Fisheries Service

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Fisheries' Shellfish Division Launches New Web Site

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Shellfish Division has revamped it's web site to reflect the many changes within the industry and to coincide with the new laws established to help with revitalizing the once dominate culture.

The main components of the reorganized shellfish division include Ecological Restoration, Industry Revitalization, Monitoring and Assessment and Citizen Outreach.

Click here to learn more.

Season Now Closed on Commercial Mature Female Hard Crabs

The final 2009 closure period for commercial mature female hard crab harvest began November 11 and runs through December 15 inclusive.

Pursuant to COMAR 08.02.03.14 the daily commercial mature female hard crab bushel limits for 2009 were as follows:

  Bushels
Seasons LCC TFL OR CB3 TFL with CB6 OR CB3 with CB6 TFL with CB9 OR CB3 with CB9
April 1- May 31 2 10 15 20
June 16 – August 31 2 6 10 15
Sept. 1 – Nov. 10 (except Sept./Oct. closure) 10 25 35 45
The above acronyms stand for: LCC – Limited Crab Harvester License 50 pots; CB3 – Crab Harvester License 300 pots; CB6 – 600 pot authorization; CB9 – 900 pot authorization; and TFL – Unlimited Tidal Fish License.

DNR Retires 530 Limited Crab Catcher Licenses Through Buy-Back Program

DNR Proposes New Regulations as Program Continues

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has to date purchased and permanently retired more than 530 Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) commercial crabbing licenses through its LCC buy-back program. To further reduce latent effort (fishing effort that is not currently deployed) the agency is also proposing a change in regulations governing the LCC License.

“With the purchase of more than 530 licenses, the buy-back program is certainly meeting our expectations,” said DNR secretary John Griffin. “However, while retiring these unused licenses is an important component of our efforts to rebuild the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab population, additional actions are needed to ensure a sustainable fishery.”

The license program, which was launched in July, works on a first-come, first-served basis. With $3 million in Federal disaster funding dedicated to the program, the agency will continue to pay $2,260 per license until the budget is exhausted, or until it has purchased 1,327 — more than one-third — of the 3,676 existing LCC licenses.

To read full press release click here.

2009 Young-Of-Year Striped Bass Survey Shows Below Average Reproduction

The Maryland Fisheries Service announced that the 2009 striped bass (rockfish) juvenile index, the annual measure of striped bass spawning success in Chesapeake Bay, is 7.9. This is slightly below the average long-term average of 11.7, but more than twice last year’s value. During the survey, biologists identified and counted more than 35,000 fish of 49 species, including over 1,000 young-of-year striped bass.

Variable reproductive success is a normal condition of striped bass populations. Typically, several years of average reproduction are interspersed with occasional large and small year-classes. Large year-classes in successful spawning years like 2003 and 2005 bolster the population by offsetting less successful years. The largest year-class ever measured occurred in 1996.

DNR biologists have monitored the reproductive success of striped bass and other species in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay annually since 1954. Twenty-two survey sites are located in the four major spawning systems: Choptank, Potomac, and Nanticoke rivers, and the Upper Bay. Biologists visit each site monthly from July through September, collecting fish samples with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine. The index is calculated as the average catch of young-of-year fish per sample. For more information, go to www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/juvindex/index.html.

The Freshwater Institute Donates an Additional 600 Rainbow Trout

DNR received and stocked 600 rainbows from the Freshwater Institute on Nov. 12th, the fish average around one pound each. DNR staff stocked 100 fish each in Rocky Gap, Cotton Cove in Frostburg, the Lions Park Pond in Frostburg, Grantsville Pond, Glades Park in Oakland and Accident Pond. If you have any questions regarding this latest stocking please contact Ed Livengood at 301-746-8148.

Regular stocking is complete, check out the trout stocking page for locations and amounts!

Please remember to clean your gear between streams or outings to prevent moving around unwanted invaders like didymo and whirling disease. You can wash with dish soap or a 5% salt solution or use one of the convenient wader wash stations if present at your location.

Now Available - Text Message Reminders Regarding Commercial Blue Crab Regulation Changes

Because there are so many changes in regulations for the commercial harvest of blue crabs throughout the season, Maryland Fisheries Service has set up a program that will send text message reminders to your cell phone. A day or two before a regulation change goes into effect you will receive a reminder about things like changes in the female bushel limits and closure periods as well as changes in male and peeler minimum sizes. There is no charge for this program from the Fisheries Service, but there may be charges from your cell phone service provider so check with them for details. To sign up, click the link below and enter your name, cell phone number (numbers only, example 4431234567), select your service provider and then click the subscribe button - it's that easy and you can unsubsrcibe at any time.

