December 26, 2023 — The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition addresses five inaccurate and misleading statements made in a recent press release by the Chesapeake Legal Alliance and the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization regarding their petition for rulemaking to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). A brief overview of inaccuracies, expert statements, and scientific findings is listed below, followed by a more detailed discussion of each false claim.
Chesapeake Bay dead zone ‘smallest’ it’s been since 1985
December 2, 2023 — The “dead zone” in the Chesapeake Bay is the smallest it has been since recording began in 1985, according to new data from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Old Dominion University and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
The dead zone is the area in which there is a relative low amount of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Typically, this means that polluted runoff has brought in phosphorus and nitrogen, which feeds growth of algal blooms. These blooms eventually die and decompose, removing oxygen from the surrounding waters faster than it can be replenished. Animals such as crabs, oysters and fish need healthy levels of oxygen in the water to survive.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported dissolved oxygen levels in the Chesapeake Bay were “much better” than past years. The department reported the dead zone averaged 0.52 cubic miles from May to October this year, compared with the historical average of 0.97 cubic miles.
VIMS reported a dead zone of 0.58 cubic miles. The institute reported that hypoxia began earlier than usual, in April, but it remained “uncharacteristically low” from June until ending in late-September. The relatively early end resulted from cooling temperatures in September and strong winds during Tropical Storm Ophelia.
MARYLAND: Following worrying rockfish population data, Maryland looks to cancel spring trophy season for 2024
November 30, 2023 — After five straight years of troubling data on the population of young rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland officials plan to enact emergency regulations canceling this spring’s trophy season for recreational anglers.
The rules would eliminate the once exciting two weeks each spring when anglers targeted large fish swimming up the bay to spawn. But this period had been delayed from April into May in recent years in an effort to protect the spawning fish, which diminished its allure.
“That’s the time when Maryland fishermen have access to what is essentially a large, oceanic fish,” said Lynn Fegley, director of fishing and boating services at Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources. “But given the very low recruitment—baby striped bass numbers—we’ve had successively over the last few years, we are moving to just give the fish a break.”
The emergency rules were spurred by a troubling so-called young-of-the-year survey, released in October, that found juvenile striped bass numbers in the Chesapeake Bay at their second-worst result since the survey began in the 1950s. It marked the fifth successive year showing numbers well below the historical average.
Under the new rules proposed by the department, Chesapeake Bay anglers wouldn’t be able to catch and keep rockfish, also known as striped bass, until May 16 next year. In the Susquehanna Flats, located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Perryville, Maryland’s newly proposed rules would push back the start date until June 1.
State officials said that the delayed opening in the flats, where many striped bass end their journeys from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn, is an attempt to further protect large adult fish lingering in the sprawling underwater grass beds near the Susquehanna, so they can produce more young
Researchers: Blue Catfish Stomach Contents Suggest Large Impact On Crab, Menhaden
November 29, 2023 — In terms of appetite and willingness to gorge on just about anything, blue catfish have few peers in the Chesapeake Bay, experts say.
“They’re eating everything, anything they can get their mouths around,” said Noah Bressman, a fish biologist at Salisbury University in Maryland.
Now, a clearer picture is emerging of their ecological toll. Two new studies based in tidal rivers on opposite sides of the Bay show that the invasive species is gobbling up prized native aquatic life, such as menhaden and blue crabs, at high rates.
MARYLAND: BOEM Hosts Offshore Wind Meeting; Public Comments Accepted Through Nov. 20
October 26, 2023 — Community members came out in droves this week to share their comments regarding an offshore wind project near Ocean City.
On Tuesday evening, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) hosted the first of two in-person public meetings regarding a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on US Wind’s offshore wind project. Lorena Edenfield, environmental protection specialist for BOEM, said the federal agency will continue to collect comments through Nov. 20.
“Tonight, we really are here because we want to hear what we need to be including in the EIS,” she said. “We did do some scoping last year to determine what we needed to include in the draft EIS, and that really informed the process. So now we want to know how we did.”
Read the full article at the Dispatch
Striped Bass Survey Shows Juvenile Rockfish Numbers Are Dropping In “Disturbing Trend”
October 17, 2023 — The annual juvenile striped bass survey results are in for Maryland and Virginia, and the news keeps getting worse. This time, it’s not just Maryland where the prized Chesapeake fish appears to be in trouble. Virginia’s count also came in significantly lower this year.
