Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Applications

Below are the pending commercial shellfish lease applications received by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources since January 1, 2018, and determined to be complete. Incomplete applications are not listed. Designation of an application as complete does not mean that the proposed lease location meets all of the criteria for lease approval, and proposed lease locations are subject to change throughout the review process. The status of each application will be updated as it progresses through the review process. Please refer to the legend below the list for an explanation of what each status description means.

LAST UPDATE: 5/27/2025

AppID	Name	Waterbody	County	Acres	Status	Received	Lease	Gear	Map?
613	Craft , Brandon W	Rhode River	Anne Arundel	1.0	Application Complete	1/22/2025	SLL
611	Welch , Eric F	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	1.5	Application Complete	8/21/2024	SLL
610	Loveless , Donald	Honga River	Dorchester	32.4	Application Complete	8/19/2024	SLL
609	Loveless , Donald	Honga River	Dorchester	24.2	Application Complete	8/16/2024	SLL
608	Townsend Sr., Steven M	Wicomico River	Somerset	1.0	Application Complete	8/1/2024	SLL
607	Gambrill , Derrick A	Wicomico River	Wicomico	76.5	Application Complete	7/8/2024	SLL
606	Gambrill , Derrick A	Wicomico River	Wicomico	32.1	Application Complete	7/8/2024	SLL
605	Hayden, Ellis M	St. Clements Bay	St. Mary's	54.0	Phase I Review	6/13/2024	SLL		Y
604	Gambrill , Derrick A	Wicomico River	Wicomico	14.4	Application Complete	6/6/2024	SLL		Y
603	Gambrill , Derrick A	Wicomico River	Wicomico	3.2	Application Complete	6/6/2024	SLL		Y
602	Salty Dog Oyster Company LLC	Tred Avon River	Talbot	3.0	Phase I Review	5/7/2024	SLL		Y
599	Hayden, Ellis M	Wicomico River	St. Mary's	28.0	Phase I Review	3/5/2024	SLL		Y
598	Farrington, Jon David	Wells Cove	Calvert	0.1	Phase I Review	2/5/2024	WC	Cages	Y
597	Worrell , Daniel N.	Brockanorton Bay	Worcester	5.9	Phase II Review	1/21/2024	WC	Cages & Floats	Y
595	Beauchamp , Lee R	Chincoteague Bay	Worcester	1.1	Phase II Review	10/19/2023	WC	Cages & Floats	Y
594	Morris Jr, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	6.0	Phase I Review	10/15/2023	SLL		Y
590	Hollywood Oyster Company, LLC	Patuxent River	St. Mary's	10.9	Phase II Review	7/25/2023	WC	Cages	Y
588	Tibbs , Devin L	Fishing Bay	Dorchester	15.2	Phase II Review	7/12/2023	SLL		Y
587	Robinson Sr, Timothy M	Fishing Bay	Dorchester	36.6	Phase II Review	6/27/2023	SLL	Cages	Y
586	Lancashire Farms, Inc.	Harris Creek	Talbot	4.1	Lease Issued	6/21/2023	WC	Cages & Floats	PN
584	Beauchamp , Lee R	Chincoteague Bay	Worcester	2.4	Withdrawn	3/28/2023	WC	Bags	Y
583	Miles River Oysters LP	Miles River	Talbot	25.1	Withdrawn	2/6/2023	WC	Cages
582	Duffy , Marc R.	Miles River	Talbot	2.1	Hydrographic Survey	1/26/2023	SLL		Y
581	Duffy , Marc R.	Miles River	Talbot	2.7	Hydrographic Survey	1/26/2023	SLL		Y
580	Baunhofer , Jess R	Parker Bay	Worcester	1.9	Lease Issued	12/19/2022	WC	Cages & Floats	PN
577	Miles River Oysters LP	Miles River	Talbot	25.1	Phase II Review	11/21/2022	WC	Cages & Floats	Y
576	Parran, Lisa	Hellen Creek	Calvert	7.5	Phase II Review	10/4/2022	SLL		Y
574	Horseman , James A	Farm Creek	Dorchester	0.2	Application Complete	8/3/2022	SLL
573	Hayden, Jr., Joseph C.	Tar Bay	Dorchester	38.0	Public Notice	6/24/2022	SLL		PN
572	Zeinog , Ryan	Little Choptank River	Dorchester	31.3	Hydrographic Survey	6/21/2022	SLL		Y
571	Morris III, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	1.8	Public Notice	6/20/2022	SLL		PN
570	Morris III, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	4.5	Public Notice	6/20/2022	SLL		PN
569	Abbott Jr, Wylie M	Fishing Bay	Dorchester	111.0	Public Notice	5/20/2022	WC	Cages	PN
568	Phillips, Mark C.	Tar Bay	Dorchester	34.3	Lease Issued	5/11/2022	SLL		PN
567	Horseman, James A.	Farm Creek	Dorchester	8.1	Lease Issued	5/5/2022	SLL		PN
566	Abbott, Jason A.	Monie Bay	Somerset	7.1	Hydrographic Survey	5/3/2022	SLL		Y
565	Horseman, Mary L	Madison Bay	Dorchester	70.4	Public Notice	4/8/2022	SLL		PN
564	Green Pearl, LLC	Harris Creek	Talbot	4.2	Public Notice	2/22/2022	SLL		PN
563	Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Inc.	Choptank River	Dorchester	27.1	PIM Request/Protest	11/29/2021	SLL		PN
562	Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Inc.	Little Choptank River	Dorchester	40.0	Phase I Review	11/29/2021	SLL		Y
561	Horseman, John	Madison Bay	Dorchester	36.5	Public Notice	11/1/2021	SLL		PN
560	Price, Joshua	Chester River	Queen Anne's	5.7	Lease Issued	10/28/2021	WC	Cages	PN
559	Abey, Angela	Choptank River	Dorchester	12.1	Pending Issuance	10/21/2021	SLL		PN
558	St. Michaels Oyster Company, LLC	Harris Creek	Talbot	3.8	Phase II Review	10/21/2021	WC	Floats	Y
