VMRC approves new cobia rules: minimum size raised to 43 inches, season tweaked to match region

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission on March 25 approved amendments to 4 VAC 20-5-10 to revise the recreational season and minimum size for cobia, voting 7-0 to accept staff recommendations.

Commission staff said the changes — keeping a two-fish-per-vessel limit, raising the minimum size from 40 to 43 inches and changing the season end date from Sept. 15 to Sept. 20 — are intended to meet required reductions in Addendum 2 to Amendment 1 of the interstate fisheries management plan for migratory-group cobia. VMRC staff framed the measures as part of a regional implementation plan due April 1.

VMRC staff member Matt, who presented the plan, said Virginia has become the “epicenter for cobia on the East Coast” and that the state’s stronger recreational harvest compared with other states shaped the consultation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic councils. He told the commission that under older, state-by-state allocations Virginia would have faced a roughly 49% reduction; under the new regional allocation the required reduction for the northern region falls to about 15.9%.

The staff presentation explained how the regional approach and several…