November 19, 2024: ATTENTION COMMERCIAL COBIA HARVESTERS AND BUYERS: The Atlantic cobia commercial fishery in all state waters in the management unit (north of the Georgia-Florida state border) will be closed starting at 12:01 a.m. on December 18, 2024 through 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2024. [ Notice ]
November 5, 2025: ATTENTION RECREATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL STRIPED BASS ANGLERS: In October 2024, The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board reviewed the results of the 2024 Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the resource is not experiencing overfishing but remains overfished relative to the updated biological reference points. At this meeting, the Board agreed to hold a special meeting on December 16, 2024 to consider Board action to change 2025 management measures to reduce fishing mortality and increase the probability of rebuilding to at least 50%. These actions could include reducing 2025 commercial quotas and revising 2025 recreational seasons and or size limits. On Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 PM , The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will host an Informational Webinar to review the management options developed by the Technical Committee and provide the public with sufficient background information to inform the development and submission of written public comment. No public comments will be taken at this webinar; staff can address clarifying questions as time allows but public comments will not be taken. To register for the December 5 Informational Webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3243414609517348697 (Webinar ID 263-766-419). Public comments may be submitted via email to comments@asmfc.org and must be received by 11:59 PM on December 10. [ Notice ]
November 4, 2024: ATTENTION COMMERCIAL SPECKLED TROUT BUYERS AND HARVESTERS: Effective 6:00 P.M., Wednesday, November 6, 2024, the 2024/2025 Virginia directed commercial speckled trout fishery will close. Based upon landing reports from Virginia seafood buyers and speckled trout harvesters, it is projected that Virginia will have harvested and landed 100% of the 51,104 pound quota. Therefore, after 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 , it shall be unlawful for any commercial fisherman registration licensee to take, harvest, land, or possess more than the daily incidental catch limit for the remainder of the fishing year. The daily incidental catch limit shall be 50 pounds of speckled trout per licensee aboard the vessel, not to exceed 100 pounds per vessel (Chapter 4VAC 20-280-10 et seq.). [ Notice ]
October 28, 2024: Results of the October VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Draft Minutes ]
October 28, 2024: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is hosting a series of port meetings along the Atlantic coast in order to take a focused look at the commercial and recreational king and Spanish mackerel fisheries. For more information or to register, click [ Here ].
September 24, 2024: Results of the September VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Final Minutes ]
September 18, 2024: Attention Commercial Scup Buyers and Harvesters: On August 28, 2024, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced an adjustment to the 2024 Winter II commercial scup quota and per-trip Federal landing limit. The Winter II period will run from October 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. During this period, it shall be unlawful for any person to possess aboard any vessel or to land in Virginia any amount of scup totaling more than 16,500 pounds. [ Notice ]
September 18, 2024: Attention Virginia Summer Flounder Industry: Virginia will open its Directed Offshore Summer Flounder Fishery for 3 periods beginning on October 1, 2024. Please see attached notice for further information. [ Notice ]
September 3, 2024: ASMFC - 09/17/2024, 6:00 PM: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will be holding a public hearing via webinar on September 17, 2024, from 6-8 PM to gather public input from the southern region on Draft Addendum XXXV. The Draft Addendum considers changes to two exemptions to the summer flounder commercial minimum mesh size requirements: the Small Mesh Exemption Program (SMEP) and the flynet exemption. Click here for more information, to read the draft addendum, or to submit public comment by email. Click here to register for an online public hearing.