If you have questions you can e-mail them to us here at the Fisheries Service

To sign up for the commercial crabbing regulation text message reminder, click here!

DNR Submits Permit Application to Dredge Shell from Man O War Shoal

As directed by House Bill 103, DNR submitted the permit application to dredge shell from Man O War Shoal. The purpose of this project is to acquire oyster shell that can be used in several ways to restore oyster populations and oyster fisheries in the Bay. Shell may be used to improve existing oyster bars to enhance natural recruitment, to provide a foundation for hatchery-spawned seed oysters deployed to encourage reestablishment of an abundant and self-sustaining oyster population, to provide substrate for leased bottom in support of aquaculture, and to provide substrate needed to sustain oyster fisheries in Maryland. All of these efforts are components of recommendations of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 2000 Agreement, the Maryland Oyster Advisory Commission, and the 2005 Oyster Management Plan and are necessary to implement the preferred alternative specified in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oyster Restoration in Chesapeake Bay Including the Use of a Native and/or Nonnative Oyster (USACE et al. 2009).

A Maryland Geological Survey (MGS) study of the Man-O-War shoal indicated that the shoal comprises between 86 million and 103 million bushels of oyster shell (J. Halka, MGS, pers. comm.). DNR intends ultimately to remove approximately 30% of the available shell (about 30 million bushels) to use primarily to restore oyster habitat and oyster populations for ecological purposes. In response to stakeholders’ concerns about the potential ecological effects of a shell-dredging project of this magnitude, DNR is requesting an initial five-year permit to dredge five million bushels of shell as part of a comprehensive monitoring project to assess the ecological consequences of removing shell from the shoal.

Click here   to view a copy of the permit application (8MB in size).

Further information concerning the application can be obtained by contacting Eric Campbell.

 Savage River Reservoir Maintenance Update - Oct 7

The Savage Reservoir drawdown has started. Currently the flow in the river below the dam is at 105 cfs, which is certainly fishable. For current updates on the project, please see the US Army Corps of Engineers website at www.nab-wc.usace.army.mil/mapserver/ and click on NB Potomac Releases. Disruption to normal operations will continue through early spring of next year

Inspections in the fall of 2007 revealed an inoperable gate, prompting engineers to restrict normal water operations at the dam and forcing officials to seek funding for a permanent repair. Federal Economic Stimulus money made the $6 million repair possible.

To read DNR's entire press release regarding the current status of the dam repair please go to www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2009/092109.asp.

Further information regarding the dam repair can be found on DNR's Recreational Fisheries web page.

Maryland Volunteer Angler Surveys

Recreational Anglers, here is your chance to participate directly in fisheries management. Help MD DNR characterize recreational catch and harvest by submitting data from your fishing trip.

The Maryland Fisheries Service has various Volunteer Angler Surveys in which you can participate, what better way to keep track of your fishing experiences and help determine numbers and size structure of various species at the same time. In addition, your data will be used to augment and enhance existing data sets.

MD DNR relies on data from your catch to manage the following species: striped bass, summer flounder, bluefish, yellow perch, blue crabs along with smallmouth and largemouth bass. So go to our Volunteer Anglers Survey Web Page, click on the species of choice and follow the instructions!

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Releases Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout PID for Public Comment

The ASMFC South Atlantic State-Federal Fisheries Management Board has approved the Public Information Document (PID) for an Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout for public review and comment. As the first step in the development of an amendment, the PID presents a broad overview of the issues facing these three species. It provides the public with the opportunity to tell the Commission about changes observed in the fisheries; actions that should or should not be taken in terms of management, regulation, enforcement, and research; and any other concerns about the resources or the fisheries. The PID can be obtained via the Commission's website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Several coastal states will be conducting public meetings on the PID; information on those meetings will be released once they become finalized.

The PID and subsequent amendment are being developed to update the three species management plans to include compliance measures and other Commission standards since all three plans are voluntary in nature and lack standards that were developed in response to the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (e.g., adaptive management, de minimis criteria). In the case of Spanish mackerel, the PID will also address modifying the Commission's management program so that it is consistent with federal management in the exclusive economic zone (because the plan is intended to track federal Spanish mackerel measures).

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID, by either attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies of the PID can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission's website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 15, 2010 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 'Eye' Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Omnibus Amendment). For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve at (202) 289-6400.

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