Maryland Sea Grant

#AtlanticSturgeon in East Coast waters were overfished in the 1900s for caviar, and dams blocked key spawning routes. 🎣 Maryland closed its sturgeon fishery in the 1990s. Today, the #ChesapeakeBay population is recovering: spawning adults have recently returned to Bay tributaries!

Two Atlantic sturgeon swim above a sandy seafloor

Look up tonight to see the Sturgeon Moon! The name comes from Indigenous and colonial traditions of naming full moons after seasonal changes related to hunting, fishing, and farming. August's moon marked the best time to catch sturgeon in the Great Lakes and other waters.
📸: NOAA Fisheries

A young woman poses for a photo in an arboretum with flowers, shrubs, trees, and grass on a sunny day

A group of young people stand in a pine forest and listen to a ranger talk

An oyster farm with floating oyster cages in long rows on the water

An aquarium tank with corals and colorful fish swimming together

Our summer community-engaged #intern Ariana just returned from an adventure-filled week in North Carolina! Sea Grant interns from across the country joined @ncseagrant to learn about the state’s history, culture, and #coastal research projects!

A graphic with "CQ: APEX 2025 Grand Award Winners 'Magazine Series'" and the covers of two issues of Chesapeake Quarterly magazine along with the Maryland Sea Grant logo

Big news! 🎉 Chesapeake Quarterly magazine won a Grand Award in the 2025 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence! Our 2024 issues on PFAS and blue catfish were among the 100 Grand Award winners selected from 1,000+ entries. Dive into these award-winning issues at chesapeakequarterly.net

The wetlands are alive with the calls of red-winged #blackbirds!💧🌿 These striking birds—with their bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches—are a common sight around the #ChesapeakeBay in spring and summer, often perched on reeds or swooping over marshes. Have you seen one?

A flyer for the webinar "Microplastics as a tool for project-based learning" on Aug 12 at 4 pm EST featuring Adam Frederick, Assistant Director for Education, Maryland Sea Grant and Dr. Jesse Meiller, teaching professor, Georgetown University, The Earth Commons Institute

#Teachers, join us for a free #webinar! Along with experts from the Youth Climate Institute and Georgetown University, you'll learn to engage students in the topic of #microplastics and how to design student-led investigations and action projects.
📆 Aug. 12 @ 4 p.m.
👉 RSVP: https://loom.ly/0_tKcJE

Learn how researchers are using robotics and machine learning to improve #oyster farming in the #ChesapeakeBay! 🦪 Visit the S3AM Expo on August 13. Researchers will share their work on aquatic drone technology for oyster #aquaculture.

RSVP at https://forms.gle/A1CFepQk2mAc9bsT7

Students on a pier watch as one student lifts a line out of the water

Two people lean over a large circular tank full of water and they each gently hold small Atlantic sturgeon in the water

They toured UMCES' Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, took an environmental #research cruise with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and visited the Cooperative Oxford Lab to learn about Atlantic sturgeon.

A group of students standing on a pier record water quality measurements on a clip board

Students help hoist a mesh oyster dredging bag onto a boat on the water

Two people leaning over a circular tank full of water gently hold two small Atlantic sturgeon

Happy #NationalInternDay! We love to see the next generation of scientists in action. 🔬🧪🔎 Our #undergrad research interns and SEAS Islands Alliance bridge program students recently dove into hands-on #ChesapeakeBay science—from fish dissections to oyster sampling and water quality testing.

Can you spot the juvenile #GhostCrab in this video? 👀 With mottled gray-brown coloring, young ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) blend perfectly into the sand. Their latin name means "swift footed." Watch closely or you'll miss the moment this crab scuttles swiftly away! 🦀

An aerial photo of a town with flooded streets and buildings surrounded by roads and trees

⛈️ Summer storms come and go—but their impact lingers. Heavy rains can overwhelm #stormwater systems, trigger flooding, and carry pollution into the #ChesapeakeBay. In this blog post, learn why stormwater management matters: https://loom.ly/roZrnZA

📸: Maryland Department of the Environment

A woman speaks at a podium with a presentation on living shorelines projected beside her. People are seated in the room listening to her

When #GibsonIsland residents wanted to learn about #LivingShorelines, they turned to Maryland Sea Grant. Our coastal resilience coordinator joined experts at Maryland DNR and Maryland Coastal Bays to share how they reduce erosion, support wildlife, and keep land and water connected.

