The purpose of this action is to implement a new administrative penalty system to deter violations of commercial fisheries laws pursuant to § 4-701(l) of the Natural Resources Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. Under current regulations, a tidal fish license (TFL) holder’s privilege to participate in a fishery generally may not be suspended unless the licensee has been convicted of at least three violations of state fisheries law on separate days in a two-year period. This system has not effectively deterred commercial fishing violations. In calendar year 2008, 1,670 of the 3,940 (45%) of TFL holders who actively fished their licenses received a citation for violating the law. Recognizing the deficiencies of this system, in 2009 the General Assembly enacted Chapter 453 of the Laws of Maryland, which directs the Department to create an administrative penalty system based upon a single conviction of state fisheries law, requires enhanced administrative penalties for TFL holders who repeatedly violate the law or who violate laws intended to protect aquatic species of special concern, such as blue crab, oysters, and striped bass.

This action will establish a tiered point system and penalties comparable to administrative systems in other states. Certain convictions of state fisheries law are classified as Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III offenses depending upon the gravity of the violation. A number of minor violations are not included in any tier and have no administrative penalty. Tier I violations are basic violations of state fisheries law. A conviction for a Tier I violation receives 5 points, but no immediate suspension. Tier II violations impact a fishery resource in need of special protection or demonstrate a disregard for the law. Tier II convictions receive 10 points and a suspension for up to 30 days. Tier III convictions are serious violations that significantly impact the fishery or demonstrate a willful intent to break the law. Tier III convictions receive 15 points and a suspension for up to 60 days. Licensees who accumulate points for multiple convictions in any two year period will be subject to longer suspensions and eventually revocation.

This action will also remove antiquated procedures for contested case hearings before suspension of a TFL and includes provisions for settling cases before proceeding to a hearing.

The Department developed the proposed regulations in consultation with the Penalty Workgroup, which consists of members of the Tidal Fish Advisory Committee (TFAC) and the Sport Fish Advisory Committee (SFAC) and the Office of the Attorney General at the Department of Natural Resources.

Click here to view proposed text.

The purpose of this action is to improve the timeliness of commercial fishing records that are submitted to the Department by establishing penalties for late submissions. The proposed regulations establish a consistent penalty framework for commercial watermen who have failed to submit monthly fishing reports within 50 days of the deadline on at least 2 occasions during any twelve month period. The proposed regulation will also allow the Department to deny an application for black sea bass, summer flounder, and horseshoe crab permits when a commercial fisherman has failed to submit previous permits by the deadline. The remaining provisions of this action clarify the required reports for certain species.

This action is necessary to ensure that the Department has a reliable stream of data to make important management decision. In the past many commercial watermen have waited until the end of the license year to submit their monthly fishing reports creating a huge backlog, which, in many cases, forces the Department to make management decisions with incomplete data. The suspension provisions in this regulation are consistent with Section 4-701(l)(3) of the Natural Resources Article, and will improve the flow of information submitted to the Department.

Click here to view proposed text.

The purpose of this action is to remove rules pertaining to commercial terrapin harvest from Regulation .02 under COMAR 08.02.06 Terrapin and Snapping Turtles to reflect changes in state law. In 2007 the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 532 prohibiting the take or possession of diamondback terrapin for commercial purposes in an effort to protect and conserve the species. The Bill does not prohibit the incidental catch of diamondback terrapin, provided they are returned immediately to the water, or the take and possession of three or fewer terrapin for noncommercial purposes.

The proposed action amends the terrapin regulations to reflect these legislative changes. The intent of the action is to prevent any confusion that might arise from inconsistencies between the regulations and the law.

Click here to view proposed text (08_02_06_02.pdf).

The purpose of this action is to substantially reduce latent fishermen effort in the commercial Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery so that they cannot enter the fishery so rapidly that the ability of Bay managers to constrain the harvest to the 46% target removal level is compromised. This course of action was a recommendation of the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report, authored by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC).