557	Solar Oysters, LLC	Chesapeake Bay	Calvert	7.5	Phase II Review	8/16/2021	WC	Floats	Y
556	Solar Oysters, LLC	Chesapeake Bay	Calvert	7.3	Phase II Review	8/16/2021	WC	Floats	Y
555	Abey, Ann	Choptank River	Dorchester	2.9	Pending Issuance	8/10/2021	SLL		PN
554	Wisner, Eric	Tangier Sound	Dorchester	55.2	Lease Issued	7/15/2021	SLL		PN
553	Wilson , Coby R	Harris Creek	Talbot	5.7	Public Notice	6/28/2021	SLL		PN
552	St. Jeromes Crossroads, LLC	Chesapeake Bay	St. Mary's	13.3	Lease Issued	4/9/2021	WC	Cages and Floats	PN
548	Morris III, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	5.5	Terminated	8/9/2020	SLL		Y
547	Morris Jr, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	6.6	Terminated	8/9/2020	SLL		Y
546	Beauchamp, Lee R	Chincoteague Bay	Worcester	38.3	Lease Issued	7/28/2020	WC	Floats	PN
545	Kilinski , Francis W	Wicomico River	Charles	9.5	Lease Issued	7/2/2020	SLL		PN
544	Fowler, Mathew	Wicomico River	Charles	22.3	Lease Issued	7/2/2020	SLL		PN
543	Nock, Gordon J	Wicomico River	Somerset	28.0	Lease Issued	6/12/2020	SLL		PN
542	Waller Jr, Harvey Hanks	Fishing Bay	Dorchester	14.7	Lease Issued	5/22/2020	SLL		PN
541	Alksne, Cynthia	St. George Creek	St. Mary's	0.1	Lease Issued	5/4/2020	SLL		PN
540	Thomas, Jr., Raymond	Eastern Bay	Queen Anne's	21.1	PIM Request/Protest	4/16/2020	SLL		PN
539	Brown, Jr., John F.	Dukehart Channel	St. Mary's	103.2	Withdrawn	4/13/2020	SLL		Y
538	Lumpkins , Robert Lance	Calvert Bay	St. Mary's	19.0	Terminated	4/12/2020	SLL		Y
537	Lumpkins , Robert Lance	Carthagena Creek	St. Mary's	8.0	Pending Issuance	4/13/2020	SLL		PN
536	Bowen, Jr., William R.	Cummings Creek	Talbot	2.1	Terminated	3/3/2020	SLL		Y
535	Coleman, Charles	Johnson Bay	Worcester	5.1	Hydrographic Survey	2/28/2020	WC	Floats and Bags	Y
534	Wierzbicki, Michael C.	Chesapeake Bay	Anne Arundel	0.8	Lease Issued	2/12/2020	SLL		PN
533	Dean, Rachel A.	Patuxent River	Calvert	2.7	PIM Request/Protest	12/4/2019	WC	Cages	PN
532	Baker, Michael S.	Choptank River	Dorchester	14.9	Withdrawn	11/13/2019	SLL		Y
531	Barnette, John T.	Wicomico River	Somerset	4.8	Lease Issued	11/8/2019	SLL		PN
530	PJH Oyster Leases, LLC	Monie Bay	Somerset	9.5	Lease Issued	10/18/2019	SLL		PN
527	Henderson, Jr., William F.	Trippe Creek	Talbot	8.4	Lease Issued	9/19/2019	SLL		PN
526	Powley, Larry R.	Tar Bay	Dorchester	39.8	Lease Issued	9/11/2019	SLL		PN
525	Morgan, Todd B.	Patuxent River	St. Mary's	2.8	Lease Issued	9/5/2019	SLL		PN
524	Lewis, Jr., Bradford R.	Crab Alley Bay	Queen Anne's	1.6	Public Notice	9/5/2019	SLL		PN
523	Abner, Robert F.	Chesapeake Bay	Calvert	27.3	Lease Issued	9/30/2019	SLL		PN
522	Insley, Paula F.	Nanticoke River	Dorchester	7.7	Terminated	8/22/2019	SLL		Y
521	Gosnell, Wyatt D.	Choptank River	Dorchester	51.2	Terminated	8/12/2019	SLL		Y
520	Wallace, Elizabeth	Leadenham Creek	Talbot	15.3	Application Complete	7/29/2019	WC	Cages
519	Gombos, Jeffrey	Choptank River	Talbot	13.2	Withdrawn	7/25/2019	SLL		PN
518	Wilford, Jason	Choptank River	Dorchester	5.0	Lease Issued	6/4/2019	WC	Floats	PN
517	Poulos , Matthew	Chesapeake Bay	Calvert	12.3	PIM Request/Protest	5/31/2019	WC	Cages	PN
516	Morris III, John B.	Smith Creek	St. Mary's	3.5	Pending Issuance	5/29/2019	SLL		PN
515	Rudner , Lawrence	Harris Creek	Talbot	1.8	Lease Issued	5/28/2019	WC	Cages & Floats	PN
514	Green Pearl, LLC	Goldsborough Creek	Talbot	9.4	Lease Issued	5/16/2019	SLL		PN
513	PJH Oyster Leases, LLC	Nanticoke River	Wicomico	30.1	Lease Issued	5/3/2019	SLL		PN
511	Eubanks , William E	South River	Anne Arundel	0.5	Lease Issued	4/22/2019	SLL		PN
510	Rudner , Lawrence	Harris Creek	Talbot	1.6	Lease Issued	4/16/2019	WC	Cages & Floats	PN
509	Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Inc.	Patuxent River	St. Mary's	34.3	Lease Issued	4/11/2019	SLL		PN
508	Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Inc.	Patuxent River	St. Mary's	22.9	Lease Issued	4/11/2019	SLL		PN
507	Boyd , Jennifer H	Wicomico River	St. Mary's	12.5	Lease Issued	4/3/2019	SLL		PN
506	Dize, Roger L	Manokin River	Somerset	6.2	Lease Issued	4/1/2019	SLL		PN
505	Dize, Roger L	Manokin River	Somerset	10.1	Lease Issued	4/1/2019	SLL		PN
504	Dize, Roger L	Manokin River	Somerset	4.8	Lease Issued	4/1/2019	SLL		PN
503	Cretsinger , Aaron J	St. George Creek	St. Mary's	18.9	Lease Issued	3/22/2019	SLL		PN
501	Kellam III, Paul	Calvert Bay	St. Mary's	29.8	PIM Request/Protest	3/22/2019	SLL		PN
500	Gowe , Bobby L	Harris Creek	Talbot	9.0	Terminated	3/18/2019	SLL		PN
499	Maryland Seafood Cooperative, Inc.	Chesapeake Bay	St. Mary's	41.6	On Hold	3/13/2019	SLL		Y
498	Hargrove, John N	Harris Creek	Talbot	4.9	Lease Issued	3/12/2019	SLL		PN
497	Williams, Brian C	Tred Avon River	Talbot	14.6	Lease Issued	3/4/2019	SLL		PN
496	Williams, Brian C	Tred Avon River	Talbot	10.7	Lease Issued	2/25/2019	SLL		PN

