Category: Angling News

  Arlington, VA – The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved Draft Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Atlantic cobia) for public comment. Atlantic coastal states from Virginia through South Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Amendment 1. The details …

Continue reading

Arlington, VA – The 2018 Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing relative to the updated reference points defined in the assessment. Female spawning stock biomass (SSB) was estimated at 151 million pounds, below the SSB threshold of 202 million pounds. Despite recent declines in SSB, the assessment …

Continue reading

  By Dr. Ken Neill, III At yesterday’s VMRC meeting there were a couple of actions directly affecting recreational anglers. The one that will get all of the attention is the closure through emergency action of Virginia’s Spring Trophy Striped Bass seasons. There actually are 3 though we think of them as one: bay, coastal, …

Continue reading

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 …

Continue reading

By Dr. Ken Neill, III – At this month’s VMRC meeting a February recreational sea bass season was established. It will run the entire month and will be very similar to the February season we had last year: “It shall be unlawful for any person fishing recreationally to take, catch, or possess any black sea …

Continue reading