Chesapeake Bay News

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

On March 11, 2010, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley requested $87 million in federal funding to support the State’s natural resources during his annual federal priorities presentation to the Maryland Congressional Delegation on Capitol Hill.

The Governor’s requests included more than $30 million for Bay restoration efforts, part of a Maryland plan to meet its nutrient reduction goals by 2020. The plan includes funding for habitat and water quality monitoring and assessment, Bay grass restoration, expanding operations at the Cooperative Oxford Lab, and clean marinas.

“This funding is nothing less than preventative health care for the Chesapeake Bay and our economy.” said Kim Coble, Maryland Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “It will help implement important Bay restoration actions and create jobs. This funding makes economic and environmental sense.”

Other Chesapeake Bay-related projects included in the federal priorities are:

- $10 million to implement the Anacostia Watershed Restoration Plan, a public-private partnership.

- Nearly $7.5 million to support Maryland’s vulnerable coastal communities, including funding for beach replenishment and shoreline protection along Ocean City, Assateague Island and Smith Island.

- $5 million to support Maryland’s Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Redevelopment Plan, including funding for stock assessments and habitat evaluation.

- $3.5 million in grants to the Natural Resources Police that will support boating safety education and will greatly enhance the State’s ability to enforce maritime and conservation laws – including the illegal harvest of oysters, crabs and striped bass.

The balance of the Governor’s request — approximately $16.5 million — wil go towards programs including: expanded recreational opportunities and boating access; wildlife management, invasive species eradication and hunting safety; urban, community and private landowner forestry programs; and fires assistance programs.

“During his first year in office, President Obama has made restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and protection of our environment a priority. We are very optimistic about the support of his Administration for these priorities,” added Governor O’Malley.

to Explore New Ways of Managing the Blue Crab Fishery

The Maryland Watermen’s Association (MWA) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) have come together to explore alternative management strategies for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery. This joint commitment, solidified by a formal memorandum of understanding, is intended to improve fishery management and increase benefits to watermen.

This unique partnership comes at a critical time in the lives of Chesapeake Bay watermen and the iconic blue crab population, which has been the foundation of Chesapeake Bay culture, heritage and livelihoods for more than a century. In an unprecedented partnership in 2008 to help rebuild the shared resource, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley worked with then-Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to enact regulations reducing female blue crab harvest.

To mitigate the economic impact on the industry, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), a steadfast leader in protecting the watermen’s way of life, worked with Governor O’Malley to secure disaster assistance funding in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) budget for the blue crab fishery. That funding supported a DNR-initiative to investigate and assess alternative management approaches, which could improve the situation for commercial crabbers while helping in the overall restoration of the Bay.

“Blue crabs are part of who we are as Marylanders, part of our heritage and part of our culture. And so are the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. I am committed to the Bay and the lives and livelihoods that depend on it,” said Senator Mikulski, Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NOAA. “When the Maryland’s crab industry dialed 911 during 2008′s Blue Crab disaster, I was on their side fighting for $30 million to provide watermen with work opportunities, while at the same time restoring crab stocks and rebuilding habitats such as oyster reefs. This unique partnership shows Marylanders are looking at the future of the Bay and want a cooperative and coordinated solution for preserving their blue crabs.”

“Maryland’s watermen are ready to lead efforts to protect their livelihood—the Chesapeake blue crab,” says Larry Simns, President of the MWA. “The partnership with EDF is focused on exploring alternative management systems that will protect the heritage of Maryland watermen and the blue crab fishery, and it wouldn’t be possible without the leadership of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski on behalf of Maryland’s watermen.”

“We’d like to thank Senator Mikulski, the Maryland DNR and the MWA for the opportunity to assist in this effort,” says Tom Grasso, Senior Advisor in the Oceans Program at EDF. “Working together, we believe we can help identify a new economic management structure for the blue crab fishery which will promote a secure and stable livelihood for Maryland’s watermen. This partnership between EDF and MWA is a clear indication of a joint commitment between watermen and environmentalists to being integral partners in an effective solution.”

