May 30, 2024 — When it comes to important but unheralded Chesapeake Bay species, it may be time to praise the polychaete.
The bottom-dwelling worms turn out to be the most important food for a wide range of important fish predators, and their abundance seems to be holding steady in recent decades.
On the other hand, there may be reason for concern about lowly mysids, small shrimplike crustaceans that are a tasty treat for many Bay fish but have been in decline for years.
One thing is certain: There is cause to worry about the shoreline hardening around the Bay and its tidal tributaries. Despite efforts to promote “living shorelines,” the spread of bulkheads and riprap is taking a bite out of critical habitats for polychaetes, mysids and many other forage species that constitute the lower levels of the Chesapeake’s food web.
Those are some of the findings from a recent Forage Status and Trends Report from the state-federal Bay Program. It’s the first attempt to analyze if the Chesapeake is producing enough food for striped bass, weakfish, summer flounder, Atlantic croaker and other predators.