According to CBS Baltimore, the Maryland Senate has approved a two-season moratorium on fishing for cownose rays in contests, pending a study  by a state agency. The Senate voted 46-0 in favor of the moratorium and the bill will now go to the House of Delegates. What was initially proposed as a permanent ban has since been changed to a moratorium to be in place until July 2018. Animal rights organizations argue that the ray tournaments are inhumane, while opponents of a permanent ban argue rays are damaging to the Bay's oyster and blue crab populations. The MD DNR will conduct a study on cownose rays by the end of the year which will hopefully shed some light on this debate. For more on cownose rays, click to proptalk.com/cownose-rays. Photo by Mark Bandy