NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) - Virginia fishing officials have voted to keep the state’s cobia season open more than two months past a closure date that federal fisheries managers had asked states to adhere to.
The Virginian-Pilot (https://bit.ly/1qIYoM4 ) reports that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday voted 5 to 4 to keep the state’s cobia season open until Aug. 30, but with stricter regulations.
Starting June 1, Virginia anglers will have a two-fish maximum per boat and they can only catch the fish inside of 3 miles from the state’s coast.
The vote followed an outcry over a South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council order to close the cobia season from Georgia to New York on June 20. Federal fisheries managers cited concerns that catches of the popular species were well over the Allowable Catch Limit last year.
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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, https://pilotonline.com
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