Scientists Bugging Bay Fish

Striped Bass

 Phys.org, Tagged fish help scientists improve restoration efforts

NOAA scientists are collaborating with some unique partners to learn more about how several Chesapeake Bay species use natural and restored areas near Poplar Island, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The partners? Nearly 400 fish.

We have caught, tagged, and released fish to help us learn how they use restored marshes at Poplar Island compared with how they use natural habitat nearby in Back Creek.

Our "partner" fish carry transmitter tags, which are about the size and shape of a pill capsule. Our team carefully implants the tags into the fish. After being caught and measured, we transfer the fish into a bin with water from the same location where they were caught.

Red Drum

Our trained specialist creates a small incision, inserts the tag, and then stitches the incision closed. Only fish that are longer than 8¼ inches are eligible to carry a tag. Then the fish is returned to the same location where it was caught.

We have tagged white perch, red drum, croaker, gizzard shad, striped bass, spot, and American eel. The tags report whenever the fish swims near one of the 15 telemetry receivers in Back Creek, 77 receivers at Poplar Island, or other telemetry receivers in the Chesapeake Bay or beyond. We download the data from the receivers twice each year, and our fisheries biologists then analyze it.

American Eel

So far, scientists from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office have tagged 120 fish in Back Creek. Experts from NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science have tagged 300 fish at Poplar Island. The number and diversity of fish tagged should give us a full picture of how they use these areas.

The research will help us understand how these fish use different marsh habitats such as creeks, ponds, edges, and the places where creeks meet the open waters of the Bay. We'll explore how fish use restored areas at Poplar Island and at natural wetlands at Back Creek.

Findings will help us inform resource managers about which designs fish prefer. Then the people who develop the engineering plans will know which features to include in future restoration projects to provide better fish habitat. We'll also learn more about whether the restored areas are as successful as the natural sites at providing habitat for key species.

White Perch

The tagging and telemetry project complements other research into where and when fish use human-made and natural habitat near Poplar Island. The project will continue for two years. The team is already analyzing initial results. Full analysis and publications are expected by spring 2026.

Scientists at the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office are monitoring fish at the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island. They plan to conduct field work three times each year (generally, in April, July, and October). They'll keep tabs on how different species of fish may be using habitat in and around Poplar Island. They are seeing indications that restored marsh areas may be providing nursery habitat for some species.

I assume that fish like Stripers, Red Drum, Spot and American Eels, which are highly migratory will be recovered from all over the place, while White Perch, which are more local, will reflect that.

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