Saving Seafood

How a Massachusetts offshore wind case could impact the US Wind fight in Maryland

June 16, 2026 — A federal court fight in Massachusetts over offshore wind is now playing a role in the ongoing legal battle over the proposed US Wind project off Maryland’s coast.

As WBOC has covered extensively, the Maryland lawsuit was filed in 2024 by the Town of Ocean City and other plaintiffs challenging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of US Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan off the coast of Worcester County under President Joe Biden.

On April 13, 2026, Ocean City and its fellow plaintiffs filed for a motion of summary judgment, requesting federal judge Stephanie Gallagher to essentially reverse BOEM’s approval of the project without bringing the case to trial. The federal government was given until June 26 to respond.

Read the full article at WBOC

Updates from Partners on Engaging the Recreational Fishing Community to Restore Habitat through the National Fish Habitat Partnership

June 9, 2026 — Through the National Fish Habitat Partnership, NOAA Fisheries supports projects that restore habitat in collaboration with recreational anglers. Partners are reporting progress on several ongoing projects that actively engage local communities and recreational anglers to conserve fish habitat.

Engaging Anglers in Oyster Reef Monitoring

Sponsoring Partnership: Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership

Restoring the habitat provided by oyster reefs has long been a focus of NOAA Fisheries. In the Chesapeake Bay, this has led to restoration of roughly 3 square miles of healthy reef habitat. NOAA scientists help plan, implement, and monitor oyster reef restoration. Engaging local communities in restoration of oyster reefs is key to project success, so our partners at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) recruited local recreational anglers to participate in fishing surveys to track how fish use restored reefs in the South River in Maryland. CBF is also using other data collection methods such as video, water quality, and fishing surveys to monitor this oyster reef restoration progress.

In addition to fishing surveys, CBF has been working to plan the 7th Annual Rod and Reef Slam catch-and-release fishing tournament to showcase the importance of healthy habitat. By awarding anglers for a high diversity of catches, rather than the largest catch by size, this tournament heavily depends on healthy oyster reefs to support diverse fish populations.

This project is sponsored by the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership and is made possible by an agreement with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Invasive blue catfish turn problem into fishery

June 2, 2026 — Fishermen and chefs hope to feed people and eradicate invasive blue catfish at the same time.

Blue catfish have become a manmade disaster in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. They’re an invasive species spreading throughout the region and eating whatever they can find. On the upside, they’re good eating, and some commercial fishermen and anglers are doing well catching them.

The problem began, as many do, with good intentions. In 1974, striped bass stocks were declining, and the state sought to provide a new species for anglers to catch. Chester F. Phelps, then executive director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, oversaw the introduction of 300,000 blue catfish into the James River. More stocking followed, and in 1985, Virginia stocked blue catfish in the York River. Blue catfish, native to the Mississippi River watershed, seemed like a good fit for Virginia rivers.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MARYLAND: Can Maryland remain the “crab capital” if consumers can’t buy crabmeat?

June 1, 2026 — Maryland diners love to eat blue crabs, crustaceans native to the Chesapeake Bay that have been a culinary favorite in the region for centuries. But a federal effort to restrict imported crabmeat has sparked a legal fight that could disrupt supply, drive up prices and reshape the seafood industry.

The fight has also exposed a little-known fact to anyone outside of the seafood industry: Almost all “pasteurized” crabmeat purchased in grocery stores and consumed in restaurants in Maryland and beyond is imported from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Pasteurized crabmeat refers to crab that has been cooked to a specific temperature to extend its shelf life, allowing it to be shipped long distances and stored for longer periods. It’s typically sold in cans and used in products like crab cakes.

Read the full article at the Sentinel 

MARYLAND: Maryland offering zero-interest disaster relief loans to state oysterman after difficult season

May 27, 2026 — The Maryland Agriculture and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) has launched a new program offering zero-interest disaster relief loans to commercial oystermen hurt by a difficult season, with both icy conditions and a broken sewage pipe impact their bottom lines.

