Maryland 2023 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB932 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDE D TO EXISTING LAW .
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0932
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 932
8	8	M2 3lr2499
9	9	CF SB 492
10	10	By: Delegates Jacobs, Adams, Anderton, Arentz, Hornberger, Howard,
11	11	Hutchinson, Kipke, McComas, T. Morgan, Otto, and Schmidt
12	12	Introduced and read first time: February 10, 2023
13	13	Assigned to: Environment and Transportation
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Oysters – Rotational Harvest – Pilot Program 2
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of establishing a rotational harvest pilot program for oysters to be 3
22	22	implemented by the Department of Natural Resources; requiring the Department to 4
23	23	open certain areas of the Chesapeake Bay to the rotational harvest of oysters in 5
24	24	certain manners; requiring a certain replacement of oyster shells on the bar where 6
25	25	they were caught under the pilot program; requiring the Department, before opening 7
26	26	an area to oyster harvesting under the pilot program, to survey and investigate the 8
27	27	area to collect certain baseline data and, after closing the area, to continue to monitor 9
28	28	the area to collect certain additional data; and generally relating to a rotational 10
29	29	harvest pilot program for oysters. 11
30	30
31	31	BY adding to 12
32	32	Article – Natural Resources 13
33	33	Section 4–1011 14
34	34	Annotated Code of Maryland 15
35	35	(2018 Replacement Volume and 2022 Supplement) 16
36	36
37	37	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 17
38	38	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 18
39	39
40	40	Article – Natural Resources 19
41	41
42	42	4–1011. 20
43	43
44	44	(A) THERE IS A 5–YEAR ROTATIONAL HARV EST PILOT PROGRAM FOR 21
45	45	OYSTERS TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY TH E DEPARTMENT . 22
46	46	2 HOUSE BILL 932
47	47
48	48
49	49	(B) THE PILOT PROGRAM SHA LL APPLY TO TWO DESI GNATED AREAS OF THE 1
50	50	CHESAPEAKE BAY, AS FOLLOWS: 2
51	51
52	52	(1) THE LITTLE CHOPTANK ROTATIONAL HARVEST AREA, WHICH 3
53	53	CONSISTS OF ALL OF THE WATERS OF THE LITTLE CHOPTANK RIVER UPSTREAM OF 4
54	54	A LINE BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE SHORE OF SUSQUEHANNA POINT DEFINED 5
55	55	BY LATITUDE 38 DEGREES 30.642 MINUTES NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 6
56	56	15.492 MINUTES WEST; THEN RUNNING 329 DEGREES TRUE TO A POINT ON SHORE 7
57	57	AT THE SOUTH END OF RAGGED POINT ISLAND, DEFINED BY LATITUDE 38 DEGREES 8
58	58	31.886 MINUTES NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 16.440 MINUTES WEST; AND 9
59	59
60	60	(2) THE LOWER MAIN STEM CHESAPEAKE BAY ROTATIONAL 10
61	61	HARVEST AREA, WHICH CONSISTS OF ALL OF THE WATERS OF THE AREA ENCLOSED 11
62	62	BY A LINE BEGINNING AT A POINT DEFINED B Y LATITUDE 37 DEGREES 58.800 12
63	63	MINUTES NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 4.680 MINUTES WEST; THEN RUNNING 13
64	64	283 DEGREES TRUE TO A POINT DEFIN ED BY LATITUDE 37 DEGREES 59.798 14
65	65	MINUTES NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 9.965 MINUTES WEST; THEN RUNNING 15
66	66	342 DEGREES TRUE TO A POINT DEFIN ED BY LATITUDE 38 DEGREES 8.366 MINUTES 16
67	67	NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 13.580 MINUTES WEST; THEN RUNNING 81 17
68	68	DEGREES TRUE TO A POINT DEFIN ED BY LATITUDE 38 DEGREES 9.181 MINUTES 18
69	69	NORTH, LONGITUDE 76 DEGREES 6.720 MINUTES WEST; THEN RUNNING 171 19
70	70	DEGREES TRUE TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING. 20
71	71
72	72	(C) (1) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL OPEN THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF T HE 21
73	73	LITTLE CHOPTANK RIVER ROTATIONAL HARVEST AREA IN THE FOLLOWING 22
