After extensive interagency review and discussion, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) have determined that trail cameras for recreational use are no longer to be permitted on state wildlife areas, state parks, or state forests. The ban on trail cameras on state lands is effective immediately.

In announcing it today, DNREC and DDA emphasized that the ban on recreational trail cameras – which are most often used in Delaware by hunters during the state’s extended deer season – is for state lands only and does not apply to use of trail cameras on private properties.

Delaware’s ban on recreational trail cameras is only the latest such action to be taken curtailing their deployment on public land. Both Prime Hook and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuges have previously prohibited the recreational use of trail cameras. At least five states besides Delaware have now banned recreational-use trail cameras on public land, while several other states are currently considering the ban.

Before imposing the ban on recreational-use trail cameras on state lands, DNREC and DDA gave consideration to a number of factors, including:

•  Acknowledgement that trail cameras are a technological advancement in hunting and are used successfully by many Delaware hunters for harvesting deer.
• A proliferation of the cameras deployed on public lands. Based on a 2021/2022 survey of Delaware hunters, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife estimates that approximately 11.1% of the hunters on state wildlife areas use trail cameras and deploy on average 2.3 cameras per hunter.
• An increasing number of complaints from hunters about trail camera use on public lands. Many of these complaints are associated with the “ownership/exclusive use” of a particular portion of state land once cameras are established there, thus excluding other hunters from using that area. Other complaints are about the constant disturbance of an area by hunters frequently checking and moving their trail cameras.
• Illegal activities that include the cutting and removal of vegetation from state land, when installing a trail camera. Trail cameras also interfere with habitat management and maintenance, during which time they either must be avoided or may be inadvertently destroyed.
• Privacy concerns due to documented use of trail cameras for monitoring human behavior at public parking areas and on popular hiking trails.
• Ethical issues associated with using cellular trail cameras for “trophy hunting” to the extent that the Boone & Crocket Club, keeper of “big game” records, does not recognize animals taken by hunters helped in their harvest by cellular trail cameras.

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 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Lisa McHugh, Lums Pond State Park; Scott Borino, Delaware Seashore State Park; Alana Delaney, Bellevue and Fox Point state parks; and Patrick Thompson, Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks. /DNREC photos

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is pleased to announce four new superintendents at Delaware State Parks. Lisa McHugh is now the superintendent at Lums Pond State Park, Scott Borino is the superintendent at Delaware Seashore State Park, Alana Delaney has been named superintendent of Bellevue and Fox Point state parks, and Patrick Thompson is the superintendent of Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks.

Lisa McHugh was previously the assistant park superintendent at Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks from March 2020 to December 2022. McHugh started her career with the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation as a conservation technician at Wilmington parks in November 2006 and held that position until she was promoted to assistant park superintendent.

Scott Borino was promoted from his assistant superintendent position at Delaware Seashore State Park. He was first hired by the division in 2013 as the assistant superintendent at the Indian River Marina. He previously held positions as the community services manager and then executive director of the Edgemoor Community Center in Wilmington. Borino also served in the AmeriCorps VISTA program with the American Red Cross in Delaware and Maryland.

Alana Delaney transferred to Bellevue and Fox Point state parks after serving as the superintendent of Alapocas Run and Wilmington State Parks since 2018. She previously served as the assistant superintendent of Alapocas Run and assistant superintendent of Bellevue State Park. Prior to those roles with the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation, she worked in several others with the division including as naturalist and park patrol officer at White Clay Creek State Park, and volunteer coordinator for the northern and inland ponds regions of the Delaware State Parks system.

Pat Thompson moved from his position at the helm of Auburn Valley State Park to take Delaney’s place as superintendent of Alapocas Run and Wilmington Run state parks. Thompson started his DNREC career in 2004 at Bellevue State Park as a park patrol officer and assistant superintendent before becoming a conservation technician. He briefly left Delaware in 2009 to work for the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Bellingham, Wash., and returned to work in Delaware State Parks in 2010 as a conservation tech at Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks. Thompson worked at Brandywine Creek State Park from 2015 to 2017, when he was promoted to assistant superintendent of Bellevue. Thompson then became the assistant park superintendent for Alapocas Run and Wilmington state parks before his promotion to superintendent of Auburn Valley State Park in 2020.

McHugh, Borino, Delaney and Thompson are responsible for all daily operations at their respective state parks, including supervision, scheduling and evaluation of staff; coordination of maintenance and visitor service programs; development and continuation of relationships with partners, adjacent landowners and community groups; and fiscal, programmatic and infrastructure planning.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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DNREC has revised the recreational striped bass size limit for Delaware to comply with emergency conservation action taken by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. /DNREC graphic Duane Raver Jr.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced that Delaware’s recreational striped bass size limit regulation has been revised effective May 21 to ensure compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) emergency action taken earlier this month. The revision changes the recreational striped bass size limit from a slot of 28 to 35 inches to a smaller 28-to-31-inch slot.

