Chesapeake Bay News

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is ending the Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) commercial license buyback program after retiring nearly 700 LCC licenses in about a year and a half. DNR is no longer offering to purchase LCC licenses as of March 11, 2011.

The program reduced the number of commercial crabbing licenses in order to ensure effective management of a sustainable blue crab fishery. Last year, DNR’s winter dredge survey showed a dramatic 60 percent increase in Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population.

DNR bought back LCC licenses for $2,360 beginning in August 2009. Funding for the program came from a Federal Blue Crab Fishery Disaster Grant. The funds were issued by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

Any LCC license holder wishing to sell their license to the state may do so at any DNR Licensing Center until 4:30 p.m. on March 11. No paperwork claiming to accept DNR’s offer to buy an LCC license will be valid after this time.

source: MD DNR

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will reopen the February striped bass gill net fishery on Friday, February 25, and Monday, February 28; all normal harvest restrictions will remain in effect. An estimated 200,000 pounds of the State’s February quota remains to be harvested.

The fishery has been closed since February 4, after 10 tons of illegally captured rockfish were confiscated from the Chesapeake Bay south of Kent Island. In all, 12.5 tons of illegally captured rockfish have been found by Natural Resources Police in February.

Maryland’s commercial striped bass fishery is managed on a quota system, in cooperation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission; commercial and recreational restrictions are used to keep the harvest at or below a target fishing mortality rate.  Maryland’s commercial gill net quota for February is 354,318 pounds; the State’s annual commercial quota is 2 million pounds.

“During these two days, Natural Resources Police operations will be stepped up significantly through increased patrols, additional staff at check stations, and the use of our new electronic monitoring capabilities,” said Col. George Johnson, Natural Resources Police Superintendent.

On February 1, Natural Resources Police confiscated the first of four illegally anchored gill nets with more than 20,000 pounds of striped bass near Bloody Point Light, south of Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay, forcing the immediate closure of the fishery. On February 11, NRP located additional illegally anchored gill nets containing 3,879 pounds of rockfish – nets officers believe were set after the shut down of the fishery on February 4.  Legal sized fish were sold to wholesalers and under and over-sized fish were donated to help feed citizens in need.

Maryland’s DNR is now offering a $30,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the striped bass poaching activities uncovered on January 31-February 1. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Savers, Maryland Charter Boat Association, Maryland Coastal Conservation Association, Maryland Saltwater Sportfisherman’s Association Maryland Watermen’s Association, and private citizens have all contributed toward the reward.

source: MD DNR

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service will launch a commercial shellfish tagging program in August 2011 to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) national public safety requirements. DNR will host three open houses in November to discuss the elements of the program and to solicit ideas from watermen and aquaculturists about the development and implementation of this important program.

Tagging shellfish will allow public health officials to trace back to a source if an illness is caused by eating shellfish. A shellfish harvesting area can be checked for water quality and other potential health concerns. DNR, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Maryland Department of the Environment may then take action to reduce the public risk. The tagging system will also enhance DNR’s ability to monitor the harvest and manage a sustainable fishery.

The proposed plan will require watermen to tag each bushel of shellfish in a standardized container. The tag will allow public safety officials to determine precisely where, when and by whom the shellfish were harvested.

The FDA has an informative slide show on the National Shellfish Sanitation Program online at www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm180442.htm.

Additionally, two of the open houses will include representatives from the Maryland Oyster Aquaculture Financing Program to discuss the elements and requirements for participating in an exciting new opportunity. As part of Governor Martin O’Malley’s Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Program, $2.2 million in subsidized loans are immediately being made available for aquaculture projects. Representatives of the program will be on hand at the Annapolis (November and Princess Anne (November 22) open houses to answer general questions and to schedule appointments with interested parties to begin the business planning and application processes.

Those seeking subsidized financing for shellfish production must hold a DNR shellfish aquaculture lease or must have applied for a shellfish aquaculture lease by 5 p.m. on Monday, November 15, 2010.

Information on the Aquaculture Financing Program is available from the Maryland Department of Agriculture at (410) 841-5724 and online at www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/oysters/industry/funding.asp.

