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

The Commissioner shall: 1. Enforce the marine fishery and habitat laws and regulations; 2. Serve as chief executive officer of the Commission and devote full time to the duties of the office; 3. Appoint all personnel; and 4. Establish and equip a permanent office on the Virginia …

The Commission, with assistance from the Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation designated pursuant to § 2.2-401.01, shall develop policies and procedures to ensure an opportunity for meaningful and appropriate written consultation with federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commo…

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Living shoreline" means a shoreline management practice that provides erosion control and water quality benefits; protects, restores, or enhances natural shoreline habitat; and maintains coastal process…

A. For the purposes of this section: "Committee" means the Habitat Policy Oversight Committee established in subsection B. "Division" means the Habitat Management Division of the Commission. B. There is hereby established within the Commission the Habitat Policy Oversight Committ…

A. Beginning December 1, 2027, it is the policy of the Commonwealth to promote the beneficial use of dredged material whenever feasible, provided that the use of dredged material is otherwise consistent with the provisions of federal and state law or any rule or regulation adopte…

If any Commission employee is prosecuted on any criminal charge arising out of any act committed in the discharge of his official duties, the Commissioner may employ special counsel approved by the Attorney General to defend the employee. The compensation for special counsel shal…

A. The law-enforcement division of the Commission shall be designated as the Virginia Marine Police. It shall exercise such powers and duties as the General Assembly may confer upon it by law and as provided in regulations adopted pursuant to law, including but not limited to: 1.…

Pursuant to federal authorization or upon request from a federal agency, the Virginia Marine Police, conservation police officers of the Department of Wildlife Resources, and the marine patrol divisions of police departments located in Tidewater Virginia may patrol and enforce al…

A. The Commission is authorized, following consultation with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to establish, by regulation, state water safety zones and restricted areas within the tidal waters of the Commonwealth wherein public access shall be restricted…

The Commission shall take steps to implement an effective marine police radio dispatch system. In establishing and operating such a system on a permanent basis, the Commissioner may negotiate appropriate leases or other necessary agreements for base radio stations.

A. The Marine Patrols Fund is continued and hereinafter referred to as the Fund, which shall consist of moneys appropriated to it by the General Assembly. The Comptroller shall annually distribute moneys from the Fund for the following purposes: 1. To cover the Commission's costs…

From such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly and any gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources, there is hereby continued in the state treasury a special nonreverting, permanent fund to be known as the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund (the Fun…

A. Once each fiscal year, the Commission shall award a grant of funds to a qualified applicant or applicants to support a dredging project or projects that have been approved by the Commission. The source of the grant funds shall be the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund continue…

As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Ballast water" means any water or matter taken on board a vessel to control or maintain trim, draft, stability or stresses of the vessel, without regard to the manner in which it is carried. "Commercial ve…

A. The operator, or a ship agent acting on behalf of the operator, of a commercial vessel that enters into Virginia waters shall file a Ballast Water Control Report form with the Virginia Maritime Association as the designated agent of the Commission (i) within seventy-two hours …

A. The Commission shall adopt the federal guidelines as the guidelines governing voluntary ballast water management practices to be followed by the operators of commercial vessels. The guidelines adopted by the Commission shall not require a commercial vessel to be operated in a …

As used in this subtitle, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Cultured hard-shell clams" means hard-shell clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) that have been spawned in a hatchery or controlled setting for the purpose of producing seed clams (juveniles), and planted on lea…

The Commission may: 1. Adopt regulations, including those for taking seafood, necessary to promote the general welfare of the seafood industry and to conserve and promote the seafood and marine resources of the Commonwealth. The Commission may also adopt regulations necessary for…

For purposes of this section: "Fund" means the Oyster Growing Activities Fund. "Individual" means the same as that term is defined in § 58.1-302. A. Beginning January 1, 2002, and ending 12:00 p.m. on December 31, 2011, any individual who (i) grows oysters during the calendar yea…

The Commissioner may: 1. Investigate all matters affecting the seafood industry; and 2. Provide for the development of programs designed to enhance and improve commercial and sport fisheries in Virginia's tidal waters.

