March 29, 2024

Lawmakers: Invasive Species Damaging the Bay

catfish

Maryland’s congressional delegation is calling on the US Department of Commerce to declare a state of emergency in response to the invasive species threatening the Chesapeake Bay, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) said.

In a letter to Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo, the lawmakers asked the federal government to address the damage to the local seafood industry by the invasive blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakeheads. The secretary is authorized to provide disaster assistance to the fishing industry when fish populations decline or other disruptions cause economic losses.

Besides Rep. Hoyer, the full Maryland congressional delegation, including US Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, Jamie Raskin, David J. Trone, and Glenn Ivey, signed the letter.

“Our state is a leading partner in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, designed to restore this national treasure and natural resource. One of the goals of the agreement, Sustainable Fisheries, is to protect, restore, and enhance finfish, shellfish, and other living resources, their habitats and ecological relationships to sustain all fisheries, and provide for a balanced ecosystem in the watershed,” the lawmakers wrote. “This goal is being undermined by rapid range expansion and population growth of invasive species, particularly of blue catfish, with deleterious impacts on the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Timely determination of a commercial fishery failure offers a significant federal tool to provide economic assistance to Maryland fishery participants, coastal communities, and predominantly small seafood businesses.”

Read the full text of the letter here.

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