The Bay’s Fisheries are Feeling the Heat
Rachel Felver • June 8, 2021
NOAA’s annual Mid-Atlantic State of the Ecosystem shares the latest risks and trends for our marine species
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more iconic Chesapeake image than the above photo. The largest breeding population of osprey in the entire world is found in the Chesapeake Bay. One reason is the number of delectable fish available for it to feed on. One such species is the striped bass, otherwise known as the rockfish, which is featured here in this photo, about to become the osprey’s snack.
The Chesapeake’s food web finds itself consistently in a delicate balance, thanks to such threats as climate change and overfishing. Ospreys depend on striped bass and other large fish species, who in turn rely on forage fish, such as menhaden and herring, who receive sustenance from microorganisms in the Bay. If one link in this chain goes awry, our entire ecosystem is impacted.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released their 2021 State of the Ecosystem: Mid-Atlantic report, which evaluates current risks to and trends in the Mid-Atlantic region’s fisheries. The report mainly focuses on an area of the Atlantic Ocean referred to as the Mid-Atlantic Bight, which stretches from Cape Hatteras, N.C. to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., but also includes data and information from the Chesapeake Bay.
Fishery trends are determined by a series of social, ecological, and economic indicators. On the ecological side, the indicators look at protected species, seafood production, and the stability of the fisheries, among others.
This year’s report noted a continual decline in both commercial and recreational seafood production throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. For commercial producers, the decrease was felt most heavily in the benthos group. Benthos refers to organisms that are found on the bottom of the ocean, as well as the Bay, like clams and worms. Experts believe the decline is due to market-driven pressures and climate change causing species to relocate to new areas. For recreational anglers, it is unknown whether their decline in production happens because of changes in fishing behavior or in data collection. In more positive news, the current diversity of marine species remains constant, across both juvenile and adult fish.
Another trend the report measures is that of social vulnerability, which recognizes the importance of community to the coastal towns that historically have relied on fishing for their livelihoods, and evaluates their ability to respond and adapt to change. NOAA evaluates social vulnerability by looking at such factors as environmental justice, the impact of regulations on the community, climate resilience, recreational and commercial fishing engagement, and the region’s economic strength. The most recent report finds that the majority of fishing communities in the Mid-Atlantic have declined over time.
When it comes to evaluating the risks that fisheries face, fingers consistently point to climate change. From the microorganisms at the bottom of the food chain to the larger fish species that mammals — including humans — depend on, it is no longer just a theory that warming air and water temperatures are altering the lives of our marine species.
The report also discussed how some conditions in 2020 also impacted the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the species that live here. On the bottom of the food chain are phytoplankton — aquatic plants that provide food for other marine species when the ecosystem is in balance. Warming water temperatures are accelerating their growth, and due to a mild winter in 2020, the phytoplankton grew earlier than anticipated — before the striped bass larvae hatched. This significant factor may have contributed to the low population of juvenile striped bass observed here last year.
Fishery managers in both Maryland and Virginia made changes rooted in science to their striped bass regulations in response to the decline in the species. The spring fishing season in both states will begin about two weeks later than normal, and in Maryland, anglers will be prohibited from catching striped bass for two weeks at the end of July, due to the presence of high water temperatures and low oxygen levels, which stress the fish caught in those conditions.
The mild winter of 2020-21 also lowered what is called the overwintering mortality of blue crabs. This is the number of blue crabs that die off in between the fall and spring, due to frigid water temperatures. While some may think that having active blue crabs all year is positive news, the change will cause ripple effects across the Chesapeake region’s food chain.
Climate change may be the most significant threat to the Chesapeake fisheries, but it’s not the only one. NOAA fishery experts also caution about potential dangers associated with offshore wind development. Over the next decade, 20 offshore wind turbine projects will stretch over 1.7 million acres of the Northeast. Near the Chesapeake Bay, an area 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia has been leased for a wind turbine project. NOAA notes that wind turbines can displace the habitat of fish and mammal species, altering feeding habits and potentially causing even more negative impacts with vessels.
Recognizing these threats and understanding fishery trends now help managers determine the best methods to balance both the Mid-Atlantic’s and the Bay’s ecosystems for years to come. Conducting research to inform reports like the State of the Ecosystem are critical in learning more about the connections between fisheries and the habitats they rely on. While there may be fewer striped bass fishing days in the Bay this year, we can be reassured that enough will be around for the osprey.
