Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament Under Way

January 17, 2011 -- The rules defining the annual Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, which opened January 1 and runs throughout the year, are unchanged this year. The tournament committee made major changes in 2004, instituting release citations for all species and increasing the qualifying minimums for more than a dozen species. Other popular programs, such as the junior angler program and the expert and master angler programs, also return unchanged in 2011. The junior angler program challenges children less than 16 years of age to catch and release six species of saltwater fish. To qualify as an expert, an angler must register fish in at least six different species for citation awards during the year. Master requirements are 25 citations (with a maximum of one per species per year) in at least five different species over any amount of time starting in 1996.