Shellfish Tagging Open House Schedule:
November 8 from 4 to 8 p.m., C-1 Conference Room, Tawes Building, 580 Taylor Ave., Annapolis
November 22 from 3 to 7 p.m., Somerset County Library, 11767 Beechwood St., Princess Anne
November 30 from 4 to 8 p.m., Queen Anne’s County Library, 121 S. Commerce St., Centreville

source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources press release

The newly-renovated Watermen’s Boat Basin at Kent Narrows was dedicated at a ceremony on October 26 in Queen Anne’s County. Local watermen unveiled a plaque presented by the 2010 Board of Queen Anne’s County Commissioners, which reads, “The Queen Anne’s County Watermen’s Boat Basin at Kent Narrows will forever preserve our local commercial fishing heritage and provide for the continued viability of an irreplaceable fleet for future generations.”

The year-long reconstruction project includes a new bulkhead, new finger piers and new electrical work, as well as new mooring piles and sheeting. The project is funded by Queen Anne’s County and Waterway Improvement Fund grants through DNR. The facility is used by both commercial watermen and recreational boaters.

source: MD DNR

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has issued a reminder to Marylanders that new sanctuaries are in effect for this year’s oyster season, which begins October 1. According the agency, Natural Resources Police (NRP) officers will be out on the water, patrolling sanctuaries and stepping up enforcement.

The Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development plan increases Maryland’s network of oyster sanctuaries from 9 percent to 24 percent of remaining quality habitat; increases areas open to leasing for oyster aquaculture and streamlines the permitting process; and maintains 76 percent of the Bay’s remaining quality oyster habitat for a more targeted, sustainable, and scientifically managed public oyster fishery.

In addition to any points assigned to the license, conviction of harvesting oysters from a leased area, an oyster sanctuary, oyster reserve, or area closed for public health will result in suspension of a person’s tidal fish license or authorization for up to 365 days during the oyster harvest season.

To mitigate short-term economic impacts to the industry, DNR is developing watermen work programs to facilitate restoration efforts. Funding for these efforts comes from $15 million of federal blue crab fishery disaster money and state capital funds. Watermen assisted DNR in rehabilitating oyster bar habitat and retrieving ghost (abandoned) crab pots this past winter. Additional oyster bar rehabilitation work will be available for watermen this winter.

source: MD DNR

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds watermen and license holders that the August 31 deadline to submit a bid for the commercial Limited Crab Catcher (LCC) License Buy-Back Program is fast approaching. This voluntary program is in keeping with DNR’s effort to effectively manage Maryland’s blue crab population. Crabbers may receive $2,260 per license, and DNR’s goal is to permanently buy back 2,000 of the latent and active 3,676 LCC licenses.

DNR implemented the buy-back program in response to public feedback. Support for the program came from $15 million in Federal Crab Disaster Funds obtained through the efforts of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and the Maryland Delegation to help watermen and to foster restoration solutions for the crabbing industry in Maryland.

Since July 2009, 650 crabbers have sold their licenses back to the state. DNR will continue to buy LCC licenses until the funds earmarked for this purpose run dry or are needed for other crab disaster projects.

Inactive licenses are those with no reported harvest between April 1, 2004 and December 15, 2008. In February 2010, a regulation went into effect requiring inactive license holders to declare their LCC to be male-only or frozen. The purpose of that regulation was to prevent inactive licenses from placing additional harvest pressure on female crabs. This regulatory action clarifies which individuals with a male-only or frozen LCC license can upgrade to an unlimited Tidal Fish License (TFL).

DNR has determined that upgrades by these individuals will not compromise the management objective. Only those individuals who met the requirements by April 6, 2010 are allowed to use a male-only or frozen LCC license to upgrade to a TFL beginning in the 2011 renewal period.

Renewal of LCC licenses must be made by March 2011 or they will automatically revert back to the State at no charge. The penalty for a late renewal is $50, but an LCC license does not need to be renewed in order to sell it back to the state.