Slot limits are increasingly used in fisheries management for conservation of species on the rebound from diminished stocks. The rationale behind a slot limit is that it will protect fish too small to have spawned and reproduced – as are most striped bass smaller than 28 inches in length – while allowing larger fish of the species above the slot limit, most of them fecund females, to continue to reproduce.

The ASMFC took the emergency action in response to the unprecedented magnitude of 2022 recreational striper harvest (3,482,819 fish), which nearly doubled that of 2021 (1,858,386 fish). In weighing the 2022 recreational harvest alongside ASMFC’s new stock rebuilding projections, the estimated probability of striper spawning stock rebuilding to a 2029 target dropped from 97% under the lower 2021 recreational fishing mortality rate to less than 15% if the 2022 mortality rate were to continue each year.

The emergency 31-inch maximum size limit slot for 2023 is expected to reduce harvest of the strong 2015-year striped bass class, which will enable the opportunity for more fish from the exceptional 2015 class to spawn. There is no change through the ASMFC’s emergency action or DNREC’s regulatory revision to Delaware’s one-striped bass possession limit or to the recreational striper season, which is open year-round.

In addition, the ASMFC emergency action does not affect Delaware’s summer striped bass slot season – which allows anglers fishing Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the tidal tributaries of the river and bay to possess one striped bass 20 to 25 inches long daily from July 1 through Aug. 31.

The new size limit can be found in the online version of the 2023 Delaware Fishing Guide. For more information about the revised regulation, anglers can call the DNREC Fisheries Section at 739-9914.

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 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Hydrilla is an invasive aquatic weed that, if not kept under control, can choke ponds while crowding out beneficial plant species that comprise fertile fish habitat. Photo: USFWS

With inland water temperatures rising and aquatic plants emerging, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will begin treating certain downstate public ponds for the foreign invasive aquatic weed hydrilla starting May 29, weather permitting. Hydrilla is a non-native plant that likely entered the state through the aquarium trade. Uncontrolled hydrilla can choke ponds and other waterways, crowding out beneficial plant species and preventing fishing and boating access.

Ponds to be treated this year by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife are Griffiths Lake, Tub Mill Pond, and Abbotts Mill Pond, all near Milford. Signs will be posted at the boat ramp of each pond on the day of treatment

Sonar, an aquatic herbicide containing fluridone, will be used to treat the ponds for Hydrilla. Sonar, registered and approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been applied in Delaware since the 1980s and proven to be environmentally-compatible and effective for controlling hydrilla. Sonar does not pose a threat to wildlife, including fish, and there no restrictions on fishing or the consumption of fish caught from waters where the treatment has been applied.

The only special restriction is for not using water from the treated ponds for irrigation for 30 days after the date of treatment. Residents and farmers whose properties are along and directly downstream of treated ponds should not use the water to irrigate their gardens, lawns, or agricultural lands during that period to avoid possible damage to their plantings. Landowners with permits to use water from these ponds for irrigation will be directly notified before treatment.

To prevent the spread of hydrilla and other invasive aquatic vegetation throughout the year, anglers and boaters are encouraged to remove all hydrilla and other aquatic plants from their boats, trailers and gear before leaving the boat ramp area from the ponds to be treated.

For more information, contact the DNREC Fisheries section at 302-739-9914.

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 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

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James Milano of North Babylon, Long Island, N.Y., landed a state record 34-inch, 22-pound, 14.4-ounce tautog May 6 fishing east of the Indian River Inlet. /Submitted photo

Second Record of Year, Following Musky Caught Earlier

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has confirmed a new state record tautog, caught off the Indian River Inlet, as the second state record of 2023 for the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament – after a record musky caught in January in the Brandywine River had raised the bar for freshwater anglers.

The 34-inch, 22-pound 14.4-ounce tautog was caught May 6 off a wreck east of the Inlet by James Milano of North Babylon, N.Y., while fishing on the No Limit, a charter boat captained by Jon Azato.

The record ‘tog catch was certified by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em Bait & Tackle at Indian River Inlet. The new state record tautog weighed 1 pound, 6.7 ounces more than the previous state record, caught in May 2022 by Brent Wiest.

The record 43.25-inch, 22-pound, 3.2-ounce musky was caught Jan. 11 in the Brandywine River by Stephen Rutkowski of Wilmington. The record catch, landed while fishing from the bank of the Brandywine, was certified by the Division of Fish and Wildlife at Master Baiter’s Bait & Tackle in New Castle. The new state record musky was 1 lb., 11.2 oz. heavier than the previous state record, caught in 2013 by Thomas Sutton.

A list of all Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament state records can be found at de.gov/recfishing. More information on the tournament and state record fish can be found on the DNREC website and in the 2023 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide is also available in printed form from license agents throughout the state or by calling the DNREC Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914 to request a copy.

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 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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