August 28, 2024: Results of the August VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Final Minutes ]
August 26, 2024: Attention commercial speckled trout buyers and harvesters: The 2024/25 directed commercial speckled trout season opens on Sunday September 1, 2024. Chapter 4 VAC 20-280-55 requires any licensed seafood buyer to report daily purchases of speckled trout, from August 1 through November 30, until the commission announces that the directed commercial landings quota has been reached for the current fishing year. Please call the Commission’s Interactive Voice Recording System (800-937-9247, Option 1 then Option 5) and report any purchases of speckled trout, in pounds, on a daily basis, beginning September 1, 2024. When it is projected that the directed commercial landings quota of 51,104 pounds will be met by a certain date within the above period, the Marine Resources Commission will provide notice and the fishery will move into an incidental catch fishery. [ Notice ]
July 25, 2024: On July 23rd, 2024, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a commercial federal waters closure for the Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone, to take effect at 12:01 am on July 28th, 2024. Beginning 12:01 am July 28th, 2024, it shall be unlawful for any person to possess or land in Virginia any amount of Spanish mackerel in excess of 500 pounds from any vessel in any one day. This provision will be in place until March 1, 2025, when the Atlantic Migratory Group Spanish Mackerel Northern Zone reopens in federal waters. [ Memo ]
July 24, 2024: Results of the July VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Final Minutes ]
July 18, 2024: RESCHEDULED The Crab Management Advisory Committee will meet on Monday, July 29, 2024 at 4:00 PM at the VMRC Main Office, 380 Fenwick Road, Fort Monroe, VA. The committee will discuss proposals for a year-round crab fishery.
July 16, 2024: The Crab Management Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 4:30 PM at the VMRC Main Office, 380 Fenwick Road, Fort Monroe, VA. The committee will discuss proposals for a year-round crab fishery.
July 03, 2024: VMRC Commission Accepting Applications for the Virginia Beach Shrimp Trawl Fishery [ Notice ]
June 27, 2024: Starting July 5, 2024, the commercial daily time limits for setting, retrieving, and baiting hard crab or peeler pots or for taking or harvesting blue crabs from crab pots or peeler pots will be 3 A.M. to 5 P.M. throughout Virginia. Any alternate hour permits or medical exception to daily time limit permits are void and will not be issued in the future. See 4 VAC 20-270 “Pertaining to Blue Crab Fishery” for more information.
June 25, 2024: Results of the June VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Final Minutes ]
June 21, 2024: VMRC Commission Accepting Applications for the Eastern Shore Experimental Shrimp Trawl Fishery [ Notice ]
June 17, 2024: The Horseshoe Crab Hand Harvest Category Permit commercial fishery will close beginning at 12 noon, on Sunday, June 16th, 2024.
[ Notice ]
May 29, 2024: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has scheduled Virginia’s cobia public hearings regarding Draft Addendum II to Amendment 1. The in-person public hearing will be Wednesday, June 12th, 2024 starting at 6pm at VMRC’s main office in the Commission Room. In addition to this in-person option, there will also be a virtual option on Monday, June 24, 2024 beginning at 6pm (register by clicking here). At both public hearings, ASMFC will be giving a presentation discussing the options in the document, which include recreational allocation, harvest target evaluation, and the timeline for setting management specifications. Click the following link to find ASMFC's news release for all of the public hearings and an overview of what will be discussed, and how to submit public comments if you cannot attend the meeting in person or virtually. [ News Release ]
May 28, 2024: Results of the May VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Final Minutes ]
May 22, 2024: 2024 VMRC Winter Dredge Survey Media Release: Chesapeake Bay’s Blue Crab Population Holds Strong, Encouraging Managers to Maintain Harvest Levels [ Notice ]
May 21, 2024: 2023-2024 James River Seed Harvest closes Friday, May 24, 2024 at 2:00 PM. [ Notice ]
May 13, 2024: The Crab Management Advisory Committee (CMAC) will meet on May 29 at 4 PM at the VMRC Main Office, 380 Fenwick Road, Fort Monroe, VA. The committee will discuss results of the 2024 Bay-wide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey. The meeting will also be livestreamed. [ Agenda ]
