Natural Resources - Invasive Blue Catfish Pilot Program - Alterations
Summary
SB610 alters Maryland’s Invasive Blue Catfish Pilot Program and the related commercial license framework. The bill expands the pilot program to expressly include a Blue Catfish Gill Net Program, alongside the existing for-hire/commercial and mid- and lower-Bay trotline programs, and directs the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to continue updating and expanding effective practices to reduce the spread of invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
The bill also amends the commercial blue and flathead catfish license so that a license holder may catch blue catfish for sale in tidal waters using either a finfish trotline or a gill net with a mesh size of no more than 7 inches, while flathead catfish remain limited to finfish trotlines. It preserves the existing annual license fee, application process, and nontransferability rules, and keeps the license requirement that it be in the fisher’s possession while fishing under the license.
Impact
SB610 changes the Natural Resources Article by broadening the authorized gear and program structure for commercial harvest of invasive blue catfish. It gives DNR additional flexibility to authorize electrofishing, longer trotlines, unlimited hooks, and noncorrodible hooks for blue catfish harvest, and it extends the pilot program’s reporting and sunset dates to 2030. The bill also shifts reporting from the Governor to the Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment and the House Environment and Transportation Committee, reflecting legislative oversight of the pilot program.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislature. It passed the Senate 43-0 and the House 127-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The emergency measure language suggests lawmakers viewed the changes as time-sensitive and important to immediate invasive species management efforts.
Contention
No recorded committee transcript or floor debate is provided, and the voting history shows no opposition. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is balancing aggressive invasive species removal against potential concerns about bycatch, user conflicts, and fishing gear impacts, which the bill addresses by allowing DNR to restrict trotline areas based on those factors. Any contention would likely have centered on expanding commercial fishing methods and gear allowances, but the available record does not show organized opposition.