A unanimous 7-0 vote by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday will mean an emergency closure of the spring recreational striped bass fishing season as it relates to trophy specimens. Rockfish, as they are known locally, over 36 inches are affected by this measure.

VMRC chair Steve Bowman cited “a recent scientific assessment of striped bass” that shows “the striped bass population has been below the sustainable threshold for the past six years and overfishing has been occurring since 2010” as the primary reasoning for the measure. Bowman added that he was “proud of the swift action taken by the commission.”

VMRC is calling this action the “starting point” in a series of future plans to help sustain rockfish populations, with measures related to commercial fisheries pending. This initial measure being made with recreational fishing in mind is in line with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission data that shows 90 percen...