Monday, September 26, 2011

Maryland DNR Hosting Striped Bass Regulations Open Houses

     Annapolis, Md. -- The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host two open houses in October to present proposed commercial striped bass regulatory and administrative changes and welcome questions and comments from the public.
     “These changes are designed to achieve DNR’s core management principles of sustainability, harvest accountability, enforceability and cost recovery,” said Tom O’Connell, director of DNR’s Fisheries Service.
     The proposed changes come on the heels of the Maryland Natural Resources Police seizing more than 26,000 pounds of striped bass from illegally set gill nets in February 2011. They specifically deal with the filing of inaccurate reports by check stations/individual fishermen and illegal application of striped bass tags.
     Participants will be able to talk one-on-one with DNR Fisheries Service staff, and register comments on the proposed changes. The public is invited to arrive at any time during the event and spend as much time as desired.
     Public comments may also be submitted via fax at (410) 260-8310, by email to fisheriespubliccomment@dnr.state.md.us.
     The public comment period runs through October 24. Final administrative and regulatory changes are scheduled to go into effect on on November 28, 2011.
     The proposed regulatory and administrative changes are available at http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/regulations/proposedregulations.asp

The open houses are schedule as follows:
Tuesday, October 4 from 3 to 8 p.m.
BG Louis G. Smith Armory, 7111 Ocean Gateway, Easton, Md.
Thursday, October 6 from 3 to 8 p.m.
Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company, 161 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, Md.

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