SPORTFISHERIES ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Tawes State Office Building, C-1

 

Commissioners present:

Dr. Jim Gilford, Chairman                                 Diane Baynard

Bill Carrier, III                                                  David Dansberger

Bill Windley                                                      Ed O’Brien

John Marple                                                     Brenda Foster

Michael Critzer                                                 Jim Smith

 

Chairman Jim Gilford called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.

 

Announcements

Marty Gary, of the MD Fisheries Service, gave the Commissioners a copy of the press release announcing the series of public hearings on the Draft Amendment to the Atlantic Croaker Plan released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).  The Department of Natural Resources held their meeting on Monday, September 26, 2005 at the Tawes State Office Building.   Virginia, North Carolina and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission each scheduled meetings also.

 

NRP Update

Sergeant Ditmars gave an overview of the Natural Resources Police activities over the summer months.  He said that boating accidents, drownings and violations were lower this year than in previous summers.  The merge with the Parks enforcement officers is going well.  There has been a lot of crossover training to make the transition go more smoothly.  Commissioner Diane Baynard asked if there will be a new Academy class this year.  Sergeant Ditmars said the Department is working to start a class in the spring.

 

Conowingo Tailrace Shoreline Access

Marty Gary introduced Ken Kociuba from the Exelon Corporation.  Mr. Kociuba spoke to the Commissioners about the closing of the catwalk on the Conowingo Dam.  After the terrorist attacks on 09/11, the catwalk was closed to fishermen and the barrier has to remain for security reasons.  Exelon Corp. is working with the Department to determine enhancements that could be made to the shoreline below the dam for fishing access.  Exelon Corp. feels strongly about allowing fishing opportunities and would like to have a proposal by November.  Some of the proposed enhancements are 1) a boardwalk; 2) handicapped access; 3) possibly 200—300 yards of fishing access.  Lee Hale, asked if the 400 yard/200 yard perimeter limits could be reduced.  Mr. Kociuba indicated that Exelon has some leeway in that area.  He asked for volunteers to help with this project.  Commissioner Bill Windley, vice president of the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association (MSSA), offered the help of the MSSA members.  Lee Hale invited Mr. Kociuba to speak at a Chapter meeting.

Commissioner Ed O’Brien asked Mr. Kociuba about water releases and the debris that flows into the bay upon release.  He said this is a major concern of the Bay’s Charter Boat Captains.  Mr. Kociuba said that debris is taken out monthly from the top of the dam.  He promised to follow up on the company’s procedures and will give the group an idea of what they do and how they do it.

 

 Estuarine and Marine Update

Howard King, Director of the Fisheries Service, gave an update of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council meeting.  Two meetings are planned concerning an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.  The first meeting is scheduled for October 12th in Ocean City.  The second will be on October 13th at the Sheraton Annapolis on Jennifer Road.  Mr. King promised to email a script of the meetings on request.  Some of the measures addressed by the council were:

Ø      Summer flounder – A recent survey indicated that stock was not expanding as previously thought.  The Council adopted a 15% reduction to rebuild stock by 2010.  They agreed to hold the reduction for three years, but were aware that the National Marine Fisheries ? (NMFS) may not accept the 15% and ask for a 28% reduction.  The cutback shouldn’t prompt recreational changes in Maryland, but commercial quotas would change.

Ø      Black sea bass – A modest reduction was accepted.  This will not affect Maryland regulations, but there could be a small reduction in commercial quota.

Ø      Bluefish – Stock is on the rebound.  The recreational sector gets most of the allocation, but neither they, nor the commercial sector, catch their full quotas.

Ø      The Council will meet again October 3 – 5 and Mr. King will get feedback on summer flounder at this meeting.  There will be a re-election of officers; former Deputy Secretary Pete Jensen may be on the ballot as Vice Chair of the Council.  When questioned about the Department’s position on Mr. Jensen’s selection to the Council, Mr. King told Commissioner Dansberger that the Department has no position since he will serve as a private citizen.

 

Mr. King told the Commission that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) will hold a public hearing on weakfish on September 29th, at the Tawes State Office Building.  Surveys show that stock abundance has plummeted; the ASMFC would like feedback on options they can take.  Rebuilding the stock could take until 2012-2015.

Other items of interest from the ASMFC were:

Ø      Summer flounder – The option to join states to set identical measures was made voluntary.  The Volunteer Angler Survey gave Maryland the opportunity to use the multiyear averaging proposal.  But, this cannot be used to make up for yearly overages.

