Black Sea Bass Season A Success

News, Sea Bass Update – We’ve just wrapped up a very successful February Black Sea Bass Recreational season. The success is due in large part to your cooperation with VMRC staff in gathering information on this popular fishery. This information is vital since the Marine Recreational Intercept Program (MRIP) which typically gathers recreational catch and effort data is not conducted during Wave 1 (January – February).

Your phone calls each morning allowed staff to coordinate vessel intercepts as you returned to the dock. This allowed us to collect biological samples from over 1200 of your fish, in addition to the catch and effort data anglers reported (to date) from 109 private, charter, and headboat trips.

Now that the season is over please note the following permit requirements:

March 15th is the deadline for reporting your activities under this permit.

Reports can be conveniently reported through the online Virginia Saltwater Journal (https://www.vasaltwaterjournal.com)

The captain/vessel operator is responsible for reporting for EACH trip for all anglers onboard his vessel.

If you targeted black sea bass but were unsuccessful, your trip is still important and you need to report your information as well.

Those permittees that did not fish at all for black sea bass during this February fishery are also required to report “no activity” prior to the deadline.

Failure to meet these requirements by March 15th could result in you not being able to obtain a permit for the 2020 fishing season (Chapter 4 VAC20-950-10, section 45E).

If you have already reported all your trips, thank you very much!

Virginia is one of the few Atlantic Coast states allowing this February Black Sea Bass Season. We hope to continue our participation in the future with your continued support and cooperation. Call 757-247-2200 if you have questions or concerns.