§ 4-711. Pound or fyke nets
West's Annotated Code of MarylandNatural ResourcesEffective: June 1, 2016
Effective: June 1, 2016
MD Code, Natural Resources, § 4-711
§ 4-711. Pound or fyke nets
(a) A person may not set any pound net or any line of these nets that is greater in length than one third the distance across the waters of the bay, sound, river, creek, cove, or inlet where it is set, or is set so that it impedes or obstructs navigation on or blocks in any way the main channel of the bay, sound, river, creek, cove, or inlet. The length limit provided here shall not be construed to apply to any line of nets running parallel to the bank or shore of any bay, sound, river, creek, cove, or inlet, but no net may be set across the mouth on any tributary, harbor, or navigation channel.
(b) A person may not set at any time a pound net within 4500 feet of another pound net in the Chesapeake Bay and within 1500 feet in a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, measured at right angles to the line of stakes. Every pound net set licensed in the Chesapeake Bay or one of its tributaries may retain the locations it lawfully occupied on June 1, 1949. Except as otherwise provided by this title, a person may not set at any time a fyke net within 300 feet of a pound net, measured at right angles to the line of stakes. A person may set any fyke net closer to any pound net than the distance provided in this subsection if the owner of the pound net location gives written permission.
(c) Clear and unobstructed intervals of at least 200 feet shall be maintained between successive pound nets in the same row.
(d) A person may not set a pound net in or upon the waters covering leased oyster ground without the permission of the lessee.
(e) The outer end of each line of pound or net stakes shall be marked plainly by a brush or other suitable day marker, readily discernible to indicate the opening between nets. The name of the owner and the license number of each pound or stake net shall be displayed in black letters, at least 2 inches high, on a white background on a stake at the outer end of the pound or line, at a height and in a position as to be seen readily from adjacent navigable channels. The Secretary, after a public hearing, shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the lighting of pound nets.
(f) A single line of stakes, including the pound or head and the leader or hedging, may not have a length greater than the following:
(g) A person may not drive, maintain, or permit any stake to remain, in any line of stakes or otherwise, unless it projects above the surface of the water at least 3 feet at high tide.
(h)(1) Every licensee shall:
(i) Before setting a pound net in accordance with this section and the regulations adopted under subsection (j) of this section, a licensee shall ensure that, at least 7 days before the setting of the net, the Department receives:
(j)(1) The Department may adopt regulations on the placement of pound or stake nets, including a limit on the number of locations of pound nets that may be assigned to a licensee.
Credits
Added by Acts 1973, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 4, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1974, c. 671; Acts 1974, c. 864, § 3; Acts 1983, c. 563; Acts 1984, c. 255; Acts 1998, c. 289, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, c. 34, § 1, eff. April 13, 1999; Acts 2000, c. 263, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2000; Acts 2004, c. 221, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2004; Acts 2005, c. 25, § 1, eff. April 12, 2005; Acts 2013, c. 519, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013; Acts 2016, c. 117, § 1, eff. June 1, 2016.
Formerly Art. 66C, § 264.
MD Code, Natural Resources, § 4-711, MD NAT RES § 4-711
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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