the activities of the six agencies represented on the Board; maintains
the boundaries of the State (Code 1957, Art. 66C, sees. 31-32); admin-
isters certain mineral resources under the Chesapeake Bay (Code 1957,
Art. 66C, sees. 22-30); administers artificial islands in Sinepuxent Bay
(Code 1957, Art. 66C, sec, 33); and approves or disapproves of certain
fishery regulations (Code 1957, Art. 66C, sees. 294, 329).

Appropriations 1961 1962

General Funds .................................... $20,400 $21,446
Staff; 3.

DEPARTMENT OF TIDEWATER FISHERIES
The Commission

Chairman: Dr. Harry C. Byrd, 1963

Dr. George J. Weems, 1962; Jeremiah Valliant, 1964; Albert
Baker, 1965; Jesse A. Fisher, 1966.
Joseph H. Manning, Director

Edward S. Digges, Special Assistant Attorney General

State Office Building, Annapolis Telephone: Colonial 8-3371

The Department of Tidewater Fisheries, created by Chapter 508,
Acts of 1941, is the State agency responsible for the conservation and
development of the natural resources of tidewater Maryland. The De-
partment is managed by a Commission composed of five members
appointed by the Governor for five-year terms, with overlapping ten-
ure of office. The Commission elects its own Chairman.

The Commission formulates basic policy for the Department, subject
to the laws governing various aspects of the tidewater resources. It
is undertaking, on a large scale, a "farming" operation designed to
increase the supply of oysters. It is also charged with the responsi-
bility for other operations in the seafood industry, such as clamming,
fishing, crabbing, etc.

All of the fishery industries are subject to certain legal regulatory
restrictions. The Department is charged by law with the responsi-
bility for enforcement of all such regulations.

The Commission has discovered a large supply of shells beneath
the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and is now engaged in a dredging
operation to obtain these shells for planting purposes. About 3,340,000
bushels of these dredged shells were planted in 1960, and it is ex-
pected that about 5,000,000 bushels will be dredged in 1961, which,
with shells obtained from packers, will make a total planting of more
than 6,000,000 bushels.

The present Tidewater Fisheries Commission and the laws under
which it operates are the outcome of efforts begun in 1785 when the
people of Maryland and Virginia made a compact for the use of the
Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. However, it was not until
1830, with the passage of the first fishery laws, that Maryland be-
came conscious of the possibility of depleting its water resources. In
1866, the General Assembly passed an oyster license law, and in 1868
it created the State Oyster Police. The oyster police force was simply
an enforcement agency; it did not undertake any constructive pro-
gram. In 1874, the Legislature created a new agency, the Commis-
sioners of Fisheries. This Commission undertook the first positive
efforts to develop the fisheries.

In the early twentieth century, oyster production declined to such
an extent that in 1906 the Hainan Act provided for a complete survey