Aquatic Reefs & Pilings

Barnacles are small, grayish-white crustaceans that live on rocks, pilings, boat hulls and other hard surfaces throughout the Chesapeake Bay.

The black drum is a silvery-gray, bottom-dwelling fish that visits the Chesapeake Bay from spring through autumn. It is one of the largest fish in the Bay.

The boring sponge is a thick, bright yellow sponge that grows on oyster reefs throughout the Chesapeake Bay.

The brown pelican is a large, dark-colored water bird that lives along the shores of the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay during summer.

Also known as the American or Virginia oyster, the eastern oyster is a bivalve with two rough, whitish shells. It forms reefs in brackish and salty waters throughout the Chesapeake Bay.

The ghost anemone is a jelly-like invertebrate with a flat, rounded base and stinging tentacles at the top of an elongated stalk. It lives on rocks, reefs, pilings and other hard surfaces throughout the Chesapeake Bay.

The hooked mussel is a bivalve whose dark, ridged shell is strongly curved, or “hooked” on one end. It is prolific in oyster reefs—often “wrapping up” oysters—and can outnumber the amount of oysters by several fold.

Kemp’s ridley is a critically endangered sea turtle with creamy skin and grey/olive limbs. It feeds on blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer.

The lookdown is a silvery, flat-bodied fish that visits the lower to middle Chesapeake Bay in summer and autumn.

The red beard sponge is a brightly colored sponge with thick, intertwining branches. It lives on rocks, reefs, piers, pilings and other hard surfaces in the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay.

The sea squirt is a tunicate with a rounded, leathery body and two short siphons. It lives on reefs, pilings and other hard surfaces in the shallow waters of the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay.

The tautog is a stout, mottled fish with a thick tail and strong teeth. It can be found year-round around wrecks, reefs and pilings near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Whip coral is an invertebrate with long, whip-like branches covered in tiny polyps. It lives on rocks, reefs and other hard surfaces throughout the lower Chesapeake Bay.