Stripers and Menhaden and Oysters, Oh My!

Chris Dollar at the Cap Gazette, Maryland may allow anglers a spring rockfish season

After several years of closing access to the spring rockfish run, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is poised to reverse course, proposing to allow anglers to target stripers strictly on a catch-and-release basis through April 30.

If you’re of a certain age, you might recall the world-class Susquehanna Flats spring fishery in the late 1990s thru the mid-2000s which was a popular and profitable season for many guides and associated businesses (hotels, marinas, restaurants, gas stations) that catered to visiting anglers.

Another key change proposed for 2026 is closing August entirely for rockfishing, a move designed to reduce mortality because of the deadly impacts excessively hot Chesapeake Bay waters have on these prized gamefish. Most stakeholders are on board with this idea, with a few caveats.

While the new baseline regs are supported by many fishing related businesses (guides, tackle shops, marinas, boat dealers, boat builders, trade and conservation groups) because it means a net gain in days on the water, not everyone is a fan.

Many traditional charter boat operators oppose targeting rockfish in April because of the proposed stress it has on breeders. Also, and more importantly, Maryland’s charter boat association wants MD DNR to allow them to keep two rockfish for its clients. They continue to lobby MD DNR for that exemption. Time will tell if that request gets approved.

I thought this was a done deal, but then I remembered MDDNR often doesn't  make these decisions until the day before they go into effect. But wait, there's more:

It’s all doom-and-gloom on the menhaden front, however. This winter Congress approved $2.5 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study menhaden, which has been appropriated to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). A “working group” will be formed to determine how to spend the pot of money.
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I sat in on their press conference to launch the campaign. To be frank, it was a regurgitation of challenges already known, and at this point I’m unclear how this campaign will differ from previous efforts. Time will tell.

Adequate funding is essential to determine whether the industrial-scale harvest of menhaden is sustainable and does not harm the Chesapeake’s already stressed ecosystem. Without money for a science-based study, gaps in our understanding of one of the East Coast’s most important forage fish — a public resource — will remain. And that’s unacceptable.

To be clear, no one wants to put anyone out of a job. History offers plenty of examples of how to move on from outdated industrial operations by retooling its facilities and retraining its employees. A world-class blue catfish processing facility and scaling up harvest seems doable, if backed up by the political will.

So that raises the question: How many more cards do marine conservation advocates writ large have left to play? Not many. The cycle of hope-to-bust has left many of us deflated, yearning for a cohesive strategy that’ll move the chains even just a little.

Somehow I don't see Reedville being turned into a giant Blue Catfish processing facility. And more! At Maryland Matters,  Maryland requests disaster declaration for Chesapeake oyster fishery.

Maryland requested a federal disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery Friday, after a perfect storm of bad weather and headline-grabbing environmental incidents depressed the market. It’s not that there aren’t enough oysters, state officials say, but that the falling prices are hammering the industry.

In December, the Centers for Disease Control linked a multistate salmonella outbreak to eating raw oysters. Then, January brought a massive snowstorm and a prolonged cold snap, freezing the Chesapeake and keeping watermen off their boats. That same month, a massive sewage pipe collapsed on the Potomac River, spilling millions of gallons of sewage — and damaging the perception of oysters further, even though testing has shown bacteria within safe levels at a state oyster harvesting area.

 

“In-person and online, the ‘unsafe’ bell has been rung and the impact to Maryland seafood and aquaculture and associated buying behavior may be long lasting,” read Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting the disaster declaration.

Between October and January, Maryland watermen landed 188,673 bushels — 44% down from the five-year average. The dockside value of the harvest for the same period was $6.69 million, compared to $19.92 million for the five-year average, the letter said.
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Federal disaster dollars could be used for financial assistance to watermen or to support shellfish safety and marketing campaigns, Moore wrote. In the meantime, state officials are boosting marketing for the state’s oysters through the summertime and into the next oyster season, Kurtz said. The message, he said, is “Buy Maryland oysters. They’re high quality, they’re delicious and they support all of our local economies.”

 Um, no, just no. Do not support this failing industry. Oyster populations are at a 30 year high, and watermen are complaining they can't make enough money off them.