Posted Friday February 29, 2008

 

The Secretary of Maryland Department of Natural Resources pursuant to Code of Maryland Regulation 08.02.05.13(E) has announced that the Atlantic weakfish fishery for gill nets and other gears, except trawl nets, will open at 12:01 am, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 and continue to 12:00 pm midnight, Friday, April 25, 2008. This fishery for gill nets and other gears will reopen at 12:01 am Wednesday, September 3, 2008 and continue to 12:00 pm midnight, Friday, November 14, 2008. A licensee using gill nets and other gears in the Atlantic may not catch or land weakfish on Sundays during these open seasons.

The Atlantic weakfish trawl net fishery will open 12:01 am, Friday, October 17, 2008 and continue to 12:00 pm, midnight, Monday, December 29, 2008. A licensee using a trawl net may not catch or land weakfish on Saturdays or Sundays.

The Chesapeake Bay commercial weakfish fishery for all gears will open at 12:01 am, Tuesday, August 5, 2008 and continue to 12:00 pm, midnight, Tuesday, September 30, 2008. A licensee may catch and land weakfish from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay on any day during the open season.

During the closed weakfish season, a commercial licensee targeting species other than weakfish with gear other than hook and line may possess or land in any one day no more than 150 pounds of legal-sized weakfish as by-catch, provided that there is at least an equal poundage of species other than weakfish on board the vessel. During the closed weakfish season, a commercial licensee using hook and line may not land weakfish as by-catch.

All other current rules and regulations remain in effect for each weakfish season. The allowable harvest days for the commercial weakfish fishery are consistent with the Weakfish Fisheries Management Plan approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.