Maryland DNR Encourages Charter Captains to Kill More Blue Catfish

The Department is working with the Tidal and Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission’s Invasive Catfish Advisory Committee to develop a Blue Catfish Commercial-Charter Pilot Program for Maryland. The Invasive Fishes Charter Pilot Program will allow a participant who is in possession of an Unlimited Tidal Fish License (UTFL) or a combination of a Resident Fishing Guide (FGR) AND a Unlimited Finfish Harvester (FIN) or a Finfish Harvester – Hook and Line (HLI) to run for-hire and commercial fishing trips simultaneously and will remove crew limits for commercial hook and line fishing trips for blue catfish.

Above: Steven Evans holds up a big Potomac River blue catfish caught last December. (Photo courtesy of Steven Evans via MD DNR)

For the purposes of this pilot program, we will be limiting the eligible species to blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus). The management strategies of the Department for invasive fishes rely, in part, on biomass reductions via commercial harvest. Allowing for-hire and commercial fishing trips for blue catfish to run on the same trip and removing the crew restrictions on commercial hook and line trips for blue catfish will provide additional opportunities for biomass reductions.  There will not be a cap on the number of pilot participants for this project. In order to qualify for this pilot project, the applicant must be in possession of an Unlimited Tidal Fish License (UTFL) or a combination of a Resident Fishing Guide (FGR) and a Unlimited Finfish Harvester (FIN) or a Finfish Harvester – Hook and Line (HLI). Participants will be required to complete an additional daily report on days in which they conduct a for-hire and commercial hook and line fishing trip simultaneously.

Read more about invasive blue catfish in the Chesapeake (and how to catch them).

Source: https://onthewater.com/maryland-dnr-encourages-charter-captains-to-kill-more-blue-catfish

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