Ø      American Eels – A proposal to make these endangered is being reviewed.  Unlike other areas of the country, the Bay stock of American eels has remained constant.

Ø      Menhaden – A cap was set on poundage taken from the Bay, but the Coastal Bays catch was not limited.  There has been no feedback to date from Virginia.  Commissioner Bill Windley took this opportunity to thank the Department for its efforts on the Menhaden issue.

Ø      Striped Bass – There was a proposal that would require observers on 5% of the commercial boats.  Maryland was over quota on the MRFS Survey by 50%.  The Department’s statisticians have shown that an outlier on part of the survey caused this anomaly.  The Department will ask the ASMFC to argue that and will present the ASMFC with more a more substantial report of the quota taken.  They will take this opportunity to ask for a higher quota based on this data.  Commissioner Jim Smith asked if Mr. King could provide the Charterboat catch records for striped bass to the Commissioners.  He said he would.  Commissioner Windley questioned whether there is a chance that the ASMFC will ask for payback on the 50% overage; Mr. King said there was only a minute chance that would happen.

 

Marty Gary introduced Lee Haile and Dave Stemper, two Upper Bay recreational fishermen, to the Commissioners.  They had requested the opportunity to speak about Upper Bay striped bass regulations. Mr. Haile began; he asked for a catch & release season on the Susquehanna River at the same time as the catch & release season on the Susquehanna Flats.  He wanted to enlist help from the Commission to garner interest in fishing the Susquehanna again.  According to Mr. Haile and Mr. Stemper, interest has waned over the years due to silt in the river and to prohibitions against targeting striped bass from 03/01 to 05/31.  Mr. Stemper presented a written statement to the Commissioners stating their position on this proposal.  Commissioner John Marple asked Mr. King where the Department stood on this; Mr. King said it is illegal now, but will take a look at whether this regulation should stand.

Chairman Gilford pointed out that this is not the same proposal that was presented in May.  He felt that the Commissioners should get advanced notice and background information from speakers so decisions can be made in a timely, orderly fashion.  He also felt that the Department should give background and insight so the Commissioners can be better informed   Commissioners Brenda Foster and Dave Dansberger agreed with the Chairman and expressed a desire to be better informed.  They felt that issues get stonewalled for lack of information.  Chairman Gilford asked the Department to come back with the pros and cons of opening the Upper Bay striped bass fishery.  Mr. Haile gave Howard King a copy of a letter he wrote to the Department on 08/12/05.

Mike Benjamin, representing the Chesapeake Guide Association, gave a recap of the proposal of changes to the spring catch & release season given earlier in the year.  1) A southern expansion from Sandy Pt. To the buoy off Aberdeen and up to Turkey Point; 2) a northern expansion – move the line up to Lapidum across to Tomes Landing; 3) Extension of the season based on water temperature.  Marty Gary said he could provide a copy of the proposal to the Commission.  Commissioner Windley told the Commission that the MSSA board supports the season extension and would like to see the opening of the Upper Bay summer season coincide with the rest of the Bay.  At this time, Chairman Gilford asked Mr. King to bring back two separate proposals to the Commission.

 

Artificial Reefs

Howard King gave some background on the artificial reef program.  In 1997, the Department abolished the program due to budget constraints and the job of issuing permits was transferred to the Maryland Environmental Survey (MES).  Over the years, the program has become 2 parts – materials and opportunity (construction debris) and reef balls.  Up to this point there is no overall plan for this program.  The Department has approached MES about becoming custodians of the program and planning, and is now looking for funding.

 

Magnuson/Stevens Reauthorization

This act is up for reauthorization.  One topic, the saltwater fishermen registry, is very hot.  Maryland may have to charge a registry fee; it is unclear exactly who will be included in the registry.  Its purpose is to correct problems with the MRFS survey.

A discussion followed on a Saltwater license for the Atlantic Coast and the Department’s inability to get one passed.  There were questions on the fee structure and whether the license sales would count toward Wallop/Breaux funding.  Several Commissioners felt the state should go forward with this license before the Federal government requires the registry.

