Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Marine Resources Commission
 
Board
Marine Resources Commission
 
chapter
Pertaining to River Herring [4 VAC 20 ‑ 1260]
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9/1/24  10:21 pm
Commenter: Bobby Rae Allen

Hickory Shad Limits
 

From the recreational angler’s perspective, Hickory Shad have value in three uses: As a catch and release fish, for harvest to eat the roe, and for harvest to use for bait. None of those three uses require more than a reasonable amount of fish per angler per day to fulfill that use. Additionally, none of those three uses can happen at all if the hickory shad population gets depleted in the same fashion that American shad have. I think it is in the best interest of the recreational angler to be in support of a limit being put in place and enforced for hickory shad. Any limit at all would be a step in the right direction over the current regulations which allow for unlimited harvest of the species, but even worse do not provide any opportunity for the fish to be counted or studied to ensure sound decision-making in the future. 

CommentID: 227577