Changes to Fishing Regulations

1. Atlantic Ocean, Its Coastal Bays and Their Tributaries
   The department needs to implement a requirement to use circle hooks in the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal bays and their tidal tributaries while recreationally fishing for striped bass using bait.
1. a) If you are targeting striped bass and using bait, you must use a non-offset circle hook.
2. This is a new requirement and would be in effect year round.
2. Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries
   The department has already implemented circle hook requirements for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, however the language of that regulation may need to be modified. Currently, the rules have specific conditions and only apply during certain times of the year.
   If changed, you must use a non-offset circle hook year-round if you are:
1. Live-lining;
2. Chumming; or
3. Using bait while targeting striped bass.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form - Circle Hook Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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The department needs to modify commercial fishing license authorization targets. The proposed action makes modifications to the authorization targets to reflect the number of tidal fish license conversions.

• View Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed-Effective 1/27/20

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The department would like to designate Cushwa Hatchery as a Fishery Management Propagation Area. All state hatcheries are designated as Fishery Management Propagation Areas. The property that contains Cushwa Hatchery was recently acquired by the department and will be managed by Fishing and Boating Services. The facility needs to attain the same designation as all other state-owned hatcheries.

• View the Summary
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — FMA Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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The department would like to make it clear that a person may not add structures or modify land or vegetation in or on the waters of any fishery management area.

• Please Note: This topic was originally included with the information for nontidal waters. The proposals are being developed separately.
• View the Summary

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The department needs to update the regulation for a limited fishing guide (Type L) to incorporate the changes made during the 2020 legislative session. Legislation changed the method of propulsion for a boat or vessel under the guidance of a limited fishing guide (Type L) from oars and paddles to human power. Currently, the regulation only allows the vessels to be propelled by oars or paddles. The regulation will be updated.

• View the Summary
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — Fishing Guide Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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The department needs to correct the regulatory coordinates for the Chicamuxen Creek fish refuge.

• View the Summary

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The purpose of this action is to require individuals to remove fyke net poles from the water within 30 days after removing the net. Fyke nets are very similar to pound nets and the department would like to standardize the rules across similar gear types. When using a pound net, which is a similar but larger type of net, poles must be removed from the water within 30 days of removing the net. Rules for fyke nets are located in various locations of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). The proposed action moves all fyke net regulations into a new regulation in the gear chapter of COMAR so that fyke net rules are in one location.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide - Updated 3/25/2020
  
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective March 23, 2020

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The purpose of this action is to allow the use of monofilament gill nets in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. This action is based on the passage of Senate Bill 7 (Chapter 80 of the 2019 Laws of Maryland).

Monofilament gill nets will be allowed under the same restrictions currently in place for gill nets made of other materials such as multi-strand or multifilament fibers.

• Adopted as Proposed - Effective 11/18/2019

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The purpose of this action is to remove the requirement to print the trip limits on horseshoe crab permits. Currently, regulation requires the daily catch limit to be printed on the horseshoe crab landing permit. The Department has concluded that this requirement is no longer necessary for management or enforcement. Harvesters will still be required to have their permit in possession, but after this change, they will only receive one permit per season. This change will allow the Department to do in-season changes to manage the quota without reissuing a permit each time. It will also reduce confusion and expenses when managing the fishery to maximize the available quota.

• View the Summary
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective 3/9/2020

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The purpose of this action is to allow guides fishing in the tidal waters of Maryland who are licensed in accordance with Natural Resources Article, §§4-210 and 4-210.1, Annotated Code of Maryland to buy the charter boat license decal. This is based on 2019 legislation (HB349). Effective October 1, 2019, statute allows the charter boat license to be available to additional licensed fishing guides. The additional guides include a guide who provides fishing guide services in tidal waters of Maryland (Type L - limited fishing guide license) and a guide who provides fishing guide services in designated tidal waters of Maryland (Type NTT – freshwater fishing guide license). Guides that are licensed in accordance with Natural Resources Article, §§4-210, 4-210.1, and 4-701, Annotated Code of Maryland may purchase the license decal. The proposed action amends the wording of the regulation to include the other types of guides so that they may benefit from the legislation (HB349). Also, the duplicative registration requirement is removed, the requirement that decals be serialized is removed, as the decals have not been serialized for several years, and the requirement that decals are issued for a specific vessel and must be attached to that vessel is clarified.

• View the Summary
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective March 23, 2020

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The purpose of this action is to remove the requirement that an individual submit an application for an out-of-state finfish supplier permit at least 45 days in advance of needing the permit. A person will still have to complete an application prior to supplying finfish to someone in Maryland, but the proposed action removes the specific timeframe. Due to the implementation of an electronic application process, the requirement is no longer necessary. Department staff are now able to issue a permit within days after receiving an application, provided that all the required supporting documentation is supplied with the application. This change will simplify the process for out-of-state suppliers and Maryland constituents that have submitted pond stocking permit requests and will provide flexibility for new suppliers to quickly enter the market.

• View the Summary
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective 3/9/2020

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The department proposed a regulation to revise the patent tong line in the Patuxent River. Specifically, the proposed action adds approximately 8 acres to the existing patent tong area. The Department received a request to change the patent tong line in the lower third of the Patuxent River to include a small area of oyster bottom. The area being added is currently open to harvest by hand tong and by diving. After evaluation, the Department concluded to proceed with the request because other gears are allowed in the area and patent tonging occurs broadly over the entire surrounding area. The boundaries of Neal Addition Sanctuary, surrounded by the patent tong area, are not changing.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide and Map— Updated July 31, 2020
• View the Proposal
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — Patent Tong Line
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 31, 2020.

