ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland rockfish season begins May 16, but with regulations, the state’s Department of Natural Resources announced.

Emergency regulations for rockfish, also known as striped bass and striper, were approved earlier this year to bolster the species’ spawning population.

According to DNR, emergency regulations extend periods of closure to recreational striped bass fishing in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Striped bass season in the mainstem of the Chesapeake Bay will be open May 16. The remainder of Bay waters, including its tidal tributaries will open June 1 through July 15. 

All areas of the Bay will be closed to any targeting of striped bass from July 16 through July 31, and will reopen August 1 through December 10. 

Anglers may keep one striped bass per person, per day, with a minimum length of 19 inches and a maximum length of 24 inches, the DNR says.

Targeting of striped bass has been off-limits in the Chesapeake Bay since April 1 and will be until May 15, eliminating the Maryland striped bass trophy season. 

In the Susquehanna Flats, targeting of striped bass is prohibited through the end of May.

The FULL LIST OF REGULATIONS and STRIPED BASS REGULATIONS MAPS can be found online.

Additional information, including a link to complete regulations on striped bass fishing in Maryland waters, is available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

BALTIMORE – With the NTSB preliminary report comes several questions about the legal fallout after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

On Wednesday, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown called on the state board of public works to approve contracting five external law firms to assist in litigation after the collapse. The firms will only be paid contingent on the state winning its case. The funds for that would come from the damages recovered.

“The firms are the right mix of maritime, insurance, conflicts litigation, and other expertise and experience we need to pursue and protect the state’s interests in this critical matter,” Brown said.

The board approved these contracts during a vote Wednesday.  The state owned and operated the Key Bridge. The attorney general’s office has not indicated when it will file a claim.

This step comes as several legal fillings have already been sent to federal district court in Baltimore. The city filed a civil claim for damages in April. The Dali owner and operator filed a limitation of liability claim, asking the court to restrict the company’s financial responsibility to the cost of the ship. Separately, the ship’s owner declared general average, asking cargo companies with products on board to chip in for the cost of “voluntary lost cargo”.

While the report provides a clear timeline of events the morning of March 26, it doesn’t answer the question of why the incident occurred.

This will be the key in, what’s shaping up to be, a lengthy legal battle. Sen. Ben Cardin spoke at a press briefing earlier this week, saying this could be a historically large insurance claim.

“Those insurance claims will help to ensure the federal taxpayer gets relief,” Cardin said.

Maritime insurance functions differently than that on land. Large vessels can take out insurance policies from independent insurance brokers, but that can be expensive. Instead, most ships work with a protection and indemnity club, which is a group of vessels that form a mutual assurance organization to provide insurance for large claims. There are 12 leading clubs in the world, and they formed an international group to pool resources for high value claims. Currently, there is $2.1 billion available to support claims in this international group.

This insurance would only be triggered if the ship cannot limit its liability to the value of the vessel, which will be one of the first claims reviewed in court. In order to have a ruling in that case, the court needs to determine why the allision happened. If the court finds that the ship’s owner knew of problems on board, liability will not be limited.

“If it turns out equipment just failed unexpectedly even though the maintenance is up to date or if some ship’s officer simply made a mistake, then that would not be attributable to the owner, and theoretically limitation would be allowed,” Allen Black, maritime attorney at Mills Black LLP., said.

The FBI opened its investigation into the Dali last month. Black says investigators could be looking at criminal charges related to misconduct or neglect of ship officers, also known as the Seafarers Manslaughter statute. Prosecutors would have to prove simple negligence, accusing a member of the crew of neglect, misconduct or inattention to duties, causing the death of the six construction workers who were on the bridge that night.  

“I assume that’s exactly what they are looking for is to see if they can find some act of negligence attributable to the crew or the ship’s owner,” Black said.

All cases related to the Key Bridge Collapse need to be filed by September 24 in district court. Then, the court will begin reviewing evidence. This will all begin as the NTSB and Coast Guard safety investigation continues.

Nicole D. Porter’s recent commentary correctly nailed why the terrible legislation on criminal “justice” recently passed in the Maryland General Assembly and fails to provide safety or justice, particularly with regard to children (“Maryland lawmakers worsened criminal justice in three ways this year,” May 10).

Gov. Wes Moore should have vetoed House Bill 814, a hastily cobbled-together bill. I’m particularly confused and saddened by the difference between Moore’s campaign rhetoric (“No child left behind!”) and his support of a bill that allows 10-to-12-year-olds to be incarcerated for minor offenses and put in jail before court, rather than giving them and their families the therapeutic and educational support that has shown to work.

Governor Moore should be ending archaic policies like automatically charging children as adults, rather than supporting legislation like H.B. 814. He can do better and we need better policies for a safer, more just Maryland that cares about all of its children.

— Dr. Anna Rubin, Columbia

The writer is a member of the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition.

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