The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office has been a leader in fisheries research in the Chesapeake Bay since 1985. NOAA has provided funding support for Chesapeake Bay fisheries stock assessments, monitoring, modeling, and related research to inform fisheries management and decisionmaking.

This multispecies research program is building understanding of how species interactions, disease, habitat, climate, and other factors affect fish health, populations, and sustainability. This information is essential for addressing critical fishery management issues facing the Bay. For example, the NOAA-funded Center for Independent Experts review of the menhaden research program is leading to refined research priorities to more specifically answer management questions. Also, NOAA-funded assessment of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab stock facilitated a pivotal bistate agreement to reduce female catch 34% in 2008, leading to increased population in 2009. Further, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office-funded research in response to the proposed introduction of a non-native Asian oyster (Crassostrea ariakensis) supported a recent decision to focus oyster restoration efforts in the Bay on only using the native oyster (C. virginica).

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office's Fisheries Science Symposium provides a forum for discussion among world-renowned fisheries managers, scientists, and Congressional representatives. This Symposium is an opportunity to showcase the numerous research activities being funded through the program.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office posts information on current funding and grant opportunities. Information on previous grant programs and research topics is also available.

Fisheries research is critical in providing the best fisheries science to inform management and decisionmaking in the Chesapeake Bay. NOAA funding has supported a wide spectrum of research projects:

Menhaden

• Menhaden research directed at research priorities identified by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission as critical to future management of the stock, including abundance estimates in the Chesapeake Bay, recruitment studies, exchange between Bay and coastal systems, and predator-prey interactions. The Center for Independent Experts recently reviewed the menhaden research program, and submitted reports authored by experts from Australia , Canada , and Great Britain .

Blue crab

• Conducted blue crab stock assessment, blue crab habitat evaluation, and predator-prey studies

• Research to establish biological reference points (abundance and exploitation thresholds and targets), which led to state agreement on 34% reduction in female catch for 2008 season

Striped Bass

• Supported work investigating whether the increased densities of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay, together with decreased water quality, may have altered behavior, condition, disease prevalence, and mortality rates during summer and fall months. Summertime conditions of high temperature and low oxygen constrain striped bass distributions with consequences to growth and survival.

• Provided evidence that mycobacteriosis has significant negative impacts on Chesapeake Bay striped bass. The underlying environmental factors modulating disease expression within the Bay are still unknown. Such information is crucial to a full understanding of the causes of this emerging infectious disease and to development of effective management interventions in the future.

Other Funded Research

• ChesMMAP —Chesapeake Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program—multispecies monitoring program for adult fish
• CHESFIMS—Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Multispecies Survey—multispecies monitoring program for juvenile fish
• Development of Fisheries Ecosystem Planning for Chesapeake Bay, which provides guidance for moving toward implementing ecosystem-based approaches to management
• In coordination with Maryland Sea Grant, developing ecosystem-based fisheries management plans, focused initially on striped bass, menhaden, oyster, blue crab and alosa, that will incorporate research and scientific findings in an ecosystem context following the guidance of Fisheries Ecosystem Planning for Chesapeake Bay
• Initiated fisheries ecosystem modeling development of several multiple species models for the Chesapeake Bay region
• Multispecies Virtual Population Analysis, in coordination with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, has undergone scientific review and is being used coastwide for the complex of fisheries including menhaden, bluefish, striped bass, and weakfish
• A Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Ecosystem Model using Ecopath with Ecosim software package has been developed in cooperation with scientists and state agency representatives in the region
• Emerging issues such as menhaden (role as a forage species), eels (role of predation and parasitism in declining stocks), cownose rays (interactions with shellfish), and horseshoe crabs (connections with migratory shore birds) require continued support of sound fisheries science in order to develop effective ecosystem based approaches to managing these resources