74	74	SEASONS: 23
75	75
76	76	(I) FOR THE 2023–2024 OYSTER SEASON , BROOKS CREEK AND 24
77	77	HUDSON CREEK; 25
78	78
79	79	(II) FOR THE 2024–2025 OYSTER SEASON , PHILLIPS CREEK 26
80	80	AND BECKWITH CREEK; 27
81	81
82	82	(III) FOR THE 2025–2026 OYSTER SEASON , WOOLFORD CREEK 28
83	83	AND MADISON BAY; 29
84	84
85	85	(IV) FOR THE 2026–2027 OYSTER SEASON, BROOKS CREEK AND 30
86	86	HUDSON CREEK; AND 31
87	87
88	88	(V) FOR THE 2027–2028 OYSTER SEASON , PHILLIPS CREEK 32
89	89	AND BECKWITH CREEK. 33
90	90	HOUSE BILL 932 3
91	91
92	92
93	93	(2) OF THE THREE OYSTER B ARS LOCATED WITHIN T HE LOWER MAIN 1
94	94	STEM CHESAPEAKE BAY ROTATIONAL HARVEST AREA, THE DEPARTMENT IN ITS 2
95	95	DISCRETION SHALL: 3
96	96
97	97	(I) OPEN ONE DIFFERENT OYSTER BAR FOR EACH OF THE 4
98	98	2023–2024, 2024–2025, AND 2025–2026 OYSTER SEASONS ; 5
99	99
100	100	(II) REOPEN THE SAME OYSTER BAR FOR THE 2026–2027 6
101	101	OYSTER SEASON THAT I T HAD OPENED FOR THE 2023–2024 OYSTER SEASON ; AND 7
102	102
103	103	(III) REOPEN THE SAME OYSTE R BAR FOR THE 2027–2028 8
104	104	OYSTER SEASON THAT I T HAD OPENED FOR THE 2024–2025 OYSTER SEASON . 9
105	105
106	106	(D) (1) A TIDAL FISH LICENSEE WHO HOLDS AN OYSTER AUTHORIZATION 10
107	107	MAY CATCH OYSTERS IN AREAS OF THE LITTLE CHOPTANK RIVER ROTATIONAL 11
108	108	HARVEST AREA AND THE LOWER MAIN STEM CHESAPEAKE BAY ROTATIONAL 12
109	109	HARVEST AREA THAT ARE OPEN FO R HARVEST. 13
110	110
111	111	(2) A TIDAL FISH LICENSEE WHO CATCHES OYSTERS UNDER THE 14
112	112	PILOT PROGRAM SHALL ENSURE THAT THE OYSTER SHELLS ARE RE PLACED ON THE 15
113	113	BAR WHERE THEY WERE CAUGHT IN AN AMOUNT OF BUSHELS EQUAL TO THE 16
114	114	AMOUNT OF BUSHELS OF OYSTERS CAUGHT. 17
115	115
116	116	(E) UNDER THE PILOT PROGR AM, THE DEPARTMENT : 18
117	117
118	118	(1) SHALL, IN ITS DISCRETION, MANAGE THE OYSTER HA RVEST; AND 19
119	119
120	120	(2) MAY: 20
121	121
122	122	(I) ADJUST CATCH LIMITS ; 21
123	123
124	124	(II) LIMIT THE HOURS AND D AYS FOR HARVEST ; AND 22
125	125
126	126	(III) RESTRICT THE GEAR THA T MAY BE USED. 23
127	127
128	128	(F) (1) BEFORE OPENING AN AREA TO OYSTER HARVESTING UN DER THE 24
129	129	PILOT PROGRAM , THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SURV EY AND INVESTIGATE THE AREA 25
130	130	TO COLLECT BASELINE DATA ON: 26
131	131
132	132	(I) WATER QUALITY; 27
133	133
134	134	(II) HABITAT QUALITY , INCLUDING THE PRESENCE OF FINF ISH 28
135	135	SPECIES AND OTHER SH ELLFISH SPECIES ; 29 4 HOUSE BILL 932
136	136
137	137
138	138
139	139	(III) THE PRESENCE OF : 1
140	140
141	141	1. SILT AND SEDIMENT ON THE OYSTER BAR ; 2
142	142
143	143	2. SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEG ETATION ON OR NEAR THE 3
144	144	OYSTER BAR; AND 4
145	145
146	146	3. DISEASED OR DEAD OYST ERS ON THE OYSTER BA R; 5
147	147	AND 6
148	148
149	149	(IV) ANY OTHER RELEVANT MA TTER IN THE DISCRETI ON OF THE 7
150	150	DEPARTMENT . 8
151	151
152	152	(2) AFTER CLOSING AN AREA IN THE ROTATIONAL HA RVEST AREAS 9
153	153	TO OYSTER HARVESTING UNDER THE PILOT PROGRAM , THE DEPARTMENT SHALL 10
154	154	CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE AREA TO COLLECT ADDITIONAL DATA ON THE MATTERS 11
155	155	DESCRIBED IN PARAGRA PH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION . 12
156	156
157	157	(G) ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2028, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REPO RT 13
158	158	TO THE GOVERNOR AND , IN ACCORDANC E WITH § 2–1257 OF THE STATE 14
159	159	GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON ITS FINDI NGS AND 15
160	160	RECOMMENDATIONS UNDE R THE PILOT PROGRAM . 16
161	161
162	162	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 17
163	163	1, 2023. It shall remain effective for a period of 6 years and, at the end of June 30, 2029, 18
164	164	this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and 19
165	165	of no further force and effect. 20