“Through its new Maryland Seafood Industry Financial Assistance Fund, MARBIDCO is offering zero-interest disaster relief loans to help commercial oyster harvesters who are struggling financially due to poor market conditions, bad weather, and environmental calamity. MARBIDCO has USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million) available to lend,” MARBIDCO said in its announcement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab numbers rebound overall, but female population continues decline

May 26, 2026 — The latest Chesapeake Bay blue crab survey is offering a mix of encouraging signs and ongoing concerns for watermen and seafood industries on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where the blue crab remains one of the region’s most economically and culturally important fisheries.

According to results released from the annual Chesapeake Bay Winter Dredge Survey, conducted jointly by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Bay’s total blue crab population is estimated at 349 million crabs in 2026. That marks a 46 percent increase from last year’s estimate of 238 million crabs, which had been the second-lowest total recorded since the survey began in 1990.

The survey found strong gains among juvenile crabs and adult male crabs, raising hopes for a more productive crabbing season this summer for many Virginia watermen, including those working along the Eastern Shore.

However, scientists and fisheries managers continue to express concern about the Bay’s spawning-age female crabs, whose numbers declined again this year and remain well below long-term averages.

Read the full article at Shore Daily News

MARYLAND: Ancient horseshoe crab migration returns to Maryland shores

May 22, 2026 — Thousands of horseshoe crabs have begun arriving along Maryland’s beaches as part of the oldest wildlife migrations on Earth, a phenomenon scientists say dates back roughly 350 million years.

According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the annual spawning season for the species stretches from May through July and peaks during high tides surrounding the full and new moons in June.

In 2026, the best viewing opportunities are expected around June 15 and June 29. Popular viewing locations include Sunset Park near the Ocean City Inlet and several Chesapeake Bay spawning beaches identified on the department’s Horseshoe Crab Volunteer Angler Survey.

Read the full article at Fox Baltimore

The enduring pull of the wooden deadrise boat

May 19, 2026 — Although many Chesapeake Bay crab pot fishermen have switched from large wooden boats to small outboard fiberglass boats, there is still demand for deadrise boats 40 feet and over.

Wayne Hudgins, owner of Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina in Port Haywood, Va., is a commercial crabber and works the crab boat the Miss Violet II.

Hudgins has recently fiberglassed the 39′ x 11.5′ x 3.5′ wooden hull of the Miss Violet II and plans to install a new Cummins QSC 8.3-liter, 600-horsepower, 6-cylinder diesel engine. The boat was built by Jerry Pruitt of Tangier Island, Va., in 1986.

When finished, the hull will be coated with five coats of the West Epoxy System using 1708 biaxial fiberglass cloth with 3/4-ounce mat backing and 545 Awlgrip Epoxy primer. An Awlcraft 2000 acrylic urethane topcoat finish will be applied.

The boat also received four new salt-treated wood bulkheads, new spruce pine washboards and decking, and mahogany guardrails with a new brass rub rail.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MARYLAND: Eastern Shore seafood companies say potential crab import bans could threaten jobs, supply chains

May 7, 2026 — A coalition of seafood companies including several local businesses filed a federal lawsuit challenging new federal seafood import restrictions that they say could devastate crab processing operations on the Eastern Shore and disrupt the nation’s crab supply chain.

While the companies have been successful in delaying those restrictions, the federal government could reintroduce them this month.

The original lawsuit, acquired by WBOC, was filed in October of 2025 in the United States Court of International Trade by the National Fisheries Institute, Restaurant Law Center, and several seafood importers and processors. Those businesses included Baltimore-based Phillips Foods and Salisbury-based Handy Seafood, Cebu Pacific LLC, and Byrd International Inc.

Read the full article at WBOC

Studies challenge ‘gauntlet’ theory in Chesapeake menhaden debate

May 6, 2026 — Two independent analyses are pushing back on a key claim driving current Atlantic menhaden management discussions, that Virginia’s reduction fishery is preventing fish from reaching Maryland waters.

According to a May 4 release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition, both a statistical review and an oceanographic study found no evidence supporting the idea that Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay purse seine fishery is “blocking” menhaden migration to the upper bay.

The findings were submitted to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board through a comment letter from Ocean Harvesters, as regulators consider a proposed addendum focused on the timing of the reduction fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman