Maryland pursuing actions to control invasive catfish after federal fisheries disaster declined

BALTIMORE, MD—Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce notified Maryland Governor Wes Moore that it had declined Maryland’s request for a federal commercial fisheries disaster declaration that was sought to help address the economic and ecological damage caused by the spread of invasive catfish and snakeheads in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Maryland made the unique request in March as a […]

Eastern Shore angler catches Maryland state record Snakehead

CAMBRIDGE, MD—Damien Cook of Rhodesdale has been recognized by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as a new state record holder for Northern snakehead – Channa argus — in the state’s Invasive Division. Cook caught the 21.0-pound fish on July 5 while fishing in a Dorchester County river. The impressive fish, which measured more than 36 inches long, was weighed […]

Governor Moore requests federal fishery disaster declaration for invasive blue catfish

ANNAPOLIS,​​ MD—Governor Wes Moore on Thursday called on the federal government to declare the expanding population of invasive fish species—including blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead—to be an ongoing commercial fishery disaster in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting the declaration under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery […]

DNR: invasive ‘frankenfish’ population growing in Maryland

BALTIMORE, MD – A partnership overseeing fish passage at the Conowingo Dam reports that 81 northern snakeheads were caught in the dam’s fish lift this spring, a dramatic increase after only one snakehead was found there the past two years. While all known snakeheads were stopped and dispatched before reaching the dam’s reservoir, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and […]