THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 TAG: 9701290671
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: 33 lines
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission Tuesday called for public hearings on 1997 plans for recreational fishing involving striped bass, flounder sea bass and gray trout.
The hearings will be held at the commission's Feb. 24 meeting in the fourth floor conference room of its headquarters at 2600 Washington Ave. While the commission meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m., fishery discussions will begin at noon.
The plans include:
A flounder season with a 14 1/2-inch minimum size and 10-fish daily bag limit, up from 14 inches and an 8-fish bag in 1996.
A striper season running 120 days, 13 more than the 1996 season but otherwise closely paralleling last year's rules.
A first-ever minimum size of nine inches for all sea bass landed in Virginia, including those taken by recreational and commercial fishermen in federal waters. Those waters begin three miles offshore and extend seaward to 200 miles.
Reconsidering the present 12-inch minimum size and 4-fish daily bag limit on gray trout, possibly dividing the year into two segments with separate rules.
The flounder, striper and sea bass regulations already have been approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an umbrella group of which all East Coast states are members. Consequently, the Virginia action would be little more than a formality.
But the gray trout issue could kindle some fiery debate.