28.2-204.1 - Limited sale of gear licenses and permits; regulations. - Virginia Statutes

§ 28.2-204.1. Limited sale of gear licenses and permits; regulations.

A. The Commission may limit the number of gear licenses or permits to fish,except those licenses issued pursuant to § 28.2-402, issued for use in aspecific fishery. The Commission may, despite any such limits, issue suchgear licenses or permits to fish to any person who has resided for at leastfive years on an island in the Commonwealth that is at least three miles fromthe mainland.

B. The Commission is authorized to promulgate regulations to carry out theprovisions of this section. In determining whether to limit the sale of gearlicenses or permits to fish, and determining who receives licenses, theCommission shall consider all factors relevant to the Commonwealth's fisherymanagement policy, including but not limited to:

1. Economic and social consequences;

2. Food production;

3. Dependence on the fishery by licensees;

4. Efficiency of gear used in the fishery;

5. Impact on species and fisheries; and

6. Abundance of the resource.

(1992, cc. 492, 504; 1998, c. 114.)