The UMCES centennial logo overlayed on a photo of water

We're excited to celebrate UMCES receiving the 2025 Coastal Stewardship Award from the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation! For 100 years, UMCES has been a leader in coastal science, education, and public service in the #ChesapeakeBay and beyond. We're honored to be a part of that work.

A sandy beach covered in rocks and shells with tree-covered eroding cliffs

A hand holding shark tooth

Celebrate #SharkWeek with a trip to Calvert Cliffs State Park, where you can search for shark teeth. The cliffs here were formed 10-20 million years ago. As they erode, they reveal fossils of prehistoric sharks, whales, rays, and more. Learn more from Maryland DNR: https://loom.ly/DmBwwKU

A bottlenose dolphin rides a wake

Dolphins in the Bay? You bet! #BottlenoseDolphins visit the #ChesapeakeBay seasonally and tell us a lot about Bay health. That’s why UMCES researchers started Chesapeake DolphinWatch, a program that invites community members to report dolphin sightings. Get involved: umces.edu/dolphinwatch
📸: USFWS

Join us in welcoming Ariana Strasser-King, our community-engaged intern! Ariana is a junior at Johns Hopkins double majoring in environmental studies and public health. She's passionate about using community-driven research to address health disparities and strengthen community resiliency.

A sandbar shark swims in a large aquarium tank

Yes, there are at least 12 species of shark in the #ChesapeakeBay, including the sandbar shark! 🦈 The Bay is an important nursery for this species. Juveniles visit in summer and fall. Get more shark facts: https://loom.ly/GkQ8wAo

📸: Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program

#SharkWeek

An aerial photo of a marina with a sandy living shoreline and the text "Chesapeake Quarterly, Living Rocks for Living Shorelines; Oysters Can Enhance Some Living Shoreline Projects, Get the full story at chesapeakequarterly.net, link in bio"

Oysters aren’t just for plates and reef restoration—they're also a helpful addition to some living shoreline projects in Maryland! Learn how oysters are being added to these erosion control projects in Chesapeake Quarterly → https://loom.ly/nsLYIfY
📸: @arundelriversfed

A group of people magnet fishing in the water of Baltimore's Inner Harbor outside the IMET building. They are gathered around a group of motorized scooters that they removed from the water

Muddy motorized scooters and a wheel chair pulled from the water and placed on a brick walkway of a pier in Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Last week, our #undergrad interns spent a day at IMET for hands-on professional development! They went magnet fishing and collected data from the Inner Harbor, toured #research labs, and heard career insights from professionals. It was a day full of #learning and connection!

A close-up of a northern water snake in grass

Happy #WorldSnakeDay! 🐍 The northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) is a local species often seen sunbathing on rocks or gliding through streams, lakes, and marshes. These nonvenomous #snakes help maintain balance in aquatic habitats by feeding on fish and amphibians.
📸: Courtney Celley/USFWS

A person in waders holds a striped bass fish

Did you know? The #ChesapeakeBay is the largest striped bass nursery on the Atlantic coast. About 70-90% of the Atlantic striped bass population spawns in the Bay. The striped bass, also called #rockfish, is Maryland's state fish—and a popular catch! 🐟
📸: Chesapeake Bay Program

A photo of fish with the text "Maryland Sea Grant provides crucial support for Chesapeake Bay research, our aquaculture economy, and Maryland's watermen community. - Maryland constituent"

Last week, details of the administration’s budget request for NOAA for fiscal year 2026 were released. Unfortunately, it proposes terminating the National Sea Grant College Program’s funding. Urge Congress to restore our funding for fiscal year 2026. Sign our support letter: MDSGo.org/support2025

A flooded stretch of road in an open, grassy area in Dorchester County, Maryland

Free #webinar! Rising seas and flooding put #Maryland's septic systems and the communities that rely on them at risk. Join experts July 22 as they explore where #SepticSystems are most vulnerable, health and environmental risks, flood projections, and more: https://loom.ly/7qTGRxU

Volunteers in bright yellow shirts work together on a landscaping project, shoveling soil into a wheelbarrow near a freshly dug trench. Several people are actively using tools, while others assist or observe nearby. The scene is set outdoors beside a blue building and surrounded by trees.

