ATLANTIC MENHADEN - Recreational Harvest
COMAR 08.02.05.07
The Department is proposing clearly allowing the recreational harvest of Atlantic menhaden. This change is necessary because when the Department originally declared Atlantic menhaden as "In Need of Conservation" and adopted regulations for their commercial harvest, it was overlooked that the authority that was used made it so that harvest was only allowed under rules that explicitly allowed the activity.
BLUE CRABS - Containers and Limits
COMAR 08.02.03.01, .10, .12, .13, and .14.
The Department is proposing creating definitions for the terms "bushel," "lug," and "barrel," requiring commercially harvested crabs on vessels to be stored in an approved container, allowing mature female hard crabs to be stored in lugs, prohibiting various containers from being mixed on board, adding catch limits in alternative containers in addition to bushels, and modifying the recreational blue crab catch limit.
BLUE CRABS - Crab Pot Lines Housekeeping
The Department is considering modifying a crab pot line in Fishing Bay because two points were misidentified when coordinates were assigned to the previous version of the crab pot lines.
BLUEFIN TUNA, BILLFISH, SWORDFISH, AND SHARK - Recreational Reporting
COMAR 08.02.05.23, .26, and .27, and COMAR 08.02.22.02
Earlier this year, the Department proposed changes to comply with the catch card census program’s reporting and tag requirements. The Department has determined that the action is not necessary at this time so the proposal has been withdrawn. The Department will scope reporting changes after discussing future requirements with NOAA.
BLUEFISH - Recreational Rules
COMAR 08.02.05.10
The Department has proposed removing the current recreational bluefish catch limit, size limit, and daily catch limit from the regulation and establishing those rules annually by public notice. The Department would also modify the public notice authority to no longer require publication in a newspaper. Notices will still be published on the Department's website, posted on the Department's social media, and emailed to the Department's email listserv.
FISHERY MANAGEMENT AREAS - Bynum Run Pond and Forest Hill Lake (Harford County)
The Department is considering formally transferring the ownership/management of two Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) in Harford County from the Department’s Fishing and Boating Services to the Harford County Government. The FMAs include Bynum Run Pond and Forest Hill Lake. Please see the summary for maps and information on how to request a hearing.
FISHING IN NONTIDAL WATERS - Saugeye, Walleye in Deep Creek Lake, and Bass in Youghiogheny River Lake
COMAR 08.02.11.04 and .06
The Department is proposing to establish a minimum size and creel limit for saugeye consistent with existing regulations for walleye, a protected slot limit for walleye in Deep Creek Lake, and modifications for bass seasons in the Youghiogheny River Lake.
FISHING IN NONTIDAL WATERS - Trout
The Department has proposed changes to the Put-and-Take trout stocking program. The changes include:
- Modifying the areas managed as Put-and-Take areas.
- Modifying the areas managed as Closure 1 areas.
- Eliminating the Closure 2 designation.
GEAR - Hooks for Live-Lining
The Department is considering three options to modify its hook restrictions in tidal waters, specifically the requirement to use a circle hook while live-lining. “Live-lining” is defined as using a live finfish on a hook for the purpose of catching other fish with: (a) Hook and line; (b) Rod and reel; or (c) Handlines. This includes everything from using a live spot as bait for striped bass, to minnows as bait for yellow perch or Northern snakeheads, also known as Chesapeake Channa, to eels for cobia. The Department has required circle hooks while live-lining since 2019. The main intention of the rule was to minimize release mortality when targeting striped bass, but the rule was written broadly in order to ensure its enforceability by the Natural Resources Police. Over time, the Department has heard concerns from anglers regarding the ability to target certain species in traditional manners, such as using minnows to target perch in the spring, and is considering a number of options. The Department is scoping these options to determine how much, if at all, any of these changes address the concerns raised by the various user groups.
If any of these modifications were adopted, anglers would be allowed to use either circle hooks or J hooks under the described circumstances. The Department is not considering allowing the use of treble hooks while live-lining.
HORSESHOE CRABS - Harvest on Sundays
The Department is considering allowing the catching and landing of horseshoe crabs on Sundays. Currently, a person may not catch or land horseshoe crabs on Saturday or Sunday. This requirement was put in place many years ago to prevent user conflicts on the weekends. The Department does not anticipate conflicts at this time because horseshoe crabs are generally harvested in the late afternoon or evening. The annual total allowable landings of male horseshoe crabs for the commercial fishery is 255,980 male crabs. There is no female harvest permitted. The number of landings is set annually and is determined by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Allowing harvest on Sundays will not increase the allowable landings. There is a strict cap on harvest and any overages must be subtracted from the total allotment for the following year.
