Kris Hallengren, a Manager in our Forensic and Valuation Services Division, testified in Annapolis on February 8th regarding House Bill 273 on Oyster Poaching.

A little background on HB 273 - Natural Resources – Oyster Poaching – Cross-filed as SB 159. The bill allows the Department to revoke a commercial license if that licensee is issued a citation for taking oysters more than 200 feet within a closed or prohibited area, using illegal oyster gear, harvesting oysters outside of a legal time by more than 1 hour, harvesting oysters outside of a season, and taking oysters illegally from a leased area. The bill requires the Department to revoke the license through a contested case hearing process with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). This hearing is required to occur within 60 days of the receiving a citation.

He was asked by the Chesapeake Baysavers to compile all economic studies that have been done on the Chesapeake Bay oyster market and its economic potential. Kris and the WCS FVS team compiled the studies and discovered some interesting facts.

• MD has spent $40 million dollars on oyster restoration since 1994
• The MD Chesapeake Bay harvest thriving in the 1950s averaged $130 million dollars (in today's dollars) per year
• Today that harvest is less than $500 thousand dollars per year though it has grown by 20% in each of the past years
• The VA Chesapeake Bay harvest and the DE Bay harvest are $7 million and $19 million dollars respectively thanks to their restoration efforts and tougher poaching laws

The bill did not encounter any opposition and should pass during this session of the General Assembly.