A group of eight people wearing bright yellow shirts stands smiling and posing in front of a newly planted and mulched rain garden next to a blue building. Gardening tools and supplies are scattered nearby, and a wooded area is visible in the background.

A person in a neon yellow shirt and gray cap kneels in the soil, planting a small native plant from a nursery pot. Surrounding them are dozens of potted plants waiting to be planted, a trowel, and a pile of white drainage stones.

A person in a neon yellow shirt, jeans, and a cap waters a newly installed rain garden

Rain gardens are no ordinary gardens. These specialized landscapes can be powerful filters for stormwater. Beneath mulch, the roots and sediment layers work together to protect the #ChesapeakeBay. Learn more about #RainGardens in our latest blog post: https://loom.ly/8QhVb9M

An aerial photo of a pier sticking out into the water with a boat and floating oyster farming cages nearby. Text over the photo says "Sea Grant is, and needs to remain, an incredible resource for growing coastal industries and helping entrepreneurs as they build their businesses. - Maryland constituent"

Last week, details of the administration’s budget request for NOAA for fiscal year 2026 were released. Unfortunately, it proposes terminating the National Sea Grant College Program’s funding. Urge Congress to restore our funding for fiscal year 2026. Sign our support letter: MDSGo.org/support2025

A graphic with a photo of a grass plug and the text "Chesapeake Quarterly, Seeding Shorelines, The Plants That Bring Living Shorelines to Life, Get the full story at chesapeakequarterly.net, link in bio"

The #ChesapeakeBay's shoreline plants are tougher than they look. They grow roots fast, find nutrients in sandy soil, and withstand salty water and flooding. They also help prevent erosion in living shorelines.

Read more in the new Chesapeake Quarterly → https://loom.ly/Qxe9a8U

#LivingShorelines

A flyer for a speaker event "Sharks: A new ally in the fight against human disease; Thursday, July 10, 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Location: Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology; Address: 701 E Pratt St"

Shark Week is coming. 🦈 Kick it off with a free event July 10 at @IMET_USMD! Join Helen Dooley to explore how #shark immune systems are inspiring next-gen medicine. Register here: https://loom.ly/9DPacWo

Microplastics and the Chesapeake In this issue, we take a closer look at microplastics, the tiny particles that could cause big problems for the Chesapeake Bay’s air and water. We also introduce our Knauss fellows, our new science writer, and our featured Extension specialist. We’re asking you what you think in our reader survey.

This #PlasticFreeJuly, revisit our Chesapeake Quarterly issue on #microplastics and the #ChesapeakeBay. Explore how these persistent particles end up in Bay waters—and what scientists are uncovering about their impacts. 🌍🔬

Read the full article: https://loom.ly/CyKCRtM

Kayle Krieg and Stephen Tomasetti (director of UMES Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center) speaking during launch event

Chesapeake Bay Hope Spot nominating team with Mission Blue founder Sylvia Earle

Kayle Krieg and Stephen Tomasetti (director of UMES Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center) speaking during launch event

Big news for the #ChesapeakeBay! It’s now officially a Mission Blue #HopeSpot—recognized for its extraordinary ecological, cultural, and historical value.

Learn more about the designation: https://loom.ly/Ni48Kk0

📸: The Explorers Club / Kontentmint Studios

A photo of a living shoreline under construction in the water along South Baltimore's shore with text "Chesapeake Quarterly, A Marsh Grows in Brooklyn: Middle Branch Resiliency Initiative Brings Wetlands Back to South Baltimore, Get the full story at chesapeakequarterly.net, link in bio"

In the latest issue of Chesapeake Quarterly magazine, see how a major urban wetlands project is transforming shorelines in Baltimore’s Middle Branch. Read the full story online → https://loom.ly/ck6l938

#Baltimore #LivingShoreline #ChesapeakeBay