Title 28.2, Title 28.2. Fisheries and Habitat of the Tidal Waters

A. The Commission is authorized to establish the type and amount of commercial gear that can be used for taking finfish and shellfish for recreational purposes. The license fees for use of recreational gear shall be the same as fees charged for the particular gear when used comme…

A. Any nonresident desiring to take or catch marine fish, crabs or any other seafood, except oysters, clams or other mollusks, from the tidal waters of the Commonwealth for which a license is required shall pay to any officer or agent a fee for a nonresident harvester's license. …

A. Any person purchasing from the catcher clams, crabs, fish, or other seafood, except oysters, caught from the waters of the Commonwealth or the Potomac River, shall pay a license fee of (i) $50 for each place of business and (ii) $25 for each boat or motor vehicle used for buyi…

A. The Commission may by regulation establish licenses for the landing of seafood in Virginia, the fee for which shall not exceed $150 or as subsequently revised by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-201. The regulations may limit the number of such licenses that may be issued and…

A. The Commission shall issue all licenses on an annual basis. All licenses shall be valid from January 1 of each year or their later date of purchase and expire on December 31 of the year in which issued. B. Refunds shall not be made or prorated if the fishing effort is reduced,…

It shall be unlawful for any person to (i) subscribe to a materially false statement in applying to secure a license to fish or (ii) alter or change such license. A violation of this section shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Any person engaged in fishing shall have the required license available for inspection and shall present such license when requested by an officer. Failure to present the license upon request of any officer is a Class 1 misdemeanor and prima facie evidence that the person is fish…

A. The Commission may revoke the fishing privileges within the Commonwealth's tidal waters and revoke or prohibit the issuance, reissuance, or renewal of any licenses if, after a hearing held after 10 days' notice to the applicant or licensee, it finds that the person has violate…

The Commission shall provide metal license tags or identification numbers to licensees in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission.

A. License tags or identification numbers shall be attached and displayed in a manner prescribed by the Commission. B. Any such licensee who fails to properly attach or display such a license tag or identification number is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Any fishing device not marked, tagged or identified in the required manner may be seized by an officer and held for any forthcoming legal proceeding.

A. Any person fishing a pound net or any other type of fishing device requiring the use of fixed poles or stakes shall remove all such abandoned poles or stakes; however, one pole or stake may be left standing at least four feet above mean high water at old stands as an identific…

Any captain or owner who covers or conceals the name, registration number, or fishing license tag of any boat licensed and engaged in the fisheries under this subtitle is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Nothing in this article applies to boats used purely for recreation, or for taking fish or shellfish by rod and line or with hand lines, for family use only.

A. On and after January 1, 1993, holders of gear licenses, except those issued pursuant to § 28.2-402, issued January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1992, shall register as commercial fishermen as provided for in regulation. B. [Repealed.] C. On and after January 1, 1993, fisherme…

All harvests shall be reported by either commercial fishermen, licensed buyers, or self marketers in the manner and form prescribed by the Commission.

The Commission shall promulgate regulations governing the registration of commercial fishermen. The regulations shall include (i) the procedure and manner for application for registration as a commercial fisherman, (ii) the manner and form of mandatory harvest reports by commerci…

A person shall not purchase shellfish or finfish from any fisherman who is known by such person to have not registered as a commercial fisherman as required by § 28.2-241. Whenever a court finds that a defendant has violated the provisions of this section, the court shall assess …

A. There is hereby established within the state treasury a special permanent, nonreverting fund, to be known as the Fishery Resource Grant Fund, which shall hereafter be known as the "Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. The Fund shall consist of …

A. The Fishery Resource Grant Advisory Board shall be composed of seven members to be selected in the following manner: four members shall be appointed by the Graduate Marine Science Consortium from nominations made by commercial watermen's associations, one member shall be appoi…

At the end of each grant cycle, the Graduate Marine Science Consortium shall submit a report to the House Committee on Chesapeake and Its Tributaries; the House Committee on Appropriations; the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; the Senate Commit…

Any person desiring to take or catch fish with any device shall apply to the Commissioner for a license. An applicant for a license to fish with a fixed device shall apply in writing to the officer assigned to the district in which the fixed device is proposed to be located. Ever…

Every applicant for a license to catch or take fish shall pay the following license fee or such fee as it may be subsequently revised by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-201: 1. On each pound net, $25; 2. On each stake gill net of 1,200 feet in length or under with a fixed locat…

A. The owner of a commercial fishing pier shall pay an annual license fee of $50 or as subsequently revised by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-201 for each pier that is over or upon the subaqueous beds of the Commonwealth. B. Net fishing shall not be permitted within 300 yards …

Except in areas under the jurisdiction of the Department of Wildlife Resources and as provided in § 28.2-302.5, a person shall not take or catch fish with rod and reel, hand line, by spearing or gigging, with a cast net, with a dip net, or by using up to two eel pots in the tidal…

A. Any resident who is permanently and totally disabled, as defined in § 58.1-3217, who applies for a special lifetime saltwater recreational fishing license shall receive such a license for a fee of five dollars or as subsequently revised by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-201…

A. Any resident or nonresident individual may apply for and receive from the Commission a lifetime saltwater recreational fishing license after payment of a fee of $250, except as provided in subsection C. This license shall be valid for the life of the individual and shall not b…

The Commission shall establish the Fisherman Identification Program, which shall be consistent with the National Saltwater Angler Registry Program. Those persons who purchase a license under this article shall not be required to register with the Fisherman Identification Program.

