Skates in the Upper Bay?

Probably not the Choptank

Chesapeake Bay Mag reports a New Visitor to the Bay: Skate Spotted in the Choptank

A ShoreRivers team monitoring underwater grass beds in the Lower Choptank River in Maryland spotted something unusual in the water recently: a juvenile Skate.

Cownose Rays are common in the Choptank—a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay—but other Rays and Skates are not.

“It’s unusual because they are a high-salinity animal, so prefer other spots,” says Matt Pluta, Choptank Riverkeeper. “We are more mid-salinity, in the 12-15 ppt (parts per thousand) range.”

Definitely not the Choptank

 Higher salinity generally means more Sea Nettles, too. I have to say, I haven't seen any yet. But we expect them by July 4.

By comparison, the Atlantic Ocean—the saltiest major ocean— is 33 – 37 ppt.

The fish was located close to Irish Bay, although it hasn’t been seen since. But it’s presence—and an increase in the number of Cownose Rays—tells us something may be changing in local waters. “It tells us we are saltier than normal,” Pluta says.

In case you spot a Ray—or Skate— look but don’t touch. “When it comes to wildlife, keep your distance and just observe,” Pluta recommends.

I've seen a couple of small ones caught in the bay, or washed up dead. Those of us who know better have to remind a lot of folk that the much more common Cownose Rays are not skates.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Redness a bit late, but within reason.

The Wednesday Wetness

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The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Terrain Features up on time and under budget.

This Stinks

Annap Cap Gazette, Over 100 dead cownose rays create stench in northern Anne Arundel waters

More than 100 cownose rays died in the waters off the shores of northern Anne Arundel County near Glen Burnie in recent weeks, creating an odor residents say deterred them from leaving their homes.

First reported by WBAL-TV, residents around Marley and Furnace creeks said they dealt with the stench of decaying rays for days. They described the smell as so powerful that they couldn’t go swimming, fishing or out to enjoy their piers.

“It was so bad, the smell was so horrific, you couldn’t even come out of your house,” Dale Lott, of Point Pleasant, told WBAL-TV. “They had all these cownose stingrays that were just dead.”

 

The cownose ray is a brown, kite-shaped ray with a long tail, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program. The rays migrate along the Atlantic Coast and visit the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months to mate and give birth in the shallow water.

The first die-off — of about 80 rays — was on June 20, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Last week, another 50 to 150 rays died in Marley Creek and Furnace Creek, located in the Glen Burnie area.

Experts with the Department of the Environment say the likely cause of death was overcrowding.

“Cownose rays travel in schools that can number in the thousands, and they are typically seen in open waters such as the mainstem of the Chesapeake Bay or the mouth of bay tributaries,” Maryland Department of the Environment spokesperson Jay Apperson said in an email Friday. “The most likely cause of these die-offs is overcrowding of rays wandering into smaller bodies of water that do not provide sufficient dissolved oxygen.”

The Maryland Department of the Environment said its crews are collecting water samples to check on water quality and they do not believe the die-off is ongoing.

I'm well acquainted with the smell. Every summer a few wash up on our beach, and stink up a hundred yards or so. Imagine dead fish combined with mucking out a stable. The smell has a unique ammonia odor caused by the decay of the urea that sharks and rays use to balance their osmotic pressure to the salt.  

The Wombat has Rule Five SundayMonday: Belated Bikini a day late, and no FMJRA at all, but who's counting?

Beach Report 3/29/25

Despite the overcast it was the warmest day of the year so far, with the home thermometer currently reading 83, and Cove Point (our proxy for air temp at the beach) at 78. A high wind from the SW was not apparent thanks to the cliffs.

The yellow stain in the water is pollen. I think this early it's mostly conifer. It happens every year. On a nice calm day like today it builds up on the surface and around groins. 

It was a nice low tide, even though we hit hit about half way up, and we got a pretty big selection of teeth. From the top clockwise, White Shark, Snaggletooth upper, stingray mouth plate, and Snaggletooth lower.