HOUSEKEEPING - Shortline Cleanup
COMAR 08.02.22.01 and .03 and COMAR 08.02.25.06
The Department is proposing to make minor changes to its shark regulations by removing certain shortline rules duplicated in the Department's gear regulation and moving certain shortline rules from the Shark chapter to the Gear chapter which are better suited there.
IN NEED OF CONSERVATION - Freshwater Mussels & Housekeeping
COMAR 08.02.12.01, .03
- The Department proposed changing the word conversation to conservation to avoid confusion in regulation due to a clerical error. This is a housekeeping issue with a definition.
- The Department also proposed protecting all freshwater mussels in the order Unionoida by declaring them as in need of conservation. Declaring freshwater mussels as in need of conservation means that a person may not take, possess, transport, export, process, sell, offer for sale, deliver, carry, or ship any mussels in the order Unionoida unless allowed by the Department through regulation. In this case, the only exception the Department is considering would be for research under a Department-issued permit.
LOBSTER AND JONAH CRAB - Vessel Monitoring Systems
COMAR 08.02.08.06 and .10
The Department has proposed to implement the provisions of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster and Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan.
The Addenda establishes electronic tracking requirements for federally permitted vessels in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, with the goal of collecting high-resolution spatial and temporal effort data to support several ongoing efforts. More information is available at the following websites:
MONETARY VALUES OF FISH - Updates
The Department would like to update the monetary values of fish in the Code of Maryland Regulations. The Department would like to remove outdated fish values and replace them with the most up-to-date values as determined by the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The original AFS document was the basis for the 1975 regulations, so this change is in line with the original regulation. The Department would incorporate the document by reference and make the document available on the Fishing and Boating Service’s website. Additionally, the Department would clarify that the regulations will only apply to fish kill incidents. The AFS document does not cover all species so the Department would consider other available resources and information such as dockside value, stocking costs, and inflation in determining replacement costs for species that are not listed.
OYSTERS AND CLAMS - Declaration Requirement for Seafood Dealers
The Department is considering creating a no-cost declaration of intent for DNR-licensed and MDH-certified shellfish dealers to purchase oysters or clams for human consumption to facilitate current reporting and tax payment requirements. This would be an annual requirement that dealers could complete either at license renewal or at any other point during the year prior to purchasing oysters or clams for human consumption. Dealers who did not declare their intent to purchase oysters or clams would be prohibited from buying oysters or clams commercially until their declaration was complete.
OYSTERS - Amendment 1 to the 2019 Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan
COMAR 08.02.01.01
The Department has proposed to incorporate by reference Amendment 1 to the 2019 Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan into the Code of Maryland Regulations. The amendment was adopted by the Department on December 18, 2023.
Incorporation by reference (IBR) is a legal device by which one document is made a part of another simply by referring to it. The text of the referenced document, once incorporated by reference, becomes fully and legally a part of the document into which it is incorporated. Incorporation by reference must take place within a regulation. A regulation proposing to incorporate a document by reference is no different than any other proposed regulation. All of the standard regulation-making procedures apply.
A Fishery Management Plan (FMP) provides a format for undertaking management measures throughout Maryland state waters. FMPs are amended as needed. The most recent FMP for oysters is the Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan (May 2019). Shortly after adoption, the Department was directed by the Maryland General Assembly to convene the Oyster Advisory Commission (OAC) to develop a package of consensus recommendations for enhancing and implementing the FMP for oysters. The OAC provided the Department with a package of recommendations which were based on options that were rated with an agreement level of 75% or higher. Amendment 1 to the 2019 Maryland Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan incorporates recommendations from the OAC to further define strategies for protecting, rebuilding, and managing the native oyster population.
OYSTERS - Container Rules
COMAR 08.02.04.04
The Department has proposed modifying the rule for filling certain oyster containers. Specifically, the Department is proposing no longer allowing certain oyster containers to be filled past the brim of the container. This would standardize the rule for all containers.
PENALTIES - Updates to Penalty Schedules
The Department is considering updates to its recreational, commercial, and charter penalty schedules. The Department maintains these administrative penalty schedules as an additional deterrent to breaking fisheries laws in addition to the fines that violators face in District Court.
- Updates for Recreational Schedule
- Create additional tiers for oyster catch limit violations.
- Increase the penalty for non-projectile gear violations.
- Updates for Recreational, Charter, and Commercial Schedules
- Create penalty for moving state buoys, markers, or monuments.
- Create administrative penalties for exceeding longnose gar catch limit. In 2023, the Department created catch limits for longnose gar that apply to all sectors.
- Updates for Charter and Commercial Schedules
- Increase penalties on the charter and commercial penalty schedules for disturbing fishing gear owned by another person and clarify the penalty also applies to stealing fish and crabs out of gear owned by another person.
- Lastly, the Department would make housekeeping corrections to the penalty schedule to ensure that the proper authority is cited for each violation as regulations have been moved or updated.
