Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (GIT 1) Publications

This report summarizes the Striped Bass Survey Assessment and Habitat Connections workshop, an event held in February 2025 that was dedicated to understanding the ongoing decline in Chesapeake Bay striped bass recruitment

View document [PDF, 1.3 MB] Striped Bass Survey Assessment and Habitat Connections

This report presents methods for a pilot assessment of the condition of fish habitats in both the estuarine and inland portions of Chesapeake Bay rivers.

View document [PDF, 7.3 MB] Pilot Framework for Fish Habitat Assessments Across Tidal and Non-Tidal Waters in the Patuxent River Basin

The results of the 2022 and 2023 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey.

View document [PDF, 981.2 KB] 2024 Blue Crab Advisory Report

This report summarizes progress made in 2023 toward the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement’s "Ten Tributaries by 2025" Oyster Outcome.

View document [PDF, 3.4 MB] 2023 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

This report is a culmination of close to a decade of research to assess whether the status of forage species found in the Chesapeake Bay can support key predator populations.

View document [PDF, 14.1 MB] Forage Status and Trends Report for the Chesapeake Bay

This report provides an analysis of Maryland's 2022 and 2023 oyster restoration success.

View document [PDF, 6.1 MB] 2022 and 2023 Maryland Oyster Monitoring Report

This report summarizes the 2023 Winter Dredge Survey and 2022 harvest data discussed at the May 18, 2023, Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee meeting.

View document [PDF, 668.2 KB] 2023 Blue Crab Advisory Report

This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to discuss blue crab population drivers and stock assessment modeling to better understand recent population declines and prepare for the upcoming benchmark stock assessment.

View document [PDF, 511.3 KB] Blue Crab Population Drivers and Stock Assessment in Chesapeake Bay

DRAFT: Fisheries Impacts Synthesis

View document [PDF, 289.6 KB] DRAFT: Fisheries Impacts Synthesis

This report summarizes the 2021 Winter Dredge Survey and 2020 harvest data discussed at the May 18, 2021, Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee meeting.

View document [PDF, 801.2 KB] 2021 Blue Crab Advisory Report

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee on the status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

This document includes current efforts and management approaches for reducing the abundance and mitigating the spread and ecological impacts of invasive catfishes in the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF] 2020 Invasive Catfish Management Strategy

This report is the result of efforts to quantify the extent of suitable habitats for four key forage fishes in the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 4.4 MB] Forage Fish Habitat Suitability Model Report

This study, conducted by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, applies models to understand the influence of climatic, water quality, and biotic variables on estimates of key indices of blue crab recruitment for 1990‐2017. The published results can be accessed here: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2019-0439

View document [PDF, 2.3 MB] Evaluation of Environmental Factors Influencing Blue Crab Populations

Final report for a GIT-funded study evaluating hydraulic patent tong efficiency to estimate oyster density on restored oyster reefs conducted by the Oyster Recovery Partnership and the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory.

View document [PDF, 566.0 KB] 2020 Oyster Gear Efficiency Study Final Report

This report describes the results of monitoring done in 2019 and early 2020 on oyster reefs that were restored in 2013 and 2016. Reefs discussed in this report are located in Harris Creek, the Little Choptank River, and the Tred Avon River, Maryland.

View document [PDF, 10.9 MB] 2019 Maryland Oyster Monitoring Report

Final report for a GIT-funded study examining the shell budget for oyster restoration in Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 3.3 MB] A Shell Budget for the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Resource

The final report for a GIT-funded study compiling and evaluating available data for a Chesapeake Bay regional fish habitat assessment.

View document [PDF] Inventory & Evaluation of Environmental and Biological Response Data for Fish Habitat Assessment

This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop to identify the necessary information and analytical approaches needed to assess the condition and vulnerability of fish habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

View document [PDF, 2.8 MB] Factors Influencing the Headwaters, Nontidal, Tidal and Mainstem Fish Habitat Function

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee on the status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 631.3 KB] CBSAC 2018 Blue Crab Advisory Report

This 2017 addendum provides previously undocumented features of the procedures for assessing attainment of the Chesapeake Bay water quality criteria as well as refinements and clarifications to the previously published Chesapeake Bay water quality criteria assessment procedures.

View document [PDF, 4.2 MB] 2017 Technical Addendum Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Dissolved Oxygen, Water Clarity and Chlorophyll a for the Chesapeake Bay and Its Tidal Tributaries

An Invasive Catfish Symposium was held on November 6-7, 2017, at the VCU Rice Rivers Center. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together fishery managers, scientists, and interested stakeholders to discuss the latest science on invasive catfish and progress made on previous recommendations from the Invasive Catfishes Task Force.

