Governor Martin O'Malley announced the formation of Maryland's new Task Force on Fisheries Management established by the General Assembly in the 2007 legislative session. The 15-member task force is charged with advising the State on fisheries management, and held its first meeting on Tuesday, November 20 in Annapolis. The public is welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the Task Force.

The Fisheries Management Reform Act (Senate Bill 1012) enacted in April, directs the Task Force to develop new strategies to better manage Maryland's valuable fishery resources. Specifically, members of the Task Force will oversee a full review of current fishery management processes and develop recommendations for methods to improve, modernize, and streamline fishery management. The Task Force will look in depth at a range of fisheries conservation challenges, management issues, and a variety of science concerns, including stock assessment capabilities and limitations, ecosystem based interactions, and socioeconomic considerations associated with Maryland's fisheries.

"We view this as an important opportunity to improve the effectiveness of our fisheries management efforts," said John R. Griffin, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The Task Force will make recommendations to improve fisheries management in Maryland for the 2009 and 2010 General Assembly Legislative Sessions.