Register Volume 10, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 1994; Volume 11, Issue 17, eff. April 7, 1995; Volume 26, Issue 6, eff. November 1, 2009; Volume 26, Issue 21, eff. July 16, 2010; Volume 31, Issue 17, eff. April 1, 2015.