February 8, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved Draft Addendum I to the Black Drum Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes to open Maryland’s black drum commercial fishery.
Draft Addendum I was initiated in October 2017 in response to a proposal from the state of Maryland to reopen its commercial fishery for black drum in the Chesapeake Bay (Bay). In the late 1990s, Maryland closed the commercial black drum fishery in its Bay waters to conduct a tagging and migration study. The fishery was not reopened after the study. In 2013, the Black Drum FMP extended this closure by requiring states to maintain management measures in place at the time of the FMP’s approval.
Draft Addendum I presents a management option that would reopen Maryland’s commercial fishery for black drum in the Chesapeake Bay with a daily vessel limit of up to 10 fish and a 28 inch minimum total length size limit.
It is anticipated that a public hearing on the Draft Addendum will be conducted in Maryland, although other states may request additional public hearings. The details of any public hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input) by February 14, 2018. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on March 23, 2018 and should be forwarded to Dr. Mike Schmidtke, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A‐N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I). For more information on black drum, please contact Dr. Mike Schmidtke, FMP Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.