Virginia Code 28.2-101: Jurisdiction of Commission
The jurisdiction of the Commission shall include the Commonwealth’s territorial sea and extend to the fall line of all tidal rivers and streams except in the case of state-owned bottomlands where jurisdiction extends throughout the Commonwealth. The Commission shall have jurisdiction over all commercial fishing and all marine fish, marine shellfish, marine organisms, and habitat in such areas. In waters of the Albemarle and Currituck watersheds, the Commission’s fisheries management jurisdiction is limited to the recreational and commercial harvest of blue crabs. The Commission’s jurisdiction shall also include the power to exercise regulatory authority over all structures and improvements built or proposed by riparian property owners in the Potomac River appurtenant to the shore of the Commonwealth. The Commission shall exercise such regulatory authority in the Potomac River consistent with the provisions of Subtitle III (§ 28.2-1200 et seq.), and all regulations, guidance, and policies adopted thereunder.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 28.2-101
- Commission: means the Marine Resources Commission. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
- Habitat: means those state-owned bottomlands, tidal wetlands and coastal primary sand dunes which are subject to regulation under Subtitle III of this title. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- marine fish: means those finfish species which spend a major portion of their lives in marine or estuarine waters. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
- shellfish: means such species of mollusca as oysters and clams, and such species of crustacea as crabs. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
- Territorial sea: means the waters within the belt, three nautical miles wide, that is adjacent to Virginia's coast and seaward of the mean low-water mark. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
Code 1950, § 28-3; 1950, p. 979; 1962, c. 406, § 28.1-3; 1968, c. 746; 1992, c. 836; 2005, c. 191; 2012, c. 595.