1 - 99

The "Lease" column above refers to Lease Type.

SLL = submerged land lease
WC = water column lease

Application Status Legend

Application Complete (App. Complete) - The department has received a Joint Application for State Commercial Shellfish Aquaculture Lease and Corps of Engineers Federal Permit and determined that it included the required components and application fee necessary to proceed with review.
Phase I Review - The department has initiated its internal review to evaluate the proposed lease site for compliance with statutory and regulatory criteria for leasing.
Phase II Review - The proposed lease site is evaluated using Geographic Information System (GIS) software for proximity to and compatibility with ecological and cultural resource areas of concern, and comments on the application are compiled from other state and federal regulatory agencies.
Hydrographic Survey - The proposed lease site is surveyed by the department's hydrographic engineer to obtain the legal coordinates and acreage that will be mapped and advertised. Temporary corner markers are placed on the proposed site at this time.
Public Notice - The department advertises a notice of the application in a newspaper circulated within the county in which the proposed site is located. The notice appears in the paper once a week for two consecutive weeks, followed by a 30-day public comment period. The notice is also available to view on the department's Public Notice web page.
PIM Request/Protest - The department received a request for a Public Information Meeting and/or a Petition of Protest during the public comment period. An application will remain in this status until a meeting request has been fulfilled, if necessary, and while the department works with all parties toward resolution of any outstanding protests. This may include adjudication of the protest through the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings.
Pending Issuance - The department has concluded its application review and determined, based on the results of the review and/or an administrative hearing, that a shellfish lease may be issued.
Lease Issued – A shellfish lease was issued by the department.

If you would like to receive alerts when the department updates this aquaculture application tracking tool, please sign up to receive emails from the department. Interested parties may receive emails by submitting their email address and selecting the Subscription Topic titled "Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Applications".

For more information about this list or the Aquaculture and Industry Enhancement Division, please contact Sam Pellegrini, phone 410-260-8648, email samantha.pellegrini@maryland.gov