Bay Journal

Topics: Fisheries

Portions of the Chesapeake Bay’s underwater grass meadows appear to be headed for steep declines this year, a delayed response to the torrential rains that poured vast amounts of water-fouling sediments and nutrients into the estuary during 2018.

Initial reviews of this year’s aerial survey show significant losses of underwater grass beds in parts of the Mid Bay, where the bulk of the Chesapeake’s underwater grass beds are located.

At the same time, preliminary reviews of the aerial images show that portions of the Upper Bay survived last year’s deluge of muddy water surprisingly well, with grass beds even expanding in some areas.

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Karl Blankenship
August 21, 2019
Climate Change,Fisheries,Wildlife + Habitat
0 Comments

Low salinity suspected for poor crab harvest in Upper Chesapeake

At the beginning of July, media across Maryland delivered good news for those planning a traditional feast of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs on Independence Day. Baltimore TV station WJZ, for instance, touted a new report that the Bay’s crab...

Timothy B. Wheeler
August 20, 2019
Fisheries
0 Comments

Brown trout’s survival in Anacostia tributary an upstream struggle

As the story goes, the first person to spot a trout rising in Paint Branch in the 1970s — a Maryland stream that already passed under a half-dozen highway ramps on its way to the Anacostia River — could hardly believe it. And despite...

Whitney Pipkin
August 12, 2019
Fisheries
3 Comments

Public comments sought on striped bass catch reductions

East Coast fishery managers are taking comments on a range of options that would slash striped bass harvests by 18% compared with 2017 levels as part of an effort to halt overfishing of the iconic Chesapeake Bay species. The action comes in the...

Karl Blankenship
August 09, 2019
Fisheries
2 Comments

Fisheries: Archives

Scientists see early success in breeding effort to help save Chesapeake logperch

In a mad dash to keep the Chesapeake logperch from being placed on the federal endangered species list, the tiny fish is certainly doing its part. In an underwater roundup of sorts, 28 logperch were netted in late March from three tributaries...

Ad Crable
July 26, 2019
Fisheries
1 Comment

Maryland plan to boost oysters criticized as administration makes push for approval

Maryland natural resources officials say they have an “ambitious,” science-based plan for putting the state’s troubled oyster fishery on a path to sustainability in the next eight to 10 years. They want to get on with it....

Timothy B. Wheeler
July 25, 2019
Fisheries,Politics + Policy
3 Comments

Oyster hatcheries struggling as lower Bay salinity hampers production

Producing billions of baby oysters is technical stuff. At the Horn Point Lab oyster hatchery, it takes thousands of parent oysters, massive water tanks, an algae greenhouse, computer-controlled feeding equipment and a brigade of interns. By...

Jeremy Cox
July 10, 2019
Fisheries
1 Comment

Snakeheads may be wreaking ecological harm, after all

Something was pulling his fishing pole into the water — something big. So, Dustin Stem ran over and grabbed the pole just as it was about to disappear into the drainage pond’s murky waters. The 10-year-old was soon joined in the...

Jeremy Cox
July 06, 2019
Fisheries,Wildlife + Habitat
3 Comments

Maryland, Virginia ease crabbing limits

Buoyed by evidence of a surge in the Chesapeake Bay crab population, fisheries regulators in Maryland and Virginia have approved modest increases in harvest limits for the rest of this year. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted...

Timothy B. Wheeler
June 26, 2019
Fisheries
0 Comments

Study finds Maryland oyster sanctuaries likely to boost crab, perch fisheries

The restoration of reefs in Maryland oyster sanctuaries may be unpopular with watermen, but a recent study predicts the effort will eventually yield a bonanza for the commercial seafood industry, with bigger harvests of blue crabs and white...

Timothy B. Wheeler
June 25, 2019
Fisheries
3 Comments

Biologists fear catfish spread after last year’s record deluge

Last year’s record-setting rainfall brought more into the Chesapeake Bay than pollution and debris. Biologists say the freshwater deluge helped the nonnative blue catfish, which was already invading the estuary, to spread farther in the...

Karl Blankenship
June 10, 2019
Fisheries
1 Comment

MD bans foam food containers, passes Clean Energy Jobs act

Maryland’s foam ban and ambitious clean energy goals have become law. A bid to change how the state regulates its oyster industry got tripped up — at least for this year. Gov. Larry Hogan last week let the foam ban and clean...

Timothy B. Wheeler
May 31, 2019
Energy,Fisheries,Pollution
1 Comment

UMCES report: Low health scores rain on Chesapeake Bay’s recovery

A year of historically heavy rainfall strained the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem — but not past the breaking point, according to a wide-ranging assessment released Tuesday. The estuary’s overall health score in 2018 dropped...

Jeremy Cox
May 22, 2019
Fisheries,Pollution
1 Comment

Chesapeake blue crab population grows despite 2018’s rains

Last year’s never-ending loop of storms may have rattled the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem, but it didn’t scuttle the estuary’s blue crab population. Results from the annual, Baywide winter crab survey, released May 6,...

Jeremy Cox
May 07, 2019
Fisheries
1 Comment

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