§ 4-215

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

(2) “Conservation and management measures” means 1 or more techniques through which the objectives of a fishery management plan are achieved.

(3) “Fishery” or “fishery resource” means:

(i) One or more stocks of fish which can be treated as a unit for purposes of conservation and management and which are identified on the basis of geographic, scientific, technical, recreational, and economic characteristics; or

(ii) The group or industry harvesting those stocks.

(4) “Fishery management” means the system used to conserve and allocate the fishery resource, including research and data collection, determination of objectives and management measures, and establishment, enforcement, and periodic evaluation of regulations.

(5) “Fishery management plan” means a systematic description of a given fishery or fisheries and the objectives and conservation and management measures for the fishery or fisheries.

(6) “Supplement” means a Maryland–specific supplement prepared under subsection (b) of this section.

(b) (1) The Department shall prepare fishery management plans for the following species:

(i) White perch;

(ii) Yellow perch;

(iii) Oysters;

(iv) Blue crabs;

(v) Hard shell clams;

(vi) Catfish; and

(vii) Cownose ray.

(2) For species of fish that have an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission fishery management plan, as authorized under § 4–301 of this title, or a federal Regional Fishery Management Council fishery management plan, the Department:

(i) Shall manage those species in accordance with those plans and any supplements to those plans;

(ii) May implement conservation and management measures in accordance with those plans;

(iii) May prepare a Maryland–specific supplement to those plans if, after consultation with the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission, Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission, and any other appropriate advisory bodies created under this title, the Department determines that imposing more restrictive measures is necessary to conserve the fishery;

(iv) May implement conservation and management measures in accordance with a supplement adopted under this section; and

(v) May manage those species in accordance with a fishery management plan prepared by the Department in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

(c) (1) The Department may prepare fishery management plans for any species of fish if, after consultation with the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission, the Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission, and any other appropriate advisory bodies created under this title, the Department determines that the plans are necessary based on:

(i) Lack of management by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission or a federal Regional Fishery Management Council;

(ii) The population of the species;

(iii) The distribution of the species;

(iv) The habitat needs of the species; or

(v) Other biological, ecological, climatological, or socioeconomic factors concerning the species or Chesapeake Bay region.

(2) A fishery management plan may include:

(i) Proposed limitations on the catch of fish, based on area, species, size, number, weight, sex, incidental catch, total biomass, or other factors that are necessary and appropriate for conservation and management of a fishery;

(ii) Incorporation of relevant fishery conservation and management measures proposed or adopted by interstate bodies of which Maryland is a member; and

(iii) Other proposed measures, requirements, or conditions and restrictions that are necessary and appropriate for fishery management.

(3) (i) The Department may implement conservation and management measures in accordance with a fishery management plan adopted under this section.

(ii) Conservation and management measures implemented under a fishery management plan, to the extent possible:

1. Shall prevent overfishing while attempting to achieve the best and most efficient utilization of the State’s fishery resources;

2. Shall be based on the best information available;

3. May not discriminate unfairly among groups of commercial and recreational fishing participants, including individuals licensed to guide fishing parties and charter boat captains, or have economic allocation as its sole purpose;

4. Shall take into account and allow for variations among, and contingencies in, fisheries, fishery resources, and catches;

5. Shall avoid duplication of regulatory efforts and unnecessary costs to the State and to any other person; and

6. Shall take into account changes in environmental factors, including climatological factors.

(4) If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various groups of individuals under paragraph (3)(ii)3 of this subsection, or under any fishery management plan, that allocation shall be:

(i) Fair and equitable to all individuals;

(ii) Reasonably calculated to promote conservation; and

(iii) Carried out in such a manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privileges.

(5) Subject to any applicable supplement and except as provided in paragraph (6) of this subsection, a fishery management plan may apply separately or jointly to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, the coastal bays and their tributaries, and the Maryland waters of the Atlantic Ocean and shall include:

(i) The best available estimates of sustainable harvest rates;

(ii) Indicators that would trigger any tightening or loosening of harvest restrictions;

(iii) A description of the fishery, including:

1. The history of the fishery, and its current condition relative to historic populations;

2. The numbers of potential commercial fishing participants, including individuals licensed to guide fishing parties and charter boat captains, and recreational fishing participants projected to participate in the fishery;

3. The type and quantity of fishing gear used commercially;

4. Where practicable, the cost likely to be incurred in the management of the fishery; and

5. The actual and potential revenues from the recreational and commercial fishery;

(iv) If the Department determines that a fishery has been, or is currently, overfished:

1. A species–specific time period for:

A. Ending or appropriately addressing overfishing; and

B. Rebuilding the stock of the species to a sustainable level; and

2. A description of:

A. Management strategies that have a high probability of reducing fishing to a target level within a target time period, as determined by the Department; and

B. The appropriate assignment or allocation of fishing privileges in accordance with paragraph (4) of this subsection; and

(v) Other pertinent data that will assist the Secretary in determining conservation and management measures reasonably necessary to ensure that the fishery resources will be sustained.