 

Yellow Perch

Chairman Gilford asked for this agenda item and an update from the Department.  Mr. King said the Department plans to have public meetings for yellow perch and white perch together.  Requests to impose new measures for regulations would follow the meetings.  Chairman Gilford expressed concern with inconsistencies in regulations and enforcement.  Commercial catch is banned prior to March 1st, but fike nets for white perch are allowed to be set well in advance of this date.  This tends to circumvent the law to allow spawning to occur.  He feels that the Department should address this issue and come up with regulations that are consistent, that do not counter each other.  Mr. King said the Department could revisit the setting of fike nets early, if that is what the Commission wants.

 

Marketing

Marty Gary briefed the Commission on recent progress made in this area.  The Inland work group convened, but the Estuarine/Marine group couldn’t meet during the summer, which is their busy work season.  The Inland group was very productive; they came up with a draft document for a marketing plan that is 90% finished.  He requested that the Estuarine/Marine group meet as soon as possible.

 

Pound Net Lighting Proposal

Commissioner Diane Baynard requested this agenda item.  She introduced Dennis Fleming, from the Maryland Coastal Conservation Association (Md CCA) Southern MD Chapter, who gave a power point presentation. (Attached)  The CCA is asking the Department to find a solution to lighting commercial pound nets in the Bay and its Tributaries that is more effective than the reflective tape most watermen choose to use.  Attaching lights is voluntary at this point and due to the expense involved, reflective tape is used on a large portion of the nets that are set each year.  The CCA feels that the issue is public safety, especially for nighttime boating; they are not attempting to find fault with pound net locations.  According to Sgt. Ditmars and Commissioner O’Brien, the incidences of small boats going through nets are significant and warnings should go out to both boaters and pound net fishermen.  Chairman Gilford felt this presentation should go to the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission at their next meeting.  Commissioner Baynard assured him that is the CCA’s intention.

 

Inland Fisheries

Ø      Yough River – Don Cosden, of the Inland Fisheries Division, briefed the Commission on recent occurrences in this river.  In 1995, the power plant was re-licensed and an agreement was set up for water temperature regulation that has been very successful until this year.  There has been 14 cases of temperature exceeding the maximum threshold and the new plant operator failed to give water releases in a timely fashion.  This has had a negative impact on the trout population.  The Company indicates that they are willing to work with the Department and the protocols in place.  The fish appear to be recuperating, but the water flow in Western Maryland is ¼ the usual amount.

Ø      Georges Creek – This Potomac tributary in Western Maryland has a history of acid mine problems; in late August, a large fish kill occurred here.  The regional Inland biologists found very poor water quality on the lower 4 miles and thousands of fish killed.  Now, this portion of the creek is basically dead.  Flows got so low, the lime doser wasn’t working properly; in addition, the chemistry of the seepage had changed.  The Bureau of Mines is actively looking for a solution to this ongoing problem.

Ø      Bluemont Quarry – Steve Early, Assistant Director of Inland Fisheries, told the Commission that the company that owns the quarry wants to resume operations in the north pit that flooded in 1972 and needs to dewater the 100’ deep pit.  The water would be pumped into the nearby Gunpowder River, but the flow from the Bluemont pits would be a fraction of the river flow.  Flow from the pipe would be 0 velocity and would take 3 to 6 months to dewater the pit.  The south pit would also be dewatered, but not mined.  Once the water level is down, any sediment would be diverted to a settling pond.  The polishing site would be wetland, but MDE probably won’t allow this part of the proposal.  To ensure ambient temperature, the Department would put in their own temperature monitor.  Department representatives have not been privy to the engineering plans, so the picture is incomplete.  The quarry owners are well aware of the special fishing opportunities the Gunpowder affords.

Ø      Fall Stocking – Annual fall trout stocking is scheduled to begin the first week of October and be completed by Oct. 31st.  The proposed stocking areas are the same as last year’s, but how soon stocking starts and where it occurs depends on how much rainfall the area receives.  A stocking press release will not be done until stocking occurs.

 

Chairman Gilford made a recommendation to the Department that some of the money from recent state real estate sales be directed to the Fisheries Service budget.

 

New Business

Commissioner Baynard asked Mr. Early if he plans to reinitiate the hatchery tour that was planned for this fall.  Mr. Early said that early March, before the spring stocking begins would be the best time to visit.

Michael Benjamin asked for walleye on the Susquehanna to be put on the next meeting’s agenda.  Chairman Gilford asked Mr. Early if he knew anything about the walleye population on the Susquehanna.  Mr. Early said that his staff doesn’t monitor this population, so Chairman Gilford asked that the Inland staff look at it for the next meeting.

 

Chairman Gilford adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.