A. The annual fee for the saltwater recreational fishing license shall be seven dollars and fifty cents or as subsequently revised by the Commission pursuant to § 28.2-201. Agents of the Commission shall retain the agent's fee established by the Board of Wildlife Resources pursua…

A. Residents and nonresidents of the Commonwealth may obtain: 1. A special combined sportfishing license to fish in all inland waters and the tidal waters of the Commonwealth during the open season. For residents, this license shall be in lieu of the state resident freshwater fis…

There is hereby established a special, nonreverting fund in the state treasury to be known as the Virginia Saltwater Recreational Fishing Development Fund, hereafter referred to as the Fund. The interest earned on the principal of the Fund also shall not revert to the general fun…

A. There is hereby established the Virginia Recreational Fishing Advisory Board, which shall hereinafter be known as the Board. The Board shall advise the Commission in the expenditure of moneys received in the Fund. B. The Board shall consist of nine members selected from a list…

A. The following persons shall be exempt from the requirements of obtaining a saltwater recreational fishing license as set forth in § 28.2-302.1: 1. A person under the age of 16 or a person who has attained the age of 65. 2. A person fishing from private real property that he ow…

A. The Commission shall provide for issuance of a temporary saltwater recreational fishing license, which shall be valid for a stated period of time not to exceed ten consecutive days. The fee for the temporary license shall be five dollars or as subsequently revised by the Commi…

A. The owner or operator of a recreational boat used for saltwater recreational fishing shall have the option of purchasing a saltwater recreational fishing license which covers his passengers and himself to meet the licensing requirements set forth in § 28.2-302.1. The cost of t…

The Commission shall provide for the reissuance of a saltwater recreational fishing license to a person who holds a valid license for a recreational boat issued pursuant to § 28.2-302.7 and who owns or operates another recreational boat. The cost of reissuing a license shall be f…

A. The Commission may establish the sale of a fishing guide license. If established, such fishing guide license shall be required for each charterboat and headboat captain. The Commission may limit the sale of such licenses when deemed necessary by the Commission for effective fi…

A. The owner of a commercial fishing pier, as defined in § 28.2-302, shall have the option of purchasing a saltwater recreational fishing license, covering his customers, in order to meet the licensing requirements set forth in § 28.2-302.1. The cost of the license shall be $450.…

Except as otherwise provided by regulation, it shall be unlawful for any person to take, catch or possess any sturgeon. Any sturgeon caught by any person shall be immediately returned to the water. It shall be unlawful for any dealer or wholesaler of fish for human consumption to…

A. It is unlawful for any person to use the following nets: 1. A pound net or a mullet gill net that is less than 200 yards long having a smaller mesh than two inches, stretched measure, after having been tarred; 2. A haul seine longer than 1,000 yards and if over 200 yards long …

It is unlawful for any person to use any snatch hook, grab hook or gang hook for the purpose of taking or catching fish in the Rappahannock River below the Downing Bridge at Tappahannock between January 1 and March 15. Nothing in this section shall apply to any licensed fixed fis…

A. It is unlawful for any person to use a single fixed fishing device having a total length greater than 1,200 feet. Clear and unobstructed intervals of at least 200 feet shall be maintained between successive fishing structures in the same row, and adjoining rows of fishing stru…

From the Friday immediately preceding Memorial Day through September 15 of each year, gill net operators along the southern oceanfront boundary of the United States Dam Neck Military Base south to the North Carolina border shall maintain unimpeded breaks of 500 feet between adjac…

A. It is unlawful to set or fish any net or nets across any river, bay, estuary, creek, or inlet which are longer than one-fourth the width of the body of water from mean low water to mean low water at the point where the net or nets are set or fished. B. It is unlawful to set or…

It shall be unlawful to set a fish trotline on the ocean side of the Counties of Accomack and Northampton. The Commission officers may seize any fish trotline set in such an area. A violation of this section is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

It is unlawful for any person to take or catch fish, shellfish, or marine organisms, on or within 500 yards below the Chickahominy Dam at Walker's, on the Chickahominy River, other than with rod and line or hand line. A violation of this section is a Class 3 misdemeanor.