The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced that in 2021, more than half a million eels have been captured below the Conowingo Dam. The captured eels will be transported upstream and … Continued
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) recently announced the results of the 2021 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey. The annual cooperative survey estimates the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake … Continued
The 2020 American Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report indicate American shad remain depleted on a coastwide basis, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The assessment provides insights into American shad stocks in the Chesapeake … Continued
Results from the 2020 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey show the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab stock remains within healthy ranges. The 2020 results showed that the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population maintains a healthy number of spawning-age female crabs. This … Continued
Two recent surveys of juvenile striped bass in waters of the Chesapeake Bay indicated mixed results for the bay wide stock. Conducted by biologists in Maryland and Virginia the surveys included counts of juvenile striped bass and other species in … Continued
Results of the 2019 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey indicate that the Bay-wide blue crab population increased 60 percent from last year, to an estimated total population of 594 million crabs. The rise in adult abundance of blue crabs was … Continued
Shad abundance has surged in four Chesapeake Bay rivers, surpassing the restoration goals set by the Chesapeake Bay Program in the Potomac and Rappahannock. The Bay Program tracks the abundance of American shad in the James, Potomac, Rappahannock, Susquehanna and … Continued
Initially introduced for sportfishing in several Virginia tributaries, blue and flathead catfish are considered invasive in the Chesapeake Bay. Since their introduction, their range and population have increased dramatically. Blue catfish and flathead catfish are now top predators in several … Continued
Communities and coastal habitats in the southern Chesapeake Bay region could face increased flooding because, as seawater levels are rising in the bay, the land surface is also sinking, according to a new USGS report. The report cites intensive groundwater … Continued
A reservior of high-salinity groundwater found more than 1,000 meters (0.6 mi.) deep under the Chesapeake Bay is actually remnant water from the Early Cretaceous North Atlantic Sea and is probably 100-145 million years old, according to U.S. Geological Survey … Continued