Saving Seafood

Striped bass status quo remains as harvest reduction voted down

November 4, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Oct. 29 to maintain the current striped bass management rules for 2026.

The board voted against a proposed 12% coast-wide cut in commercial and recreational harvest, which opponents said would have significant economic ramifications for the Chesapeake Bay area.

Without that reduction, organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are concerned the striped bass population will not rebuild by 2029, the target set after the species was declared overfished in 2019.

“It’s a requirement of the ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) to rebuild that population to its target in 10 years… That is what the board itself has set forward as its own guidelines and targets,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation Executive Director Allison Colden said.

Though board members voted against the reduction at the Oct. 29 meeting, the fisheries commission granted Maryland the option to review and adjust its recreational fishing seasons through the Department of Natural Resources.

Read the full article at Southern Maryland News

MARYLAND: Maryland Democrats back offshore wind project awaiting key court decisions

November 3, 2025 — Top Maryland Democrats are coming out in full force to support a massive offshore wind project currently tied up in federal court.

Baltimore-based US Wind has faced an onslaught of challenges in recent months keeping the company from starting construction on a 114-turbine wind farm off the coast of Ocean City, which is estimated to generate enough power for 718,000 Maryland homes.

In October 2024, the Town of Ocean City and numerous plaintiffs representing the fishing and tourism industry filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), challenging the federal permit approval process for US Wind’s project.

This September, the Trump administration asked the court to vacate the project’s Construction and Operations Plan — approved under the Biden administration — and send it back to BOEM for reevaluation, signaling plans to reverse approvals of the necessary permits.

If the court approves such a move, Ocean City’s lawsuit could become moot.

Read the full article at WYPR

Coastwide Menhaden Catch Limit Cut by 20% as Potential Bay Cuts Loom

October 29, 2025 — In a marathon four-hour fishery management meeting on Tuesday, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)’s Menhaden Management Board grappled with menhaden catch limits up and down the East Coast. Under pressure from environmentalists to cut catch limits and from menhaden fishermen to protect their livelihoods, board members for the ASMFC voted to reduce the coastwide menhaden catch by 20% in 2026, allowing fishermen to land 186,840 metric tons. The total allowable catch will be revisited in time for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. This motion passed 16-2, with only Virginia and Pennsylvania voting against it.

Inside the Chesapeake Bay, however, the rules are different. The Virginia menhaden reduction fishery, led by purse seine operator Ocean Harvesters, adheres to its own limit, known as the “Bay Cap”, which is currently set at 51,000 metric tons of fish. But environmentalists argue that a much lower Bay Cap is needed to protect the environment. They want to cut the reduction fishery’s limit by 50%. Groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation believe menhaden are in trouble, and since menhaden are an important forage fish, that there isn’t enough food to go around for predators like osprey and rockfish. The Virginia menhaden fishing industry disputes the claim that menhaden are in trouble, or that the Bay’s osprey and rockfish population struggles are directly related to a lack of menhaden.

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) just funded a new project that will pull together all of the existing research on menhaden in the Bay, identify gaps in the research, and propose new study methods to fill these gaps. This would lead to solid research for setting a meaningful Bay harvest cap for that is based on data and is scientifically defensible.

Scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Maryland, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and NOAA, will lead the project to develop a “research roadmap” for Bay fishery managers.

Since that future research won’t be available for some time, the ASMFC Menhaden Management Board moved to initiate a new addendum that would potentially change how the Bay Cap is used, or lower the limit. This addendum would “develop periods for the Chesapeake Bay Cap that distributes fishing effort more evenly throughout the season” and it would also develop “a range of options to reduce the Bay Cap.” These options could be anything from keeping the cap at its current level to a 50% reduction. The hope is to have a draft of the addendum ready to present at ASMFC’s next meeting this winter.

Read the full article at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

Virginia, Maryland spawning surveys spell trouble for prized Atlantic coast gamefish species

October 24, 2025 — The most recent Chesapeake Bay striped bass spawning surveys are in and the news is not good.

A young-of-the-year survey done by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences shows spawning recruitment just below historical averages in Virginia’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. A survey conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay waters shows numbers significantly lower than historical averages.

That makes seven straight years of poor Chesapeake Bay spawns. Because 70% to 90% of all Atlantic striped bass are spawned and reared in the Chesapeake, the numbers are even more alarming. Striped bass numbers are declining. The fish has a billion dollar sport and commercial fishing impact on the economy of every state from North Carolina to Maine.

