Sec. 08.02.23.02. Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Aquaculture activities" means those activities which include the purchase, monitoring, bottom preparation, planting, sale, possession, harvest, production, breeding, transportation, and processing of shellfish in State waters on or in an area used for shellfish cultivation.

(2) "Aquaculture Enterprise Zone" means an area of the Chesapeake Bay approved for the leasing of submerged land or the water column by the Department in consultation with the Department of the Environment and the Wetlands Administrator of the State Board of Public Works.

(3) "Aquaculture lease" means a lease of any submerged land or the water column located in an Aquaculture Enterprise Zone for cultivating oysters or other shellfish for commercial purposes.

(4) "Atlantic Coastal Bays" means the waters of the Assawoman, Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent, Newport, and Chincoteague Bays and their tributaries.

(5) "Demonstration lease" means a lease of submerged land for the purpose of demonstrating the ecological benefits of growing shellfish or for research or education.

(6) "Maryland waters" means tidal and nontidal waters located within the boundaries of the State, including that portion of the Atlantic Ocean within the boundaries of the State, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and all ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, public ditches, and public drainage systems within the State.

(7) "Person" means an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, or representative of any kind and any partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other entity.

(8) "Pole" means a buoy, float, or stake used to mark a leased oyster bottom.

(9) "SAV Protection Zone" means an area of submerged aquatic vegetation with a density greater than 10 percent as mapped in aerial surveys by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences in 1 or more of the 3 years preceding the designation of an Aquaculture Enterprise Zone, or an application for an aquaculture, submerged land, or demonstration lease.

(10) “Seed oyster” means an oyster that is no more than 1 inch in size from hinge to bill.

(11) "Submerged land lease" means any land lying beneath the waters of the State leased by the State to any person for cultivating oysters and other shellfish for commercial purposes.

(12) "Water column lease" means a lease of the column of water on or under the surface of the water and above the surface of the submerged land.

(13) “Yates Bar” means any submerged oyster bar, reef, rock, or area represented as an oyster bar on the charts of the oyster survey of 1906 to 1912, not including any amendments.