Rachel Felver
is the Director of Communications for the Chesapeake Bay Program. After obtaining her masters' in environmental policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh, she spent almost nine years with the Environmental Protection Agency before a stint with the National Aquarium. Her favorite Bay activities include paddleboarding and taking her dog swimming.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Megan Outten, a lifelong Wicomico County resident and former Salisbury City Councilwoman, officially announced her candidacy recently for Wicomico County Council, District 7. At 33, Outten brings the energy of a new generation combined with a proven record of public service and results-driven leadership. “I’m running because Wicomico deserves better,” Outten said. “Too often, our communities are expected to do more with less. We’re facing underfunded schools, limited economic opportunities, and years of neglected infrastructure. I believe Wicomico deserves leadership that listens, plans ahead, and delivers real, measurable results.” A Record of Action and A Vision for the Future On Salisbury’s City Council, Outten earned a reputation for her proactive, hands-on approach — working directly with residents to close infrastructure gaps, support first responders, and ensure everyday voices were heard. Now she’s bringing that same focus to the County Council, with priorities centered on affordability, public safety, and stronger, more resilient communities. Key Priorities for District 7: Fully fund public schools so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Fix aging infrastructure and county services through proactive investment. Keep Wicomico affordable with smarter planning and pathways to homeownership. Support first responders and safer neighborhoods through better tools, training, and prevention. Expand resources for seniors, youth, and underserved communities. Outten’s platform is rooted in real data and shaped by direct community engagement. With Wicomico now the fastest-growing school system on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — and 85% of students relying on extra resources — she points to the county’s lagging investment as a key area for action. “Strong schools lead to strong jobs, thriving industries, and healthier communities,” Outten said. “Our schools and infrastructure are at a tipping point. We need leadership that stops reacting after things break — and starts investing before they do.” A Commitment to Home and Service Born and raised in Wicomico, Megan Outten sees this campaign as a continuation of her lifelong service to her community. Her vision reflects what she’s hearing from neighbors across the county: a demand for fairness, opportunity, and accountability in local government. “Wicomico is my home; it’s where I grew up, built my life, and where I want to raise my family,” Outten said. “Our county is full of potential. We just need leaders who will listen, work hard, and get things done. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do on the County Council.” Outten will be meeting with residents across District 7 in the months ahead and unveiling more details of her platform. For more information or to get involved, contact info@meganoutten.com
Way back in 1935, the Supreme Court determined that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) do not violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). Congress provided that the CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, would operate as an independent agency — a multi-member, bipartisan commission whose members serve staggered terms and could be removed only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause.” Rejecting a claim that the removal restriction interferes with the “executive power,” the Humphrey’s Court held that Congress has the authority to “forbid their [members’] removal except for cause” when creating such “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” bodies. As a result, these agencies have operated as independent agencies for many decades under many different presidencies. Shortly after assuming office in his second term, Donald Trump began to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of several of these agencies. The lower courts determined to reinstate the discharged members pending the ultimate outcome of the litigation, relying on Humphrey’s , resulting in yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court by the administration. In the first such case, a majority of the Court allowed President Trump to discharge the Democratic members of the NLRB and the MSPB while the litigation over the legality of the discharges continued. Trump v. Wilcox (May 22, 2025). The majority claimed that they do not now decide whether Humphrey’s should be overruled because “that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.” However, hinting that these agency members have “considerable” executive power and suggesting that “the Government” faces greater “risk of harm” from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty,” the majority gave the President the green light to proceed. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, asserting that Humphrey’s remains good law until overturned and forecloses both the President’s firings and the Court’s decision to award emergency relief.” Our emergency docket, while fit for some things, should not be used to “overrule or revise existing law.” Moreover, the dissenters contend that the majority’s effort to explain their decision “hardly rises to the occasion.” Maybe by saying that the Commissioners exercise “considerable” executive power, the majority is suggesting that Humphrey’s is no longer good law but if that is what the majority means, then it has foretold a “massive change” in the law and done so on the emergency docket, “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” And, the “greater risk of harm” in fact is that Congress provided for these discharged members to serve their full terms, protected from a President’s desire to substitute his political allies. More recently, in the latest shadow docket ruling in the administration’s favor, the same majority of the Court again permitted President Trump to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of another independent agency, this time the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Trump v. Boyle (July 23, 2025). The same three justices dissented, once more objecting to the use of the Court’s emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency as established by Congress. The CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, was designed to operate as “a classic independent agency.” In Congress’s view, that structure would better enable the CPSC to achieve its mission — ensuring the safety of consumer products, from toys to appliances — than would a single-party agency under the full control of a single President. “By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” The dissenters also assert that the majority’s sole professed basis for the more recent order in Boyle was its prior order in Wilcox . But in their opinion, Wilcox itself was minimally explained. So, the dissenters claim, the majority rejects the design of Congress for a whole class of agencies by “layering nothing on nothing.” “Next time, though, the majority will have two (if still under-reasoned) orders to cite. Truly, this is ‘turtles all the way down.’” Rapanos v. United States (2006). * ***** *In Rapanos , in a footnote to his plurality opinion, former Supreme Court Justice Scalia explained that this allusion is to a classic story told in different forms and attributed to various authors. His favorite version: An Eastern guru affirms that the earth is supported on the back of a tiger. When asked what supports the tiger, he says it stands upon an elephant; and when asked what supports the elephant, he says it is a giant turtle. When asked, finally, what supports the giant turtle, he is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down." John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.
Marylanders will not forget this vote.
More than 30,000 of our neighbors in Maryland’s first congressional district will lose their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of provisions in the GOP’s heartless tax cut and spending bill passed last week.
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