(6) The Department may waive the requirements in paragraph (5)(iv) of this subsection for a species of fish if the Department determines that meeting the requirements is not practicable or biologically appropriate based on:

(i) The specific biology of the species;

(ii) The management of the species under a federal or multi–state fishery management plan;

(iii) The designation of the species as a nuisance;

(iv) Environmental conditions; or

(v) Other ecological factors.

(d) (1) (i) The Department shall:

1. In coordination with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Oyster Advisory Commission, develop a package of consensus recommendations for enhancing and implementing the fishery management plan for oysters that will be informed by a collaboratively developed, science–based modeling tool to quantify the long–term impacts of identified management actions and possible combinations of management actions on:

A. Oyster abundance;

B. Oyster habitat;

C. Oyster harvest;

D. Oyster harvest revenue; and

E. Nitrogen removal; and

2. Hold public listening sessions throughout the State to identify possible management actions for use in the public oyster fishery.

(ii) The Oyster Advisory Commission, with the assistance of external conflict resolution and facilitation specialists, shall:

1. Develop a package of consensus recommendations through a facilitated consensus solutions process, based on a 75% majority agreement level for each recommendation;

2. Recommend management actions or combinations of management actions to achieve the targets identified in the oyster stock assessment with the goal of increasing oyster abundance; and

3. Review model results for each management action or combination of management actions to inform its recommendations.

(iii) 1. The Department shall submit interim reports on the development of the package of consensus recommendations by August 1, 2020, December 1, 2020, and August 1, 2021, to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly.

2. In addition to the requirements under subsubparagraph 1 of this subparagraph, the Department shall include in the interim report submitted by August 1, 2021:

A. The status of the development of the science–based modeling tool used to quantify the long–term impacts of identified management actions; and

B. A summary of the model results of any actions identified by the Oyster Advisory Commission on or before the date of the interim report.

3. The Department shall provide a final report by December 1, 2021, which will include an implementation schedule for the consensus recommendations, to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly.

(iv) To be responsive to changes in the oyster resource due to environmental conditions, the Department shall:

1. Review the status of the stock relative to reference points every 2 years and conduct a benchmark stock assessment every 6 years with consideration of new methods and with external peer review; and

2. With the input of interested stakeholders, implement management actions that increase oyster habitat, maintain harvest, and grow the oyster stock.

(2) The fishery management plan developed in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection shall:

(i) End the overfishing of oysters in all areas and regions of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries where overfishing has occurred according to biological reference points established by the most recent oyster stock assessment while maintaining a harvest in the fishery;

(ii) Achieve fishing mortality rates at target levels;

(iii) Increase oyster abundance;

(iv) Increase oyster habitat; and

(v) Facilitate the long–term sustainable harvest of oysters, including the public fishery.

(e) The Department shall present the management plans and supplements under this section in the form of an annual report, subject to § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to:

(1) The Legislative Policy Committee;

(2) The Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment; and

(3) The Environment and Transportation Committee.

(f) (1) (i) The Department:

1. Shall adopt by regulation:

A. A fishery management plan prepared by the Department under this section; and

B. A supplement prepared by the Department under this section; and

2. May adopt conservation and management measures by regulation for:

A. An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission fishery management plan;

B. A federal Regional Fishery Management Council fishery management plan;

C. A fishery management plan prepared and adopted by the Department under this section; and

D. A supplement prepared and adopted by the Department under this section.

(ii) 1. The Secretary may adopt conservation and management measures in separate proceedings and by separate regulations.

2. Conservation and management measures adopted separately may include changes to those proposed or adopted in a fishery management plan or supplement and any additional measures necessary to carry out the adopted plan or supplement.

(iii) The Secretary may not prohibit the use of pound net sites in the coastal bays that are registered with the Department as of January 1, 2000.

(2) (i) The regulations of the Department to implement a fisheries management plan for the coastal bays may not become effective under this section until the Department first holds a public hearing.

(ii) The public hearing required under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be held in person in Worcester County or, in whole or in part, remotely by electronic means.

(3) All notices of public hearings required for the adoption of regulations under this section shall be printed in the Maryland Register and further publicized so as to provide reasonable notice to the affected communities of commercial fishing participants, including individuals licensed to guide fishing parties and charter boat captains, and recreational fishing participants and the public.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, except § 4–1002 of this title, once a fishery management plan or supplement has been adopted by regulation, the State’s fishery resources shall be harvested in accordance with the conservation and management measures in the fishery management plan or supplement and any regulations implementing or amending that plan or supplement.

(h) The provisions of this section do not apply to aquaculture activities in nontidal ponds, lakes, or impoundments in the State.