Message From the Governor

Maryland is blessed with boundless fishing opportunities, from the coldwater trout streams and lakes of Western Maryland to the world class tuna and billfish fisheries of the Atlantic Ocean. In between, our State boasts blue ribbon bass fishing in the Potomac River, the Upper Bay and Eastern Shore as well as abundant panfishing in community ponds.

Each year, nearly 90 percent of the Atlantic striped bass population returns to our portion of the Chesapeake Bay to spawn and grow.
The blue crab defines what it means to be a Marylander, whether in the form of a plump crab cake or a silhouetted crabber working a trotline on a foggy summer morning. We have much to be thankful for.

Along with such bountiful outdoor opportunities comes the responsibility to conserve, protect, enhance and share our natural resources. Fortunately, Maryland’s biologists, technicians and managers are working together with public advisory commissions and our colleges and universities to guide fisheries management. Still, our most ardent and effective conservationists and mentors are you, the anglers. Even as Department of Natural Resources professionals serve to safeguard and enhance our fishing assets, our anglers must also remain committed to passing on the passion for fishing and stewardship to the next generation. Fulfilling this role can be as simple and enjoyable as taking a child fishing, to ensure, we are responsible keepers of the future by being active in the present.

Thank you for your commitment and for being a part of Maryland’s great fishing tradition.

Sincerely,

Martin O’Malley
Governor of Maryland

John R. Griffin,
Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Regulations in red are new this year.

Purple text indicates an important note.