The purchase of fishing licenses and revenue from manufacturers’ excise taxes on sport fishing equipment, import duties on fishing tackle and pleasure boats, and the portion of the gasoline fuel tax attributable to small engines and motorboats (Sportfish Restoration Funds) directly supports sustainable management and conservation of saltwater fish species.
Highlights include:
Striped Bass Surveys – Documenting reproduction, age and length structures, and harvest statistics. Management utilizes the information from the surveys to guide its decision-making process, with the ultimate goal of conserving the species for present and future generations
Finfish Health Research– Investigating diseases affecting wild fish populations
Fisheries Ecosystem Assessment – Surveys that explore how various land uses, including urbanization impact habitat for fish
Chesapeake Bay Finfish Surveys – Monitoring relative abundance, age and size structure, recruitment, growth, mortality, and migration patterns of resident and migratory finfish species such as white perch, croaker, and red drum
Coastal Bays Fisheries Investigations – Monitor areas in Coastal Bays with high value as spawning, nursery, and/or forage locations for finfish in order to protect against habitat loss or degradation.
