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

State Climate Change Reports Available In 2008, Maryland and Virginia each issued major reports related to climate change. The Virginia Governor's Commission on Climate Change released its Climate Change Action Plan in December. The Maryland Commission on Climate Change's Climate Action Plan was made available to the public over the summer. NOAA Comments on Draft PEIS on Oysters NOAA has sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stating NOAA's support for Alternative 8A in the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. The draft PEIS describes several alternatives for rebuilding the Bay's oyster population. Alternative 8A includes only native oyster restoration, not introduction of the non-native Crassostrea ariakensis. The draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is available for review; NCBO research on non-native oysters was used in the draft. NOAA Fisheries Announces Blue Crab Disaster Relief NOAA Fisheries announced that the states of Maryland and Virginia are each eligible for up to $10 million to assist watermen who have been economically hurt by the commercial fishery failure in the soft shell and peeler blue crab fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.