This proposal for 2010 again identifies licenses as inactive with the same criteria between 2004 and 2008. There are certain exemptions to being inactive such as military service, participation in the apprenticeship program, transferred licenses, and successful hardship appeals in 2008. As one mechanism to address the latent licenses, the Department initiated a license buy back program for LCCs in late summer 2009. There are approximately 700 inactive LCC licenses which have not been bought back by the Department. Inactive LCC holders will be able to participate in the buy back program until the funding is depleted. The proposal adjusts the license target number for LCCs based on the decrease due to the latent effort buy back program and due to additional licenses after issuance of apprenticeship permits and allows for additional adjustments with future buy backs.

The Department is proposing two additional options for LCC licenses that have been inactive during the years 2004-2008. The first option is for a licensee to declare the license frozen or inactive until the crab population reaches a target abundance level for three years. At this time, the Department will develop a process for re-entry of these LCC’s to the fishery. Therefore, these licenses will not be ‘taken away’ but temporarily frozen. These licenses can be permanently transferred or left to a beneficiary during the frozen period or after, but will remain inactive during the frozen period. The second option is for a licensee to declare the LCC license as a limited license. The limited license will allow the licensee to harvest only male crabs and will only allow the licensee to transfer the license to a family member or leave it to a beneficiary. A limited license will not revert back to a full license regardless of the abundance of the crab population.

Additionally, this regulatory proposal clarifies that female peeler crabs may be used by anglers finfishing in the Chesapeake Bay as long as they are not crabbing and have the bill of sale for those female peelers in their possession.

Click here to view proposed text (08.02.01.05 and 08.02.03).

The purpose of this action is to create an alternative method of measuring minimum legal size and a tolerance for undersized conch landed in Maryland. Currently, there is a minimum size of 6 inches. However, the handling of conch meeting the minimum size often leads to breakage of the tips of the shell resulting in possession of conch under the 6 inch minimum. The action would create a cull ring size, equivalent to the girth of a conch measuring 6 inches in length, so that a conch that will not fit through the ring would be legal for possession. The action creates a tolerance limit of 5 undersized conch per 100 conch to allow for the breakage of shell. The action also clarifies the species of conch listed as “in need of conservation.”

Click here to view proposed text (08.02.08.14).

The purpose of this action is to amend Regulation .21 under COMAR 08.02.05 Fish to change the way commercial black sea bass quotas are allocated. Currently, black sea bass quotas are allocated by gear type, with each type receiving a certain percentage of the total amount of black sea bass allocated annually to Maryland by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The proposed changes would instead allocate certain percentages of the total quota between the existing black sea bass landing permits. This would allow a permit holder to have a consistent percentage of the harvest from year to year, allowing for a more stable business plan while limiting the number of people in the fishery.

Click here to view proposed text (08.02.05.21).

The proposed action will require applicants for horseshoe crab landing permits to declare their intent to harvest by August 31 of each year. Applicants for summer flounder and black sea bass landing permits are already required to declare at this time. Establishing a uniform declaration period for these fisheries will simplify their administration.

The proposed action will also extend the period during which horseshoe crabs may only be harvested more than one mile off the Maryland Atlantic coast until July 12, and delay the opening of the fishery in all Maryland waters until July 13. These modifications to the season for harvesting horseshoe crabs have already been in effect by public notice for several years. Their purpose is to conserve female horseshoe crabs still spawning in the coastal bays earlier in the summer. Incorporating these modifications into the horseshoe crab regulation will remove the need for the Department to issue a public notice each year, and will avoid any confusion that might arise from the dates in the regulation and on the issued permit being different from those in the public notices.

Click here to view proposed text (Reg 08.02.10.01).

The proposed action would increase the length of gill net carried on commercial fishing vessels to 3500 yards per boat. The action also would also remove the gill net buoy shape requirements. The commercial hook and line season would be extended to start on June 7. A spring 2010 transfer period would be made available for pound net and hook and line fisheries. Regulatory language describing the types of gear authorized would be clarified to prevent a licensee from holding both a Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic striped bass permits during the same year.

Click here to view proposed regulations.