Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggest an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2019. The 2019 year … Continued
NOAA Fisheries recently announced that for the summer flounder recreational fishery, the agency will continue “conservation equivalency.” In effect, NOAA waives the federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season, and vessel owners are subject to regulations in … Continued
A new Mackerel and Tuna Identification Guide is available from NOAA Fisheries. The guide includes key characteristics that will help captains and anglers distinguish between these species when filling out vessel trip reports (logbooks) or completing recreational angler surveys. NOAA … Continued
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 … Continued
In April, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted unanimously (7-0) to enact an emergency closure for the spring recreational striped bass trophy season. The emergency measure will eliminate the spring striped bass trophy season in the Bay from May 1 … Continued
Updated Atlantic HMS Recreational and Commercial Fishery Compliance Guides are now available. The new guides are designed to help fishermen comply with federal regulations for tunas, swordfish, sharks, and billfishes in the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Carribean. The … Continued
Over a five year period, the Atlantic Ocean Tropical Tuna Tagging Program (AOTTP) aims to partner with scientists and commercial and recreational tuna fishermen to tag at least 120,000 tropical tuna with conventional and/or electronic tags throughout the Atlantic. The … Continued
After responding to over 700 false alerts in 2018, the U.S. Coast Guard is urging anyone with an emergency position indicating radio beacon to properly register their device. An EPIRB is a device that transmits a distress signal to a … Continued
Virginia was the top state for recreational catches of spot and croaker, according to a recent economic report from NOAA Fisheries. The report, Fisheries Economics of the United States 2016, is the 11th volume in an annual series designed to … Continued
Beginning January 1, 2019, all Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) tournaments will be required to submit catch summaries, according to NOAA Fisheries. An Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) tournament is a tournament that awards points or prizes for catching Atlantic … Continued