Our goal is to develop ecosystem-based fishery management strategies that will sustain fish communities in the future. In order to do this, we are working to identify fishery and ecosystem interactions with land use and water quality stressors.

• Objective 1 – Develop spatial methods and data to assist in conserving priority fish habitat.


• ​​ Objective 2 –Understand how land use, particularly development, impacts target fish species. This includes eggs and larvae that are most sensitive to environmental stress. Target species include Yellow Perch, White Perch, Striped Bass, American Shad, Hickory Shad, Blueback Herring, Alewife, Atlantic Menhaden, Spot, Bay Anchovy, Silvery Minnow, Spottail Shiner, and Gizzard Shad.


• Objective 3 – Investigate Striped Bass spawning and larval habitat status in Maryland to understand why year-class success has recently declined.


• Objective 4 – Monitor resident Striped Bass forage to assess forage trends and whether it is enough in Maryland's part of the Bay.


• Objective 5- Support multi-agency efforts to assess finfish habitat and implement ecosystem-based fisheries management.  Fishing and Boating Services primarily manages harvest and catch-and-release mortality.  Authority to manage environmental and ecological functions important for fish production often resides in other federal, state, and local agencies.  Ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches require coordination with local, state, and interstate agencies, conservation organizations, university researchers, and stakeholders.