View document [PDF, 559.0 KB] Invasive Catfish in the Chesapeake Bay

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 550.6 KB] CBSAC 2017 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report

Climate Change and Fisheries Research in the Chesapeake Bay

View document [PDF, 145.1 KB] Climate and Fisheries Bibliography - January 2017

The Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (Fisheries GIT) of the Chesapeake Bay Program was allocated Tetra Tech (Tt) time to support Management Strategies under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Agreement. The Fish Habitat Action Team under the Fisheries GIT requested Tt develop a matrix compiling information on habitat requirements, stressors, and threats for egg and larval life stages of lesser-studied species across the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 202.8 KB] Chesapeake Bay Species Habitat Fecundity Matrix

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 500.3 KB] CBSAC 2016 Blue Crab Advisory Report

The Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (Fisheries GIT) of the Chesapeake Bay Program was allocated Tetra Tech (Tt) time to support Management Strategies under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Agreement. The Fish Habitat Action Team under the Fisheries GIT requested Tt develop a detailed literature review for lesser-studied species across the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 763.5 KB] Chesapeake Bay Species Habitat Literature Review

This report summarizes efforts to develop a suite of indicators for forage groups and to quantify the magnitude of prey consumed by six predator fishes in the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 2.0 MB] Forage Indicators and Consumption Profiles for Chesapeake Bay Fishes

The Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (Fisheries GIT) of the Chesapeake Bay Program was allocated Tetra Tech (Tt) time to support Management Strategies under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Agreement. The Fish Habitat Action Team under the Fisheries GIT requested Tt develop a matrix of available habitat requirements, threats and stressors for lesser-studied species across the Chesapeake Bay.

View document [PDF, 303.9 KB] Species Habitat Matrix

Summary of the October 2015 Cownose Ray Workshop in Baltimore, MD.

View document [PDF, 706.0 KB] Cownose Rays in the Chesapeake Bay: What do we know?

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 434.4 KB] CBSAC 2015 Blue Crab Advisory Report

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes an Oyster Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 614.0 KB] Oyster Outcome Justification

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Forage Fish Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 669.0 KB] Forage Fish Outcome Justification

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Fish Habitat Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 484.0 KB] Fish Habitat Outcome Justification

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Blue Crab Management Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 570.8 KB] Blue Crab Management Outcome Justification

This fact sheet explains why the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement includes a Blue Crab Abundance Outcome and how this outcome was developed.

View document [PDF, 555.2 KB] Blue Crab Abundance Outcome Justification

The purpose of this report is to offer recommendations to address the expansion of invasive catfish populations and their impacts on living resources in the Chesapeake Bay. The report provides decision-makers an overview of the invasion and recommendations necessary to develop coordinated management strategies for the blue and flathead catfish invasion within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

View document [PDF, 2.0 MB] Updated 2014 Invasive Catfish Task Force Report

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 108.2 KB] CBSAC 2014 Blue Crab Advisory Report Figures

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 186.9 KB] CBSAC 2014 Blue Crab Advisory Report

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 288.2 KB] 2013 Blue Crab Advisory Report Figures

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 156.6 KB] 2013 Blue Crab Advisory Report

Summary of the CBSAC in-person meeting on November 21, 2013 to discuss gear selectivity in the Winter Dredge Survey.

View document [PDF, 42.5 KB] CBSAC November 2013 Gear Selectivity Meeting Summary

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 180.9 KB] CBSAC 2012 Report Figures

Annual report published by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC) on the status of the blue crab population in the Bay and management advice for Bay jurisdictions.

View document [PDF, 120.9 KB] 2012 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report

View document [PDF, 251.9 KB] Oyster Restoration Adaptive Management Decision Framework

This document represents efforts to develop clear and consistent objectives, definitions, sampling protocols and assessment techniques for evaluating progress toward restoring oyster populations in 20 Chesapeake Bay tributaries by 2025.

View document [PDF, 545.6 KB] Restoration Goals, Quantitative Metrics and Assessment Protocols for Evaluating Success on Restored Oyster Reef Sanctuaries

The Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team has concluded the risk posed by blue and flathead catfish warrants action to examine measures to reduce densities and limit range expansion, and to evaluate possible negative ecological impacts. 

View document [PDF, 146.8 KB] Invasive Catfish Policy Adoption Statement