May 6, 2024: Effective 12:01 A.M., Saturday, June 1, 2024, the 2024 Directed Virginia Offshore Summer Flounder Fishery will re-open for vessels with a Virginia Summer Flounder Endorsement License. The landing limit for the Offshore (EEZ) Fishery from June 1 through June 30, 2024, is 10,000 pounds. Vessels may land a maximum of 10,000 pounds for the entire period of June 1 through June 30, 2024. [ Notice ]
April 24, 2024: Results of the April VMRC Meeting can be found under [ Final Minutes ]
April 23, 2024: Virginia Celebrates Earth Day with Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Milestone. [ Media Release ]
April 12, 2024: Effective 12:01 A.M., Monday, April 15, 2024, the Virginia commercial spot fishery will open. The season will remain open until December 8, 2024. [ Notice ]
March 29, 2024: On Tuesday, March 26th the commission voted to make changes to the recreational and commercial striped bass fisheries. The new spring and fall recreational striped bass slot limit will be 19-24 inches, and the bag limit and seasons will remain the same as in 2023. The Virginia Potomac River tributaries season has been updated to mirror the season in the main stem of the Potomac River set by PRFC. The open season for the Potomac River tributaries summer/fall striped bass recreational fishery will be May 16 through July 6 and August 21 through December 31, the slot size limit will be 19-24 inches. The Commercial Coastal striped bass quota has been updated to include the 7 percent quota reduction required by ASMFC's Addendum II to Amendment 7, all Coastal quota holders have been notified about this reduction. Lastly, the 5 commercial gear types listed in the regulation have been removed allowing any commercial harvesters that hold striped bass quota to harvest any striped bass caught using any commercial gear type.
For all recreational striped bass information please visit: https://webapps.mrc.virginia.gov/public/reports/swrecfishingrules.php.
For all commercial striped bass information please visit: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title4/agency20/chapter252/.
March 27, 2024: Results of the March VMRC Meeting can be found under [ Final Minutes ]
March 12, 2024: In preparation of the upcoming 2024 Crabbing Season, VMRC wanted to share some clarifications for the harvesting of crabs for commercial purposes in Virginia:
Seasonal Restrictions on Crab Potting:
Pursuant to 4 VAC 20-270-40, it is illegal for any person to knowingly place, set, fish, or leave any hard crab pot in any tidal waters of Virginia from December 17, 2023, through March 16, 2024.
Commercial Crabbing Restrictions on Sundays:
In accordance with 4 VAC 20-270-20, the harvesting of crabs for commercial purposes on Sundays is prohibited. However, there are exceptions and clarifications to this regulation:
March 05, 2024: The VMRC is currently accepting applications for experimental gear permits, including the experimental Spanish mackerel gillnet permit. This opportunity extends until March 15, 2024. To access the application, please click HERE. Should you have any inquiries or require further assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to Jennifer Farmer via email at Jennifer.Farmer@mrc.virginia.gov. We look forward to receiving your applications and assisting you throughout the process.
February 28, 2024: Results of the February VMRC Meeting can be found under [ Final Minutes ]
February 1, 2024: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission are hosting a virtual-only public hearing on February 1, 2024, at 6:00 PM to solicit feedback from recreational summer flounder anglers regarding recreational management measures for 2024-2025. Click here to see potential management options, submit written comments, and get connection information for the webinar.
January 29, 2024: The Commonwealth of Virginia is seeking qualified individuals for nominations to the Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council (www.mafmc.org). Nomination application kits will be made available upon request and are due to the Marine Resources Commission, c/o Joseph Grist, by close of business Friday, February 9th, 2024. [ Notice ]
January 24, 2024: The Commission has voted to open a special recreational black sea bass season from February 1-29, 2024. Interested in participating? You can read more about permitting and reporting requirements here and you can acquire your free permit here.
January 24, 2024: Results of the January VMRC Meeting can be found under [ Final Minutes ]
January 11, 2024: Effective 12:01 A.M., Monday, January 15, 2024, the Virginia commercial croaker fishery will open. The season will remain open until December 31, 2024. [ Notice ]
Page updated: 11:44 AM Monday, June 17, 2024
