Forget It Jake, It's Baltimore

Bay News, Bounty Hunting: Get Paid Per Invasive Fish You Catch

If you like to fish for fun, here is a great excuse to cast a line. In a bounty fishing program happening this month in Baltimore waters, you get paid for every invasive-species fish you harvest.

What’s the catch? There isn’t one. Reel Rewards is a win-win for the angler—who gets $30 richer with each fish they catch—B overall river health, and Bay environmentalists, who will gain valuable research data from the fish that are turned in. It’s the second year for this program of the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI), aimed at protecting the Patapsco River from nonnative species. The program is part of the Reimagine Middle Branch Project with the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, who provide funding for the bounty payments.

 

The bounty program started because the Middle Branch Harbor and the wider Baltimore area are facing a gap in research on invasive fish species, EJJI tells us. These areas are home to large immigrant, Black, and veteran populations, some of whom fish for their food in these waterways. With a long history of air, land, and water pollution in the area, consuming these fish may pose health risks for various demographics. It’s important for researchers to learn what is being caught and eaten.

All fish must be caught within the Baltimore Harbor area of the Patapsco (newly expanded since last year’s inaugural event), and the head or body must be turned in (fresh or frozen) at one of the event’s designated drop-off times. When you turn in your fish, you get $30. You can turn in up to 15 fish per week. There is currently no cap on the number of fish overall that anglers can turn in. Last year, the tournament paid out nearly $9,000 in bounties over three months.

From Outdoor Life, This Bounty Hunter Is Earning Thousands Fishing for Snakeheads in Baltimore 

The program is currently limited to the Baltimore Harbor area of the Petapsco River, and anglers can turn in up to 15 fish per week. But there is no cap on the overall number of fish, and some local fishermen are making hay while they can. Last year, 26-year-old Brian Slacum made around $4,000 turning in 134 snakeheads. He had plenty of fish to eat, too.

“Snakeheads are excellent eating,” he tells Outdoor Life. “I like them better than striped bass, and Baltimore Harbor is jammed with them. They are literally everywhere in shallow water these days, spawning I think.”

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: In & Out up at The Other McCain.