We had a serious Nor’ Easter blow through on May 26. I took a photo or two during the event. Three to four foot seas. Taken from the beach at Neeld Estate near Bay Blvd and Ridge Rd.

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(TAF via DIGG) – The Angry Fisherman blog wants all of us to give DNR all the help we can to identify the person(s) that dropped a gill net at the Choptank!

Read the story: http://digg.com/d1sCFh

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(From eHow.com via DIGG) – Learn how to measure blue crabs!

http://digg.com/d1sjP1

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(Chesapeake Bay Foundation) How clean is your stream? What color is your creek? Does the thought of swimming in your river make you shiver? Send a sample of your local water by 5/8/09.

read more | digg story

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Let’s do something fun with DougWeb.  Hopefully it will help stimulate visits to the Chesapeake and I get to find out how many local folks actually read the blog.  There is so much serious stuff for us all to worry about. We have to remember we all need recreation – and there is the Bay.

The fishing charter business is popular in Maryland. We have great fishing here and many local captains take visitors out on the Bay to enjoy the sport. Last week when I was leaving Abner’s for a Coast Guard Auxiliary patrol our boat fell in behind what could only be called a convoy of local fishing enthusiasts. Once on the Bay the number of fishing boats was amazing to see.

Tell DougWeb readers about your charter service. Give us your URL. Tell us the number to call. Brag a little about your business.  Just reply to this post.  Folks will have fun reading about the business and all of the boats. With any luck some of the charters will get a little extra business for the effort.

Oh and if you run a harbor tell us about it!

Share the fun! Fishing charters rock (and here they fish for Rock )

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My wife and I were walking along the beach at Plum Point over the weekend and noticed a rather high concentration of seanettles (stinging jellyfish) along the shoreline. Yuk. Last year these biotic nuisances didn’t show up until later in the season. Or at least that’s what we think we remember. I’ve heard fishermen on the marine VHF radio comment that they have moved through vast quantities of the jellyfish. We met some un-escorted un-supervised children in the eight-to-ten age range on the beach that did not know about seanettles or the potential for stings and let them know. (Parents – you should be on the beach with your children for safety sake. More for drowning protection rather than jellyfish stings.)

This website at the NOAA is where you can monitor the progression of the seanettle up the Bay. Be aware of your surroundings before you jump in the water.

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ANNAPOLIS – Our most treasured asset, the Chesapeake Bay is in trouble. Millions of dollars are spent each year on finding solutions to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, while each year the reports are the same….the Bay is unhealthy and more must be done.

read more | digg story

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Click through to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website to learn more about he Living Shoreline Workshop and Planting to be held in Galesville, MD Sunday May 17, 2009 from 1:00 5:00 PM. This annual event is geared toward waterfront property owners as well as the general public.

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A new survey has found the Chesapeake Bay’s adult population of blue crabs has increased substantially over last year after new management measures were put in place. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced the results of the winter dredge survey Friday.

read more | digg story

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Chesapeake Bay Foundation is concerned about highway development at Mattawoman Creek in Charles County.

Click here to read the entire article at their website.

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Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Bay Barometer. Good and bad news about the Chesapeake Bay.

More at this link.

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Cool video about horseshoe crabs. These are really strange creatures. Most people think the tail is poisonous but it’s just for moving around and turning itself over.

read more | digg story

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(TechnologyReview.com via DIGG)Zymetis is testing genetically modified bacteria that efficiently convert biomass into sugar. A tiny microbe found in the Chesapeake Bay is the focus of intense study for a biotech startup in College Park, MD.

read more | digg story

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(DailyPress.com via DIGG) Citing insurmountable government roadblocks, the Virginia Seafood Council on Tuesday abandoned its effort to introduce Asian oysters into the Chesapeake Bay.

read more | digg story

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(FoxNews 031009 – AP) – WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Nearly seven million pounds of debris was collected from waterways and shorelines around the world during a single day last year, illustrating that careless people are discarding trash just about everywhere, with much of it eventually finding an aquatic home, according to a report released Tuesday.

(Ed Note: I have no idea how much of it was around the Chesapeake Bay but I see more than my fair share of litter in and around the Bay these days. Maybe this AP article will open some eyes.)

Read the whole story at FoxNews)

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(hometownannapolis.com)–A room full of angry watermen told state officials last night to go back to the drawing board with their plans to cut down the crab harvest and freeze some crabbing licenses. Nearly 200 watermen from across the Eastern Shore packed a meeting room at the Kent Island Library to confront Department of Natural Resources employ

read more | digg story

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A friend of mine gave me a copy of Chesapeake Bay Magazine the other day. I was very impressed. Excellent writers, great topics, and even thoughtful restaurant reviews of the Chesapeake Bay area. The magazine has a website at http://www.cbmmag.net/ where you can preview some of their content. By the way they didn’t ask me to write this brief review. I thought the magazine was so good I wanted to share it with other Bay enthusiasts like myself.

On-line features that are really handy are:

Marine Police Blotter
Notice to Mariners
Breaking News

Take a look because I think you will like it.

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There is nothing better than watching a late night movie on the television with popcorn. It’s the American thing to do. Now in “Old Bay” country, Maryland we can add more than salt to our kettle corn. I have always enjoyed a spicier popcorn. By using Old Bay seasoning the buttered treat is really special. Tonight I actually improved on the flavor using a sprinkle of Old Bay Rub. Wow. Only in crab country. Popcorn with Old Bay rocks.

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The Chesapeake Bay Foundation today notified their followers on Twitter that the State of Virginia is considering introducing non-native Asian oysters to the Chesapeake Bay. The CBF is concerned because they believe introducing foreign oysters will do more harm than good, ”

“Despite all of the scientific evidence that non-native oysters may cause more harm to our Chesapeake Bay oyster population, the Virginia Senate is proposing a resolution to support the Asian oyster introduction. Should decisions like this be driven by science or politics?”

Click here to learn more.

Certainly worth a look see if it would do eventual harm to our part of the Chesapeake.

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(DIGG) Five commercial fishermen, a fish wholesaler and his son have been charged with illegally harvesting hundreds of thousands of pounds of the endangered striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River.

read more | digg story

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The Chesapeake Bay is not tar-black and dead. It is not bright-green and toxic. It looks just as beautiful as ever, come a sunrise in Annapolis or a sunset over Tangier Sound.

read more | digg story

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Pollution and overfishing have caused the Chesapeake Bay to lose two-thirds of its blue crab population since 1990, according to a new report criticizing the federal government for undercutting state environmental funding.

read more | digg story

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The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is following through on its threat to sue the Environmental Protection Agency after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. They allege the EPA has failed to comply with the agreements to reduce nutrient pollution 40% and remove the Bay from the Clean Water Act.

read more | digg story

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A patriotic Southern-Maryland salute is extended to the Captain and crew of the gallant USS Freedom passing by on the Chesapeake Bay this morning. Ship watchers can follow its AIS signal into Annapolis, MD on the PopularWireless AIS page.

This is one of the Navy’s newest and most exciting ships, fast, agile, and capable. Check out this YouTube video!

Visit the ship’s website. Also see this article at the Navy website regarding the ship’s commissioning on November 8, 2008.

On your marine scanner listen for, “This is Freedom” and “Warship 1.”

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A new page was added to DougWeb today, the Watch stander’s Reference. This is a helpful list of maritime related links with an emphasis on Southern Maryland. Should you want to suggest a “missing link” send it to doug@dougweb.com.

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