Through the various fisheries programs put into place since 2008, the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population has increased by 60 percent, a substantial rise for the second straight year. Results of the most recent winter dredge survey place the crab population it at its highest level since 1997. The survey indicates that the O’Malley administration’s management measures, along with an historic collaboration with Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, are continuing to pay dividends.

For more information call the DNR Crab Hotline—(800) 893-2722 or visit a DNR Service Center to sell your LCC License back to the State.

source: DNR press release

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced the elimination of its 9-day female blue-crab harvest closure period that runs from Sept 26-Oct 4 for the 2010 season. The regulation change comes in response to a 60 percent increase in Chesapeake Bay blue crab population estimates.

This short closure to female harvest was implemented in 2009, along with season-long daily catch limits and other closed periods to ensure appropriate harvest levels of female crabs. The elimination of this short fall closure will provide for increased commercial harvest opportunity in the face of the 60 percent increase in crab abundance.

Daily catch limits and the June closure will remain in place, and the fishery will close to female harvest on November 10, as scheduled. The opening of the fall closure in 2010 will not guarantee that these 9 days will remain open in the future.

According to regulators, the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population has increased substantially for the second straight year, with the results of the most recent winter dredge survey placing it at its highest level since 1997.

Maryland’s commercial crab harvest is controlled through daily catch limits and closed periods throughout the season. DNR has authority to alter both daily catch limits and closures by public notice, allowing the Department to quickly flex regulations each year to ensure that crab harvest remains proportional to crab abundance.

In Virginia the allowable period for the harvest of female dark sponge crabs is being extended by 14 days.

source: MD DNR press release

The 2010 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report, while noting that blue crabs appear to be making a comeback in the Chesapeake, recommends that the jurisdictions that manage the fishery keep conservation measures in place.

In early 2010, surveys estimate roughly 315 million harvestable (adult crabs 1+ years old) within the Chesapeake, an impressive 41 percent increase from 2009 numbers. The blue crab population rebuilding goal (200 million harvestable crabs) set by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) has been surpassed for two years in a row, but two years is not enough time to know if these numbers can be maintained over the long term.

“The 2010 numbers show continuation of a positive sign that crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay are rebounding,” said Peyton Robertson, director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. “Living resource managers in the bay have made a commitment to working together and to using the best science available to manage blue crab stocks in the bay, and their efforts are paying off.”

Crab populations in the Bay hovered near historic lows for much of the last decade due to over exploitation, pollution, and reduced habitat. But this iconic crustacean is making a comeback—thanks in part to coordinated management efforts across bay jurisdictions in 2008 to reduce female harvest. However, the report notes that conservation measures need to continue to be maintained over time for their full effects to be studied.

The Blue Crab Advisory Report, developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee and reviewed by the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team, is based primarily on data collected in the 2009-10 bay-wide winter dredge survey, the most comprehensive and statistically robust annual blue crab survey conducted in the bay. The data shows:

* Harvestable blue crabs, those over the age of one year, increased by 41 percent from the 2009 estimate to 315 million. This was primarily due to an increase in abundance of spawning-age females. Since the winter dredge survey began in 1990, the average blue crab population in the bay has been 192 million.

* Bay-wide, numbers of juvenile crabs entering the population doubled from last year’s estimated 179 million juvenile crabs to 345 million. The long-term average is 260 million.

* An estimated 43 percent of crabs were harvested from the bay by commercial and recreational fishers in 2009. The harvest restrictions put in place in 2008 and 2009 have maintained harvest at sustainable levels that appear to have allowed the population of blue crabs to grow.

* The estimated 2009 harvest of blue crabs from the bay and tributaries was 53.9 million pounds—24 percent higher than the record-low 43.5 million pounds in 2007, but well below the long-term average of 74 million pounds.

“The 2010 advisory report contains good news for Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and the associated fisheries,” noted Lynn Fegley of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, current chair of the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee. “The 2009 fishery did not exceed the target removal level and there is an increased abundance of adult and juvenile crabs to start the 2010 season. Going forward, it will be critical for the management jurisdictions to continue management strategies that ensure that exploitation on the spawning component of the stock remains within safe limits.”

