NRP at work on the Potomac River

Type: Chesapeake
Region: Southern
Location: Potomac River

Last week (3-14-2011) I met Natural Resource Police Officer Tim Kraemer at the St. Mary's College dock to spend the day with him shooting pictures for Slackwater, a college publication documenting the cultural history and life in southern Maryland. The 2011 issue of Slackwater is focusing on 'Right of Way', and the objective of my assignment was to document the rights that different groups have to resources and how these rights are regulated. After leaving the St. Mary's River we headed south and checked a group of power dredgers working a small oyster bar off the mouth of Smith Creek. We then headed South into the Virginia portion of the river to look for gill-netters, there were numerous nets out but only one boat fishing. We watched the waterman pull in a net full of 10-15 lb Stripers and small Bunker. Maryland's gill-net season is closed, but waterman in the Potomac go by regulations set by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC). These waterman were abiding by all the rules so we continued to search the river for commericial or recreational fisherman. We came upon a commercial hook and liner who we checked over the radio, he was in compliance so we continued on and conducted a homeland security check at the Piney Point gas dock. We continued cruising south to Point Lookout for fuel and made our way back into the St. Mary's.

Photographs � Jay Fleming 2011