NRP to Celebrate National Safe Boating Week
Wear Your Lifejacket to Work Day and boat safety check
DNR’s leadership team and PFD Panda wearing their lifejackets to work at last year’s event.
Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officers encourage the public to join them in wearing a lifejacket to work on Friday, May 17. The State initiative kicks off National Safe Boating Week, May 18 to 24, by raising awareness on the importance of these life saving devices. Read more
Marine Gathering Permits Now Required
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) now requires that coordinators of sizeable boat gatherings obtain a Marine Gathering Permit so that law enforcement and emergency medical services can properly prepare for these events. The new permit only applies to gatherings that will consist of 100 or more vessels and last longer than three hours.
Change Coming to Maryland’s Commercial Striped Bass Fishery
DNR Sets a May 10 Striped Bass Commercial Control Date for Quota Allocation
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service is making a significant management change to the commercial Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass fishery. DNR is working to meet fishing industry goals, create a more sustainable system, increase accountability and make it easier for police to enforce the law. The system will also comply with new Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requirements. These changes are the result of extensive meetings with the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission’s Striped Bass Industry Workgroup over the past 18 months. Read more 
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Spring Striped Bass Season to Open
Photo from Shawn Kimbro
With the spring season opener kicking off tomorrow, Maryland’s iconic striped bass, better known as rockfish, has area anglers preparing to get out on the water in hopes of reeling in a big one. Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay spring Striped Bass season opens at 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 20 with a one fish per person per day limit and a minimum size of 28 inches through May 15. Read more
NRP Participates in Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
When: April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
What: National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
Where: Select NRP Offices
Cost: Free
Contact: 1-800-882-9539
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) warns that keeping outdated medication could lead to abuse or accidental ingestion and flushing it can harm Maryland’s water quality and underwater life. NRP is encouraging citizens to bring their unwanted medicine to select area offices as a part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Read more
Citizens Asked to Report Stranded Marine Animals
Loggerhead Sea Turlte
Boaters and beachgoers are reminded to keep their eyes open for sea turtles and marine mammals while enjoying the outdoors this spring. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks anyone who sees a dead, visibly injured, entangled or stranded sea animal to call 1-800-628-9944 immediately. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Read more
Natural Resources Court Program Expands
Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties set monthly dates for violations
An NRP Officer checking for undersized crabs
A Maryland program that sets aside certain days to hear only natural resource cases has expanded to Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. The program ensures that natural resource related violations are tried under the same precedent, so that judgments are just and equal. Read more
NRP Blotter
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged a total of nine people with various violations in Allegany, Charles, Montgomery and Garrett counties so far this month. Read more
Governor O’Malley Congratulates NRP on 145th Anniversary
Historic Oyster Wars Cannon to be Displayed at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor
The Maryland Natural Resource Police (NRP) is turning 145 on March 30. In celebration, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has partnered with Visit Baltimore to exhibit its historic cannon from March 19 through late April 2013 at the Baltimore Inner Harbor Visitor’s Center. A relic of the Oyster Police of the 1800s, the cannon was used to protect the Chesapeake Bay’s oysters during the “oyster wars” of the 19th century. Read more
NRP Blotter
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged numerous people with violations in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot and Wicomico counties in February. Read more
