CURRENT FISHERIES SERVICE REGULATORY PROPOSALS

Public Notices

What is the Difference Between Law and Regulation

Maryland General Assembly

Legislative Update

N/A

December 1, 2008

The purpose of the proposed action is to modify the number of commercial fishing license authorization targets. Modifications to the authorization targets will reflect the number of license conversions made in both 2007 and 2008 license years. There were 22 license holders that converted to a TFL in 2007 and 9 converted in 2008. The number and type of licenses relinquished provide the basis for changes to license target levels. The total number of license conversions (31) for 2007 and 2008 will be added to the number of TFL authorizations. Each specific authorization target will be decreased by the number of total specific authorizations relinquished. Specific authorizations that had no conversions in 2007 and 2008 remain unchanged. The proposed modifications have been approved by the Tidal Fish Advisory Commission. Finally, the Department is permanently modifying the target number of Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) licenses at the current number of issued licenses. Current licensees will not be affected by this action. The proposed action will reduce the number of LCC licenses available to the current level in order to prevent an increase in commercial fishing effort. This action is currently effective under a blue crab emergency regulation which became effective on June 1, 2008 and will expire on November 27, 2008.

October 16, 2008

December 1, 2008

The Department of Natural Resources is proposing an action to amend Regulations .01, .03, .04, and .10 under COMAR 08.02.11 Fishing in Nontidal Waters. The purpose of this action is to update and clarify existing regulations in nontidal waters. Specifically, this action amends Regulation .01 by changing the Put-and-Take Trout Closure schedule on the Savage River mainstem from Savage River Reservoir upstream to Poplar Lick to allow more fishing time for anglers and eliminate a conflict between turkey hunters and anglers. This action also amends Regulation .03 by revising the section on Delayed Harvest Trout Fishing areas to increase the creel limit and change the opening dates of the harvest on several areas in order to allow harvest of trout before temperatures become too warm for trout to survive. This action also amends the lower boundary on the Youghiogheny River, and add a new area in Frederick County on Catoctin and Little Catoctin Creek near Myersville. The section dealing with a Maximum Size Bass Fishing area on the Potomac River is being removed because the regulation did not achieve the target population parameters. Finally, Regulation .04 is amended by removing incorrect references to other sections of regulation and a new Tidal Nontidal Dividing Line on Gray’s Run in Harford County is added to Regulation .10.

December 3, 2008
at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, MD 21401.

January 26, 2008

To download a printable version of the proposed yellow perch regulations as they were submitted to AELR on Oct. 17, click here.

The purpose of this action is to implement fishery management measures that ensure the sustainability of tidal yellow perch populations and equitably allocate a sustainable harvest of yellow perch between recreational and commercial fishermen while also affording yellow perch the opportunity to migrate to historical rivers and streams as directed by the Maryland General Assembly Bill SB 702 (amended Natural Resources Article, §4-215.2, Annotated Code of Maryland) in 2007.

In response to this legislation, the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service completed a new assessment of yellow perch stocks and conducted a series of focused meetings with recreational and commercial fishermen, including most recently, a public scoping meeting with the Department’s Sport Fish and Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commissions on October 1, 2008. Scientific findings of the yellow perch assessment were used to define population status and safe fishing mortality targets and limits for the upper Chesapeake Bay, and provide the rationale for managing yellow perch in other Chesapeake Bay areas. Stakeholder meetings were designed to define objectives for the recreational and commercial fisheries and obtain input to develop potential management options. Among the objectives identified by recreational fishermen were: maintaining a viable and sustainable fishery, preserving and improving access, improving angler satisfaction, improving catch rates, and minimizing conflicts between recreational and commercial fishermen. For commercial fishermen, objectives included: maintaining a viable and sustainable fishery, expanding seasonal opportunities, enhancing the economic value of this fishery, and minimizing user conflicts.

Using the scientific information from the new assessment and objectives from the user groups, Fisheries Service developed a range of potential management options that would achieve the objectives for these fisheries over time. The proposed action will repeal the existing yellow perch regulation and replace it with a new chapter. The proposed action establishes a requirement to determine a target harvest for the commercial fishing areas. Where appropriate, the target harvest determined by the Department is based upon a 50% recreational and 50% commercial allocation. Definitions are created for clarity, egg restrictions remain unchanged, and references to yellow perch and gear in other chapters are clarified.

Specifically for the recreational yellow perch fishery, the proposed action maintains the existing recreational size limit and year round open season; increases the daily creel limit from 5 fish to 10 fish per person per day in both tidal and nontidal waters; opens all closed areas; and includes a requirement for angler accountability in order to obtain estimates of recreational harvest.

Specifically for the commercial fishery, the proposed action maintains the size limits and creates several new sections for the fishery. The action creates a season, fishing areas, daily catch limits for hook and line and the Patuxent River fishing area, a harvest permit, the method of registration for a permit, a tagging system that includes an exemption and process for the live yellow perch market, a reporting system to account for all of the yellow perch harvested, a public notice provision, and a penalty provision for failure to report. In order to alleviate user conflict, the action extends the fyke net prohibition through March 31 and establishes new lines with latitude and longitude coordinates to exclude fyke nets from upstream tidal areas in locations open to the commercial harvest of yellow perch and of importance to recreational yellow perch fishermen.

Areas Open to Commercial Yellow Perch Fishing
• All areas above the Rt. 50/301 William Preston Lane Memorial Bay Bridge, EXCEPT, the Magothy River. This includes the re-opening of the Patapsco River.
• Patuxent River.

Maps Showing Proposed Fyke Net Restrictions - Click on River Names to view map.

Bird & Gunpowder River	Bohemia River	Bush River	Elk River	Northeast River
Sassafras River	Patuxent River	Allens Fresh	Chester River	Choptank River
Marshy Hope	Nanjemoy Creek	Tuckahoe Creek