Maryland’s juvenile rockfish numbers had already been sitting well below average for four years. This year, they were the second-lowest they’ve been since 1957—the index sitting at 1.0 compared to a long-term average of 11.3.
Even Virginia, where the survey has been generally much more positive in recent years, saw poor recruitment in 2023. The Commonwealth’s rockfish index was significantly lower, with a mean value of 4.25 fish, well below the average of 7.77.
The results in both states show a recruitment failure, fishery experts say. Recruitment refers to the number of surviving fish that were spawned in the spring. The group of fish hatched this spring will grow to fishable sizes in three to four years, giving a snapshot of the predicted rockfish harvest a few years down the road. The Maryland survey is conducted by Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Virginia survey by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) on behalf of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This Chesapeake Bay Foundation video shows how the surveys work.
Maryland DNR points to ongoing climate conditions as a cause. “The warm, dry conditions in winter and spring during the past several years have not been conducive to the successful reproduction of fish that migrate to fresh water for spawning,” said DNR’s Fisheries and Boating Director Lynn Fegley.
Ending government primate tests is great news for animals and humans; Atlantic menhaden sustainably harvested
September 25, 2023 — Thanks to Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his bipartisan colleagues for helping curtail cruel government experimentation on primates.
Van Hollen and other Maryland lawmakers have supported legislation directing federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce testing on primates and retire them to sanctuaries where, my research shows, they can recover and thrive.
Last month, the FDA confirmed to nonprofit White Coat Waste (WCW) Project that the agency’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), “does not currently have an NHP [nonhuman primate] program. It was retired in December 2022.” Previously, NCTR used more monkeys than any other FDA laboratory.
Thanks to Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his bipartisan colleagues for helping curtail cruel government experimentation on primates.
Van Hollen and other Maryland lawmakers have supported legislation directing federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce testing on primates and retire them to sanctuaries where, my research shows, they can recover and thrive.
Last month, the FDA confirmed to nonprofit White Coat Waste (WCW) Project that the agency’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), “does not currently have an NHP [nonhuman primate] program. It was retired in December 2022.” Previously, NCTR used more monkeys than any other FDA laboratory.
East Coast offshore wind farm delayed due to supply chain issues, high interest, and lack of tax credits
September 5, 2023 — Global wind energy developer Ørsted has announced its planned offshore wind farm off the coast of New Jersey will be delayed until 2026 due to several reasons including supply chain issues.
The company, which is based in Fredericia, Denmark, has several offshore wind farms planned off the coasts of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
The Associated Press reported that the Danish company exposed the delay during an earnings call on Wednesday, admitting it could be forced to write-off about $2.3 billion in U.S. projects worth less than earlier projections.
More Offshore Wind Turbines Could be on the Way to Ocean City
August 4, 2023 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified three new Wind Energy Areas or WEAs. They lie off the coasts of Delaware, Virginia and Maryland.
For Ocean City leaders, this new proposal does not seem to be as controversial as US Winds, and it is all about the distance. The new site would be 23.5 nautical miles Southeast of Ocean City’s coastline. Essentially running parallel to Assateague.
“That’s a lot better than 11.9 miles, as is currently being proposed in the lease area for US Wind,” said Rick Meehan, Ocean City’s mayor.
Back in July the town hired an outside firm to look at US Wind’s proposal and deem if it is responsible. The end goal would be getting US Wind to move its turbines back. And now, the town can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Wittman leads House members in legislation to protect Chesapeake Bay
July 23, 2023 — The Chesapeake Bay SEEE Act would help protect the watershed, improve ecosystem management and increase environmental stewardship opportunities.
Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia, U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of Virginia and Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia reintroduced the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education and Ecosystem Enhancement (SEEE) Act today.
“The Chesapeake Bay is integral to our way of life in Virginia’s 1st District and conserving our coastal and marine ecosystems has remained one of my top priorities,” Wittman, co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, said. “I am proud to join my colleagues in this effort to expand environmental education opportunities, boost state and local restoration efforts and provide NOAA with the resources it needs to protect this national treasure.”
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