The recently released “Strategy for Protection and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” affirms NOAA’s support for continued regional blue crab management. Using the latest science, NOAA will continue to work through the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee and coordinate with the states and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission to reevaluate the blue crab interim rebuilding target by 2012. The new abundance target will be based on an updated blue crab stock assessment to be completed in 2011 and will help guide future management actions.

The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee includes fisheries scientists from the University of Maryland, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, NOAAs Fisheries, and the states of Maryland and Virginia.

The Executive Committee of the Sustainable Fisheries Goal Team is composed of senior fisheries managers from across the Chesapeake Bay and focuses on facilitating fisheries management that encourages sustainable Chesapeake Bay fish populations, supports viable recreational and commercial fisheries, and promotes natural ecosystem function. The Sustainable Fisheries Goal Team provides the forum to discuss fishery management issues that cross state and other jurisdictional boundaries and better connect sound science to management decision making.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office focuses NOAA’s capabilities in science, service, and stewardship to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.

The Blue Crab Advisory Report and supporting figures are available at:

http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov/fish-facts/blue-crab

source: NOAA press release

Maryland and Virginia are among Atlantic states that have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow:

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
June 17, 2010; 7:00 PM
Ocean Pines Library
11107 Cathell Road
Berlin, Maryland
Contact: Carrie Kennedy at (410) 260-8295

July 19, 2010; 5:30 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conf. Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Carrie Kennedy at (410) 260-8295

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
June 28, 2010; 6:00 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247

The Draft Addendum proposes two changes to the striped bass management program: (1) an increase in the coastal commercial quota, and (2) revising the definition of recruitment failure based on Technical Committee advice.

The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the implementation of state-specific quotas for coastal commercial harvest (and not for recreational harvest) has prevented the commercial and recreational fisheries from responding equally to changes in striped bass population size. Since 2003, coastal commercial harvest has decreased by 3.6 percent, while recreational harvest has increased by 13.7 percent. Under the option, the Board would select a percent increase to be applied to the coastal commercial allocations assigned in Amendment 6.

The Management Board voted to include a second issue in the Draft Addendum based on information presented at the meeting. As part of its review of the juvenile abundance indices, the Striped Bass Technical Committee recommended to the Management Board a revision to how striped bass recruitment failure is defined. Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program and are used to determine periods of recruitment failure which can trigger management action under Amendment 6. Adopting the proposed recommendation would result in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Use of either the Amendment 6 definition or the Technical Committee recommendation for recruitment failure does not result in any necessary changes to the current management program.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Addendum can be obtained via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400.

Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 1, 2010 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Addendum II). For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org.

source: ASMFC press release

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced the dates and locations for the election of county oyster committee representatives.

Watermen who hold a commercial tidal fishing license (TFL) or Oyster Harvester License in every tidewater county may vote for five licensed hand tongers, five licensed power dredgers, five licensed patent tongers and five divers to represent them on their respective county committees.

Watermen who have purchased a 2009-2010 oyster surcharge and reported harvested may be eligible to be nominated for a committee.

To submit a name for the ballot, a potential candidate must notify DNR no later than June 7, 2010 by calling Frank Marenghi at (410) 260-8302 to verify eligibility.

The following elections will be held by secret written ballot cast in person:

Baltimore & Anne Arundel Counties
6 – 9 p.m., June 14, 2010, Tawes Building, C-1 Conference Room, Annapolis

Calvert, St. Mary’s, & Charles Counties
6 – 9 p.m., June 15, 2010, Southern Community Center, Lusby

Kent & Queen Anne Counties
6 – 9 p.m., June 16, 2010, Queen Anne’s County Library, Centreville

Talbot County
6 – 9 p.m., June 21, 2010, Talbot County, Parks and Rec. Building, Chesapeake Room, Easton

Somerset, Wicomico, & Worchester Counties
5:30 – 8:30 p.m., June 22, 2010, Wicomico County Free Library, Salisbury

Dorchester County
June 24, 6 – 9 p.m., Dorchester County Library, Cambridge.

source: DNR