{"id":11572,"date":"2016-09-22T08:03:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-22T12:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=11572"},"modified":"2017-04-14T18:16:36","modified_gmt":"2017-04-14T22:16:36","slug":"fish-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2016\/09\/22\/fish-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care of (Fish) Business: Levels of management"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bluegill;

Bluegill; by David Jackson<\/p><\/div>\n

Have you ever grumbled about the minimum size requirement, especially after you threw back that sixth undersized fish of the day? Have you ever wondered who makes these rules, why or how?<\/p>\n

Fisheries management, like much of what we do<\/a> at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, can be considered a balancing act between two extremes of absolute prohibition (no fishing allowed!) and no protection (catch them all!) As natural resource managers, we usually want to be somewhere in the middle\u2014a \u201csweet spot\u201d where people can benefit from the resource, either commercially or recreationally, while we ensure that enough fish are protected to support a healthy ecosystem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Location, location, location\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To a degree, finding that perfect balance depends on where the fish pass their time.<\/p>\n

Maryland is home to many marine migratory species<\/em> that swim through other states\u2019 waters and even out into federal ocean waters (beyond three miles from shore.) For example, striped bass can travel as far north as Maine and south to North Carolina every year before returning to the Old Line State in the spring! We manage more than a dozen such species, noted in the box\u00a0below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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American eel, Atlantic croaker, Atlantic menhaden, black sea bass, bluefish, horseshoe crab, red drum, scup, shad and river herring, Spanish mackerel, spiny dogfish and coastal sharks, spotted seatrout, striped bass, summer flounder, tautog, weakfish<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Maryland is also home to many freshwater species<\/em> that live in our lakes and rivers. Some, such as largemouth and smallmouth bass, may move into a neighboring state. Others, such as crappie, trout and sunfish, rarely cross state lines.<\/p>\n

With so much variety<\/a>, taking care of fish business can\u2019t be a one-size-fits-all approach. Management becomes more complex\u2014and more expensive\u2014as a fish species travels farther distances and cross state and federal boundaries.<\/p>\n

Factors that affect fish management include:<\/p>\n