The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office works to help protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay through its programs in fisheries management, habitat restoration, coastal observations, and education, and represents NOAA in the Chesapeake Bay Program . more

Draft PEIS on Oysters Released The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Virginia Marine Resource Commission have released the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on oysters for public comment. NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office-funded research on non-native oysters informed science in the draft. NOAA, Park Service, Sign Agreement NOAA Administrator VADM Conrad Lautenbacher and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar recently signed a memorandum of agreement enhancing future collaboration between the two agencies on projects including the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System. Videos Highlight New CBIBS Buoys Two new buoys in the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System were recently deployed. Video clips showcase the new buoys at the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Maryland, and in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk, Virginia. Department of Commerce Determination: Blue Crab Disaster U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has determined that a decline in the harvest of soft shell and peeler blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay is a commercial fishery failure. Science for Your Day on the Bay Data, observations, and analyses from a variety of NOAA offices can help make your day on the Bay safer and smarter, whether you are sailing or fishing. NOAA Researches Atmospheric Mercury Atmospheric deposition of mercury affects land and water resources around the world. Learn more about NOAA research on atmospheric mercury.