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2013 SESSION

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HB 2254 Menhaden fish; allowable catch for those landed in State, report. Emergency.

Introduced by: Edward T. Scott | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE: (all summaries)

Management of the menhaden fishery. Establishes a total allowable landings of 144,272.84 metric tons per year for Atlantic menhaden landed in Virginia by the purse seine menhaden reduction sector, the purse seine menhaden bait sector, and the non-purse seine menhaden bait sector. This legislation authorizes the Commission to establish and administer a limited entry purse seine menhaden bait license according to specific criteria. This total allowable landings represents a 20 percent reduction from the average 2009, 2010, and 2011 landings, as mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Any overage of the total allowable landings in the current year will result in a reduction of the total allowable landings in the following year. The Commissioner may administer the interstate transfer of menhaden landings. The total allowable landings for menhaden shall be allocated in proportion to each sector’s share of average landings in 2002 through 2011, with the Commission authorized to establish an Individual Transferable Quota System for any purse seine menhaden bait licensee according to specific requirements. Guidelines for the monitoring of all sectors of the menhaden fishery that may result in a closure of any or all sectors are established. Upon the closing of the non-purse seine sector, any person may possess and land up to 6,000 pounds of menhaden per day, and such landings shall be reported to the Commission but shall not count against the annual total allowable landings. All licensees of the three menhaden sectors shall report to the Commission according to the requirements established by the Commission. The Commission shall establish a biological sampling program to include development of an adult menhaden survey index from Virginia pound nets. License fees are established for the purse seine menhaden reduction and purse seine menhaden bait sectors, according to fees adjusted in 2005 as $249 for vessels under 70 gross tons and $996 for vessels 70 gross tons or over. The Commission may limit the number of gear licenses or permits to fish, except for those licenses in the purse seine reduction sector. The annual menhaden harvest cap for the purse seine menhaden reduction sector shall be 87,216 metric tons, subject to annual adjustments for under-harvest or over-harvest of the cap. The bill contains a sunset date of January 1, 2015. The bill states that an emergency exists and that the bill is in force from its passage. The bill incorporates HB 1840 and is identical to SB 1291.


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