“We are pleased to support this new partnership between EDF and MWA, which will contribute to our continued efforts to protect and enhance blue crab populations, while also improving economic opportunities for Maryland watermen, our processing industry and the local communities that depend on these jobs,” says DNR Secretary John Griffin.

On February 24, 2009 the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced the next phase of a project involving the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) and Chesapeake Bay watermen on the state’s oyster bar rehabilitation program. The project is part of a plan to help mitigate economic losses from the declining blue crab fishery, while also helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay.

“Together with the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Maryland is taking action to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, while ensuring that watermen have opportunities to continue to thrive,” said Governor O’Malley. “We are especially thankful to our congressional delegation and Maryland General Assembly for supporting funding which enabled these sustainable measures to be put into action.”

For the next 12 weeks, about 475 watermen will work to recover and clean oyster bars in the Tangier Sound and the Patuxent, Choptank, Tred Avon, Wicomico and Severn Rivers. Watermen will use their boats and dredge equipment to remove silt and sediment from the tops of once historically healthy oyster bars in order to prepare them for a natural spat set and/or hatchery seed planting.

The oyster bar rehabilitation program began in November of 2008 and once complete will have provided at least 10 days of paid work to over 500 watermen. Every year, the Chesapeake Bay loses 2,600 acres of hard bottom oyster habitat. By the end of these projects watermen will have reclaimed shell on 1,000 acres of oyster reefs.

The Task Force to Study the Boating Industry in Maryland recently submitted its 2008 Legislative Report to Governor Martin O’Malley, members of the Maryland General Assembly, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary John R. Griffin.

“Maryland’s boating industry is a major economic engine in our State, providing a wide array of services to both resident and visiting recreational boaters,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication displayed by the task force’s members as they developed ideas to address the challenges facing Maryland’s boating industry.”

The Task Force’s report offers specific recommendations on marketing Maryland waters to the out-of- state boating public and creating a more positive environment to grow and expand Maryland’s marine industry.
“Recreational boating is a popular activity in Maryland,” said Senator John Astle, Chairperson of the Task Force. “Over the past eight years, the number of registered boats in Maryland has remained stagnant and has recently started to decline. The Task Force was charged with evaluating and making recommendations regarding protecting and growing the boating industry in Maryland.”

Highlights of the Task Force’s recommendations include:

* Proposing legislation to allow matching funds for grants to be used for supplies and equipment that support best management practices at privately-owned DNR Certified Clean Marinas.

* Explore creating a single boat use permit for publicly-owned boat ramps and landings, registering non-powered vessels and using the sales tax captured in the Waterway Improvement Fund.

* Supporting the Marine Trades Association of Maryland’s (MTAM) effort to create a new consumer website marketing Maryland’s recreational boating opportunities.

* Asking the Department of Legislative Services to conduct an analysis of options for extending the stay of the transient boater in Maryland, while protecting the integrity of the Waterway Improvement Fund.

* Broadening the State’s definition of commercial waterfront property to include facilities that require direct access to, or location on the water; public marinas, boat ramps, boat hauling and repair services, waterfront recreational facilities and commercial fishing services.

* Expanding the federal definition of “commerce” to include marinas and tourism.

“Members of the task force, while representing divergent constituencies, came together to evaluate Maryland’s boating industry and find practical ways to improve and modernize the State’s efforts,” said Susan Zellers of the Marine Trades Association of Maryland. “We believe these proposed improvements will help the industry through new and enhanced policies, programs, initiatives and statutory changes.”

Chapter 523 was enacted during the 2007 Legislative Session to establish the Task Force to study the Boating Industry in Maryland. The Task Force was charged with evaluating and making recommendations regarding protecting and growing the boating industry in Maryland

For the full report, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pdfs/boating_task_force_report.pdf