NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office supports fisheries research and monitoring. The office works closely with other federal, state, and local partners to enhance management efforts of Chesapeake Bay fisheries. Fish, crabs, and other species are key members of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Their interactions with each other and with other parts of the ecosystem-including predators, pollution, water quality, and other stresses associated with increased population growth in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—determine their future. Oysters, blue crabs, and finfish are important to the health of the Chesapeake and also commercially important to the regional seafood industry. Whether a commercial waterman, recreational fishing enthusiast, or consumer, most of us enjoy Chesapeake Bay seafood.

NCBO coordinates the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) to provide timely information and analyses to fishery managers. CBSAC released its 2008 Blue Crab Advisory Report In the report, the Committee analyzed data collected from 2007 through early 2008 to determine the status of blue crabs in the Bay. The blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay remained low again, and the data indicate that the abundance of crabs over 5 inches remained low; the number of juvenile crabs entering the population was low; and the abundance of mature females (spawning potential) was also below average. For more information, please see our 2008 Blue Crab Advisory Press Release .

2009 NCBO Fisheries Science Symposium The 2009 Fisheries Science Symposium featured presentations on NCBO-funded fisheries research. NOAA, NCBO at 2009 Ecosystem-based Management Conference Scientific experts from NCBO and other NOAA offices participated in a variety of sessions at the 2009 CRC EBM Conference. CIE Delivers Report on NCBO-Funded Menhaden Research The Center for Independent Experts delivered three reports--written by Australia's Malcolm Haddon, Canada's Jean-Jacques Maguire, and Great Britain's Beatriz A. Roel --that highlight work accomplished by the NCBO-funded Menhaden Research Program. 2009 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report Available The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee reported in its 2009 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report that the blue crab population in the Bay rebounded but that the juvenile population remained low.