
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 25, 1990                   TAG: 9007250531
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                LENGTH: Short

BAN ON STRIPED BASS FISHING LIFTED

Facing indications that striped bass are making a comeback in the Chesapeake Bay, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted to lift the state's two-year ban on catching the popular fish.

The federal government forced the moratorium on Virginia in 1988 because of an alarming decrease in the striped bass population. But last year, tests in Maryland showed the striped bass had made a successful comeback in the Chesapeake Bay.

The marine resources commission plan, which was approved when Commissioner William Pruitt broke a 4-4 deadlock, will allow commercial and recreational fishermen a 31-day season beginning Nov. 5 and ending Dec. 5. Recreational fishermen will be limited to two fish each day, and the state's total commercial haul will be limited to 211,000 pounds. The fish must be at least 18 inches long and no longer than 36 inches.

by CNB