The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a public hearing Dec. 15 in Delaware relating to the Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan /DNREC graphic: Duane Raver

Proposal Would Enable Transfer of Commercial Ocean Harvest Quota Between States

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a public hearing in hybrid format – to include a Delaware in-person venue – from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15 to gather public input on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today.

Draft Addendum I proposes a range of options for the voluntary transfer of unused striped bass ocean commercial harvest quota between ASMFC member states to include Delaware. The draft addendum also considers quota transfer options based on striped bass stock status and the ASMFC establishing future quota transfer criteria.

The ASMFC’s hybrid hearing format will allow the public to participate in-person or remotely. The in-person meeting will be held at the Kent County Conservation District, 1679 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover 19901. More information on the hearing, including instructions for attending remotely and for commenting on Draft Addendum I, can be found on the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 65,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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DOVER – When a new shellfish grower recently placed his first shipment of tiny oysters in growing cages in Rehoboth Bay, it marked the physical start of Delaware’s shellfish aquaculture program administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Fish & Wildlife. “Planting” the tiny oysters on leased acreage was the realization of an idea that began in 2012 with conversations between DNREC, the Delaware Department of Agriculture, the Center for the Inland Bays, Delaware SeaGrant, and stakeholders – and which led to legislation in 2013 authorizing commercial shellfish aquaculture in Delaware’s Inland Bays.

“We see this as a significant first step in the development of the new shellfish aquaculture industry,” DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin said. “We are making great strides in the Inland Bays in improving water quality and the ecology, and shellfish aquaculture contributes to achieving those goals. It is very encouraging to see this first seeding of what will become the foundation for commercially-grown oysters and hard clams in Delaware.”

In addition to the leaseholder cited above, DNREC’s Shellfish Aquaculture Program has received 23 lease applications to date for the new industry. If all of these applications are approved after the review process, 126 acres will be leased for shellfish aquaculture in the Inland Bays – with maximum acreage limited by law to 5 percent of Rehoboth and Indian River Bays, and 43 acres in Little Assawoman Bay. NOTE: Outside of the leased shellfish aquaculture acreage, the Inland Bays are accessible and open to recreational fishing, crabbing and clamming, subject to Delaware’s normal recreational fishing license and regulation requirements.

Applications for shellfish aquaculture leasing are continuously being accepted and evaluated by the Division of Fish & Wildlife. On May 10, DNREC updated the Inland Bays interactive shellfish aquaculture maps to reflect acreage currently available for lease. (For more information on the program, the latest information on the shellfish aquaculture webpage on the DNREC website.)

As with the tiny oysters sown by the new grower in Rehoboth Bay, acreage already leased is showing signs of shellfish aquaculture activity. Throughout spring, shellfish growers have been arranging to purchase young oyster and hard clam “seed” to place on their Inland Bays’ leases. These planted shellfish are very small now, but will grow to market size. Shellfish aquaculture is considered environmentally “green” as an industry because shellfish filter the water and get all their nutrition from it. The filtering and feeding of the oysters can result in the reduction of excess nutrients such as nitrogen that cause algal blooms and decrease water clarity.

It is also expected that the new shellfish aquaculture program will result in a boost for Delaware’s economy. The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) Fisheries estimated that in 2015, US shellfish farmers produced an estimated $295 million in product. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimated that the value of the oysters and clams sold in Virginia alone in 2017 was $56.6 million. In time, and with a lot of care and attention from the state’s new shellfish growers, the Inland Bays-grown oysters planted this spring will be available for sale in a year or two.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 127

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Lottery applications now available for May 2 drawing

DOVER – The Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife will conduct a public lottery for the initial offering of acreage available for shellfish aquaculture leases in Delaware’s Inland Bays at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, at DNREC’s Lewes Facility, 901 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE 19958.

Applications to participate in the lottery are available online at Aquaculture Lottery Application, or by contacting DNREC’s Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914. To participate in the May 2 lottery, applicants must submit their completed applications to the Division of Fish & Wildlife by 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 26.

Applicants will be contacted by the Fisheries Section in the order their applications were drawn in the lottery and need not be present to claim their position. In the order of their awarded position, lottery participants will be able to select one to five acres in the Indian River and Rehoboth Bays (combined) and/or one to five acres in the Little Assawoman Bay.

Applications to lease acreage will be accepted after all lottery participants have selected their acreage through the lottery process.

Acreage selected through the lottery may not be transferred to another entity prior to the issuance of a fully-executed lease. Following the award of lease sites through the lottery, remaining acreage will be available for potential leases on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If a lottery participant fails to submit a completed and accepted lease application for their selected acreage within one year from the date of the initial lottery, those acres will be made available for leasing on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about the lottery and the shellfish aquaculture program, visit Delaware shellfish aquaculture, or call the Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 47, No. 73

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DOVER – The Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife’s shellfish aquaculture program has posted an interactive online map that provides site-specific information helpful for selecting shellfish aquaculture lease locations in the Inland Bays. The map shows those areas covered by the recent Statewide Activity Approval (SAA) issued by DNREC’s Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands Section, which facilitates the expedited processing of shellfish aquaculture lease applications.

The interactive map, which depicts prohibited and seasonally-closed shellfishing areas, allows users to gather information on shellfish aquaculture areas covered by the SAA, including location coordinates and which acres have been sampled and are eligible for leasing based on natural hard clam density. The map also will serve as a tool for identifying shellfish aquaculture acreage as it is leased in the future.

DNREC will initiate leasing of shellfish aquaculture acreage through an initial lottery and begin accepting aquaculture lease applications soon after the scheduled issuance later this month of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ new nationwide permit and regional conditions, which are anticipated to govern shellfish aquaculture in specific areas of the Inland Bays.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 63

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