Read the full article at WAVY

MARYLAND: Maryland lawmaker pushes for final decision on offshore wind project

October 22, 2025 — Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza is urging federal officials to reject offshore wind energy development off the coast of Ocean City.

In a letter to Eugenio Piñeiro-Soler, Assistant Secretary at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Carozza expressed support for his recent visit to Ocean City and a September 24 meeting at Sunset Marina. She said attendees were encouraged by his remarks and hope for a final rejection of US Wind’s project, as well as any future offshore wind proposals.

Carozza outlined concerns about the size and number of turbines, potential impacts on marine life, commercial fishing, tourism, and Maryland ratepayers. She also cited testimony from a January Congressional field hearing in Ocean City, where industry representatives highlighted flaws in offshore wind planning and warned of risks to commercial fisheries and food security.

Read the full article at CoastTV

Seven years of bad luck for striped bass, survey shows

October 22, 2025 — Striped bass reproduction has remained below average in parts of the Chesapeake Bay since 2018, and this year is no different.

The annual juvenile striped bass surveys from Maryland and Virginia give insight as to how the next generation of striped bass will sustain the population. With continuing poor results, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering stronger catch limits.

Striped bass are top predators in the Bay and support commercial and recreational fishing. They are found along the East Coast from Canada to Florida, but they spawn and spend the first few years of their lives in the Bay.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has conducted its annual survey on striped bass since 1967. This year, scientists caught more than 1,000 juvenile striped bass at 18 sites in the Rappahannock, York and James rivers with a 100-foot seine net. Fish are captured, counted, measured and thrown back.

Read the full article at Bay Journal

Striped Bass Reproduction Still Low in Maryland, Despite Slight Improvement

October 16, 2025 — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources says the state’s striped bass population is showing only slight improvement, with reproduction levels still well below average.

The department’s 2025 juvenile striped bass survey recorded a young-of-year index of 4.0 — an uptick from recent years, but far below the long-term average of 11. It marks the seventh straight year of low spawning success for the species, which is Maryland’s state fish.

“Management actions taken over the last decade have resulted in a healthy population of spawning-age striped bass,” said Lynn Fegley, director of DNR’s Fishing and Boating Services. “However, continued low numbers of striped bass entering the population is a threat to this progress.”

Read the full article at WBOC

Maryland offshore wind lawsuit to push ahead during shutdown

October 8, 2025 — Litigation over an offshore wind project near Maryland will continue during the federal government shutdown despite a request from the Trump administration for a delay.

Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland said during a status conference Tuesday that she would not halt the proceedings while much of the U.S. government is shuttered.

Guidance from the Justice Department allows attorneys in civil litigation to continue working if ordered to do so by a court and under various other exceptions.

Read the full article at E&E News

MARYLAND: Maryland renewable energy projects face uncertain future

October 6, 2025 — In August, the Trump administration revoked hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Maryland renewable energy infrastructure projects.

The Maryland Offshore Wind Project and the Maryland Solar for All initiatives took significant blows after President Donald Trump cancelled grants for renewable projects across the nation.

Trump has described wind and solar as “expensive and unreliable energy sources,” seeking instead to promote domestic fossil fuel production.

Since the onset of his administration, Trump has signed 15 executive orders shifting federal policy away from renewable energy initiatives toward more traditional energy sources such as oil and coal.

Read the full article at Capital News Service 

MARYLAND: Harris hosts offshore wind summit

October 3, 2025 — The Eastern Shore’s congressman said he believes the Trump White House likely will be working to halt a proposed wind farm off the coast of Ocean City after reevaluating its permits.

Federal officials came to Ocean City last week for a rare face-to-face meeting with local leaders and commercial watermen to discuss long-running concerns about the proposed US Wind offshore project.

Congressman Andy Harris (R-1st) hosted the meeting at Sunset Grille in West Ocean City, where a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration met with stakeholders.

Harris in an interview afterwards said the gathering gave watermen a rare chance to speak directly with NOAA scientists about the potential impact of offshore wind turbines on fisheries.

“I think they were very happy to hear that the officials from NOAA were cognizant of their concerns, and I think the officials who were there agreed with them that the offshore wind project likely would do permanent damage to the commercial fishery,” he said.

Read the full article at OC Today-Dispatch