LIFE-TIME FISHING BAN: Two Eastern Shore watermen convicted last year of a large poaching scheme have received lifetime bans from the striped bass fishery by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. State officials said they were not aware of a lifetime ban being imposed in the striped bass fishery before this case, Catherine Rentz reports for the Annapolis Capital.
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The two were convicted of poaching and selling nearly $500,000 of striped bass over a period of four years, according to the Easton Star Democrat. In February 2015, one was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed and three years of supervised release. The other received a prison sentence of one year and one day. Both received six months of home detention and fines of $40,000.
NEW LAWS: Here’s a photo gallery of new laws that will take effect in Maryland on Friday, July 1, courtesy of AP and running in the Carroll County Times. They include a hike in the minimum wage and a hike in the state’s gas tax.