PENALTIES - Updates to Recreational Penalty System
COMAR 08.02.13.05
The Department has proposed updating its recreational penalty schedule by adding a penalty for failing to immediately release diamondback terrapin, modifying the penalty for recreational crabbers violating catch times, and adding a penalty for using prohibited species as bait. The modifications are recommendations of the Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission/Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission Joint Penalty Workgroup.
SHARKS - Shortfin Mako Creel Limit
The Department is considering implementing a zero creel limit for shortfin mako. This would mean that a person could catch a shortfin mako, but they would need to immediately release it. They could not retain it. The limit would apply both commercially and recreationally.
SHELL RECYCLING TAX GRANT PROGRAM
COMAR 08.02.26
The Department has proposed repealing .03, .04, and .05, amending Regulations .01 and .02, and amend and recodify Regulation .06 to .03 under COMAR 08.02.26 Shellfish Recycling Tax Credit. The Department has proposed to rename the chapter Shell Recycling Grant Program to reflect the new nature of the program.
SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE AND WILD OYSTERS - Bulk Tagging
COMAR 08.02.04.04 and 08.02.23.04
After consultation with the Aquaculture Coordinating Council and Oyster Advisory Commission, the Department proposes allowing bulk tags for oysters under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.
SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE - Harvest Hours
The Department needs to establish harvest hours for shellfish aquaculture and is considering the following times:
- October through May - Sunrise to sunset. This is not a change to the times that were previously allowed.
- June and September - Sunrise to the end time specified in the Vibrio parahaemolyticus Control Plan (“V.p. Control Plan”), which is codified in Maryland Department of Health regulations at COMAR 10.15.07.06. The plan requires that harvest must end no later than 11:30 a.m. in June and 12:30 p.m. in September. This is not a change to the times that were previously allowed.
- July and August - 30 minutes before sunrise to the end time specified in the V.p. Control Plan. Previously, the time period allowed in July and August was sunrise to 10:30 a.m. This will allow an additional 30 minutes of harvest time compared to the times that were previously allowed.
SNAPPER GROUPER COMPLEX - Sheepshead Size Limit and Combined Catch Limit
COMAR 08.02.05.29
The Department has proposed implementing a 12 inch recreational minimum size for sheepshead. The Department has also proposed to establish a limit of no more than 10 fish of any one species listed in
Code of Maryland Regulations 08.02.05.29A(3). The overall combined catch limit of 20 total fish of the species listed in that regulation would remain the same.
STRIPED BASS - Atlantic Gill Netting
The Department was considering allowing commercial harvesters to use gill nets in the Atlantic Ocean to catch striped bass on Saturdays and Sundays from October 1 through April 30.
After gathering feedback during the public scoping period, the Department has decided to not move forward with this topic.
STRIPED BASS - Seasons, Gear, Fillets
COMAR 08.02.15.08., .09, .10, .12 and COMAR 08.02.25.03
The Department proposed:
- The elimination of the recreational and charter boat spring season (May 1—May 15) for striped bass, also known as the Trophy Season;
- The elimination of the recreational and charter boat early summer and fall season (May 16—May 31) in the Susquehanna Flats, Susquehanna River, and Northeast River.
- The prohibition of targeting striped bass in the areas which are being closed by this action;
- The extension of gear rules (trolling prohibition and use of certain sized J hooks) to the new time frames; and
- Requiring that no more than two fillets per legal fish are possessed on board a charter boat where striped bass have been filleted.
STRIPED BASS - Elimination of Commercial Chesapeake Bay Common Pool Fishery
COMAR 08.02.15.04, .05, and .07
The Department has proposed to eliminate the Chesapeake Bay Common Pool commercial striped bass fishery. Doing this will mean that all individuals participating in the commercial striped bass fishery in the Chesapeake Bay would then participate in the Individual Transferrable Quota fishery.
SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION - Housekeeping
COMAR 08.02.01.12
The Department has proposed revising the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Protection Zones in order to correct two minor mistakes which have resulted in the proper areas not being identified. In Worcester County, the wrong longitude was identified in the area near Snug Harbor and Sinepuxent Bay. In Calvert County, the longitude of one of the coordinates near Drum Point must be corrected.
TIDAL/NONTIDAL DIVIDING LINES
COMAR 08.02.01.09
The Department has established a tidal/nontidal dividing line in Swan Creek in Harford County. The line is at Old Post Road. Upstream of Old Post Road is designated as nontidal waters, while downstream is designated as tidal waters. Dividing lines delineate those areas in which nontidal fishing licenses or Chesapeake Bay and coastal sport fishing licenses are required and where tidal or nontidal fishing regulations apply.
YELLOW PERCH - Commercial Season
COMAR 08.02.21.03
The Department has proposed modifying the commercial yellow perch season in regulation to start a month earlier than the current regulation establishes.