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The purpose of this action is to incorporate by reference Public Shellfish Fishery Areas of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries (November 2019). This document designates each public shellfish fishery area (PSFA) located in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The proposed action: 1) makes a correction to PSFA 119; and 2) declassifies portions of four PSFAs (PSFA 134, 136, 140, and 156) to allow for shellfish aquaculture. The Department’s resource surveys of the areas indicate that all of the areas meet the minimum criteria for declassification, are therefore no longer viable for the commercial fishery, and may be declassified. Since a lease is not allowed to be located within 150 feet of a PSFA, each declassification includes the proposed lease area and the required 150 foot buffer around the proposed lease. The buffers will remain open to oyster harvest following declassification. Once the areas are declassified, the department will issue shellfish aquaculture leases to the applicants.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide​ - Updated 3/25/2020
  
• View the Proposal
• Public Shellfish Fishery Areas of the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective March 23, 2020

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The purpose of this action is to update the commercial, recreational, charter, and seafood dealer license suspension and revocation schedules. This update will better deter potential violators from committing illegal acts, protect the State’s fisheries resources, and update certain references to statute and regulation. Prior to considering changes or updates to the penalty regulations under COMAR 08.02.13, the department consults with the Joint Penalty Workgroup of the Tidal and Sport Fisheries Advisory Commissions.

• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective March 23, 2020

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The purpose of this action is to update requirements for scup. Specifically, the proposed action updates:

1. The thresholds that require a certain mesh size in a trawl. This change will keep Maryland in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan and consistent with federal waters.
2. The format for public notices issued to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Fishery Management Plan for Scup. This change makes scup consistent with other species managed by a fishery management plan.

• View the Summary
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective July 16, 2020

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The department is considering removing the cap on the amount of striped bass shares that can be permanently transferred within a single year by a permittee registered in a Chesapeake Bay commercial striped bass fishery. Removing the annual transfer cap would allow a permit holder to sell or buy up to that maximum amount in one transaction, rather than having to break it up in multiple transactions over multiple years.

The cap on how much of the total fishery can be owned still exists so that no one person can own more than 1% of the Chesapeake Bay fishery.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — Striped Bass Transfer Cap Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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Changes for the ITQ fishery were scoped from June 15 through June 30, 2020. The striped bass industry workgroup requested that additional changes be made for the hook and line fishery.

The department is considering the following for the commercial striped bass Chesapeake Bay Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) hook and line fishery:

1. Remove the prohibition for fishing on Friday. Currently, permittees are prohibited from fishing with hook and line on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
2. Extend the fishing hours to one hour after sunset. Currently, permittees must quit fishing by sunset.

No additional harvest will be permitted. These changes do not increase a permittee’s harvest, they allow permittees to have additional choices for harvest and will allow them to time their fishing activity to meet market demands. These changes are consistent with the Chesapeake Bay ITQ fishery priorities by providing greater business flexibility without increasing harvest.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — Striped Bass ITQ Hook & Line Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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The purpose of this action is to implement Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The proposed action amends the catch limit, size limit, and season to reduce total removals of striped bass during the recreational and charter boat summer and fall fishery in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide - Updated 5/8/2020
• ASMFC Addendum VI to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Striped Bass
• View the Proposal
• Public Hearing — A public hearing was held via webinar on May 11, 2020.
• View the public hearing agenda.
• View the Presentation for the public hearing
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective July 16, 2020

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The purpose of this action is to:

1. Put the rules (hook requirements, sizes, and seasons) for the recreational fishery that were in place only for 2018 and 2019 into place for future years.
2. Change the start of the recreational and charter boat spring season (trophy season) to May 1.
3. Prohibit catch and release or targeting striped bass from April 1 through April 30.

• View the Summary and Compliance Guide - Updated 2/28/2020
• View the Proposal
• Adopted with Non-Substantive Changes — Effective 3/9/2020

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The proposed action makes revisions to the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Protection Zones.  Zones are being revised using data from aerial surveys compiled by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS). This action adds 16,872 acres of protection zones and removes 2,787 acres, for a total increase of 14,085 acres.

• View the Summary, Compliance Guide - Updated June 15,2020
• Adopted with Nonsubstantive Changes — Effective June 15, 2020
• SAV Protection Zones — COMAR 08.02.01.12

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What is being considered?
The department needs to make corrections in certain submerged aquatic vegetation protection zones. Amendments to the zones became effective June 2020. Maps of the areas are being created so that you can have a visual description of each area rather than just the coordinates. During the mapping process, errors or points needing clarification were found within the text. Please view the summary for details.

• View the Summary
• Submit your comments by completing this Comment Form — SAV Scoping
• Submit comments no later than 11:59 pm August 12, 2020.

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The purpose of this action is to implement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Tautog. Specifically the proposed action (1) modifies the season and catch limits for the commercial and recreational fishery; (2) reorganizes the regulation for clarity by creating a commercial section which includes requirements that only apply to commercial harvesters; (3) updates the degradable materials required for pots and traps to better describe the language in the management plan; (4) establishes new regulations to implement a commercial tagging program; and (5) updates the public notice requirements for consistency with other species managed in accordance with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission guidelines.

• View the Summary
• View the Proposal
• Adopted as Proposed — Effective July 16, 2020

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