The Commission shall prepare and implement fishery management plans so as to preserve the Commonwealth's exclusive right to manage the fisheries within its territorial jurisdiction. Any fishery management plan prepared, and any regulation promulgated to implement the plan, shall …

A. The Commission shall prepare, in consultation with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, other educational institutions and representatives of industry and interested parties, and then implement a blue crab fishery management plan. The plan shall build upon previously deve…

A. The Commission may collect from any source any fisheries data and information necessary to develop fishery management plans and to evaluate management options. This information shall include, but not be limited to: 1. Statistics for catch and fishing efforts by species from co…

A. The Commission may limit the number of gear licenses or permits to fish, except those licenses issued pursuant to subdivisions 1 and 2 of § 28.2-402, issued for use in a specific fishery. The Commission may, despite any such limits, issue such gear licenses or permits to fish …

A. Except as provided for in § 28.2-1101, it is unlawful for any person to remove from the waters of the Commonwealth under the jurisdiction of the Commission any marine fish, marine shellfish, or marine organisms for technical research, scientific, educational or museum purposes…

The Commission shall promote and develop the Commonwealth's saltwater angling resources for their recreational and economic benefits. These efforts shall include, but not be limited to, a subprogram, the Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament, which shall: 1. Publicize and d…

A. The Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament Advisory Committee is continued and shall hereinafter be known as the Committee. The Committee shall assist the Director of the Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament, hereinafter referred to as the Director, with the develo…

There is hereby continued a special, nonreverting fund in the state treasury to be known as the Marine Fishing Improvement Fund, hereinafter referred to as the Fund. The Fund shall consist of (i) that portion of the nonresident harvester's license fees which have not been allocat…

A. There is hereby established the Commercial Fishing Advisory Board (the Board). The Board shall advise the Commission on the expenditure of the Marine Fishing Improvement Fund established in § 28.2-208 and the Fisheries Innovation for Sustainable Harvest Fund established in § 2…

The Commissioner shall establish a Menhaden Management Advisory Committee (the Committee) to provide guidance to the Commission on the sustainable management of the menhaden resource and harvest of the bait and reduction fisheries in the waters of the Commonwealth, including the …

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Fisheries Innovation for Sustainable Harvest Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. The Fund shall consist of s…

No regulation of general application shall be promulgated until the express terms or a summary including a statement of purpose and substance of the proposed regulation has been published by and at the expense of the agency at least once in daily papers published and having gener…

If, in an emergency, the adoption of a regulation is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and welfare, or the protection of the seafood industry, natural resources or marine organisms, the Commission may promulgate the necessary regulation…

A public hearing shall be held by the agency at the time and place designated in the notice prescribed in § 28.2-209. An opportunity shall be afforded all interested persons to be heard and to submit objections, amendments, evidence and arguments.

A regulation may be adopted in the form in which it was filed or as amended at the public hearing, provided the amendments do not alter the primary purpose of the regulation.

A copy of any regulation of general application adopted by the Commission shall be sent to the Registrar of Regulations, the clerks of the circuit courts of all counties and cities in Tidewater Virginia, and to all Commission officers.

Any interested person may petition the Commission requesting the promulgation, amendment or repeal of any regulation.

Judicial review of any regulation shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).

A. Any person whose rights, duties, or privileges, including matters relating to licenses, shellfish planting grounds, or fishing stands, have been or may be affected by any action or inaction of the Commission or Commissioner without a formal hearing may demand in writing a form…

Every party shall have the right to cross-examine adverse witnesses including employees of the Commission and to submit rebuttal evidence. The decision of the Commission shall be based only on evidence received at the hearing and matters of which a court of record could take judi…

In all contested matters, the finding, award, action or judgment of the Commission shall be in writing and copies sent to the parties appearing at the hearing.

Any person aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review in accordance with the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).

An appeal of the final decision of the circuit court may be taken to the Court of Appeals.

The return by any Commission employee as to the posting of any notices required under this subtitle or affecting any regulation shall be conclusive evidence of proper posting.

The Commission shall divide and periodically redistrict the territory over which it has jurisdiction into the smallest number of districts commensurate with the efficient enforcement of the Virginia fish and shellfish laws.

The Commissioner shall assign at least one officer to each district.