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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 4. Conservation And Natural Resources
Agency 20. Marine Resources Commission
Chapter 510. Pertaining to Amberjack and Cobia
12/21/2024

4VAC20-510-25. Commercial fishery possession limits, season, and reporting requirements.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing commercially to possess more than two cobia at any time. When fishing from any vessel where the entire catch is held in a common hold or container, the possession limit for the vessel shall be equal to the number of valid commercial fisherman registration licensees on board multiplied by two, except there is a maximum vessel limit of six cobia per vessel per day. The captain or operator of the vessel shall be responsible for any vessel possession limit. Any cobia caught after the possession limit has been reached shall be returned to the water immediately.

B. Any commercial harvest of cobia shall only be reported through the Mandatory Harvest Reporting Program Web Application. Such reports shall record daily harvests from Sunday through Saturday and be submitted on a weekly basis no later than Wednesday of the following week in accordance with 4VAC20-610.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person to take, harvest, land, or possess any cobia for commercial purposes once it has been announced by the commission that the commercial quota has been landed for the current calendar year.

D. It shall be unlawful for any person fishing commercially to possess more than two amberjack at any time. When fishing from any vessel where the entire catch is held in a common hold or container, the possession limit for the vessel shall be equal to the number of valid commercial fisherman registration licensees on board multiplied by two. The captain or operator of the vessel shall be responsible for any vessel possession limit. Any amberjack caught after the possession limit has been reached shall be returned to the water immediately.

E. The possession of amberjack or cobia by licensed seafood buyers or wholesale and retail seafood establishments when operating in their capacity as buyer, wholesaler, or retailer shall not be limited by the possession limits described in this section.

Statutory Authority

§ 28.2-201 and of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 32, Issue 21, eff. June 1, 2016; amended, Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 6, eff. October 25, 2017; Volume 34, Issue 17, eff. April 1, 2018; Volume 35, Issue 2, eff. September 1, 2018; Volume 35, Issue 4, eff. September 30, 2018; Errata, 35:4 VA.R. 601 October 15, 2018; amended, Virginia Register Volume 36, Issue 6, eff. October 23, 2019; Volume 36, Issue 21, eff. June 1, 2020; Volume 37, Issue 10, eff. January 1, 2021.

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