ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Dozens of anglers are competing until Sept. 15 in a unique fishing tournament on the Chesapeake Bay called the Rod and Reef Slam. The goal of the annual tournament hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is to catch and release more species than anyone else, regardless of how big the fish are.
Anglers must do their fishing inside oyster reef restoration zones. Previous tournaments have logged at least 49 species caught and released, according to the Bay Foundation.
“It's a good thing. Size doesn't matter,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden Tuesday as she reeled in an Atlantic croaker that measured no more than 4 inches.
Colden and her guests were fishing over a manmade oyster restoration reef in the Severn River near Annapolis. The tournament puts the focus on the importance of reef restoration to supporting a diversity of life in the Chesapeake Bay, Colden said.
“Oyster reefs are one of the most important habitats in the Chesapeake Bay,” Colden said. “We call them a foundation habitat because they are so important, not just for oysters, but for these hundreds of other species.”
At least 300 species of fish and other marine life have been documented on manmade oyster reef restoration structures in the bay, according to Colden.
Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration has resulted in the creation of at least 1,000 acres of new underwater habitat in Maryland alone, according to a 2023 report by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Maryland has spent more than $87 million on the effort, which has resulted in millions of oysters now living in reef and sanctuary zones.
Restoration reefs are created by placing concrete structures, stones or piles of oyster shell underwater to give oysters something hard to attach to. New oysters are now populating reefs in places where, in some cases, the bottom used to be a thick layer of life-choking mud caused by centuries of environmental abuse, and sediment pollution, where no oysters could survive.
The Rod and Reef tournament runs through Sunday, and prizes include high end fishing gear and bragging rights.