January 13, 2026: New Virginia State record for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna [ Notice ]
January 13, 2026: Effective January 13, 2026, 11:30 PM – December 31, 2026 , the recreational Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling Category Southern Area Trophy Fishery will close. Please use this link for more information.
January 5, 2026: The Virginia Marine Resources Commission will be opening a special recreational black sea bass season from February 1-28, 2026. Interested in participating? You can read more about permitting and reporting requirements here and acquire your free permit here.
January 2, 2026: A Petition for Rulemaking pertaining to Atlantic Menhaden has been posted on the Town Hall website. Public comment period will begin on January 26, 2026, and end on February 17, 2026. A link will be posted here at that time.
December 29, 2025: ATTENTION Virginia Offshore Flounder Industry: Effective 12:01 A.M., Wednesday, February 4, 2026, the 2026 Period One Directed Virginia Offshore Summer Flounder Fishery will open for vessels with a Virginia Summer Flounder Endorsement License. The 2026 Period One Directed Virginia Offshore Summer Flounder fishery will be open from Wednesday, February 4 through Monday, April 20, 2026. The landing limit for this open period is 15,000 pounds per trip. Please see attached notice for more information. [ Notice ]
December 23, 2025: Effective 12:01 AM, Thursday, January 1, 2026, the Virginia commercial croaker fishery will close. Therefore, after 12:01 AM, Thursday, January 1, 2026, it shall be unlawful for any commercial fisherman registration licensee to harvest or land croaker until the season opens on January 15, 2026. [ Notice ]
December 16, 2025: Emergency closure in the Poquoson River will go into effect Wednesday, December 17, 2025. [ Notice ]
December 5, 2025: Effective 12:01 AM, Monday, December 8, 2025, the 2025 Virginia commercial spot fishery will close. Therefore, 12:01 AM, Monday, December 8, 2025, it shall be unlawful for any commercial fisherman registration licensee to harvest or land spot for the remainder of 2025. The commercial spot fishery will remain closed until April 15, 2026. [ Notice ]
December 2, 2025: Results of the December VMRC Commission Meeting can be found here [ Draft Minutes ]
November 19, 2025: Mid-Atlantic Council Solicits Public Input on Essential Fish Habitat Amendment [ Notice ]
November 17, 2025: Effective on November 10, 2025, Federal commercial tilefish permit holders are prohibited from fishing for, catching, possessing, transferring or landing blueline tilefish in the Tilefish Management Unit for the remainder of the 2025 fishing year. [ NOAA Announcement ]
