Lighthouse Overnight Adventure Reservations Now Accepted at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Kids ages 8-12 travel back through time to explore the adventurous, exciting, and sometimes dangerous life of a late 19th-century lighthouse keeper while staying overnight in the 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. Lighthouse Overnight Adventures take place Fridays and Saturdays in the spring and fall, and include two days of free exhibit admission and a scenic river cruise aboard the replica buyboat, Mister Jim for all participants. More info can be found at www.cbmm.org.

     St. Michaels, Md. -- The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland is now accepting reservations for its spring Lighthouse Overnight Adventures program. Under the guidance of a museum educator, youth group participants experience the rustic life of a lighthouse keeper while spending the night in the historic 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse, located on the museum’s 18-acre campus along the St. Michaels Harbor.

     The program is offered Fridays and Saturdays, April through June and again in the fall, with advanced reservations recommended. Up to 12 children and their chaperones can participate in the program.

     Kids ages 8-12 travel back through time to explore the adventurous, exciting, and sometimes dangerous life of a late 19th-century lighthouse keeper. Through educator-led activities, participants try their hand at the keeper's traditional duties, listen to stories, and discover facts and clues about living in a lighthouse, navigation, and Bay history through games and puzzles.

     Built in 1879, the screwpile, cottage-style lighthouse once lit the way past Hooper Strait, nearly 39 miles south of St. Michaels. Slated for demolition in 1966, the museum purchased the building and moved it to its current location—opening it to the public in 1967. The lighthouse is one of only three still in existence on the Chesapeake.

     The program fee is $40 per participant, with 12 children and three adult chaperones participating, or $600 as a flat fee for any group size. Fee includes a dedicated museum facilitator, the cost of program activities, two days admission to the museum, a souvenir patch, and a scenic river cruise aboard the museum’s replica buyboat, Mister Jim.

     Space is limited, with early, on-line registration encouraged at http://www.cbmm.org/l_families.htm or by calling the museum at 410-745-2916.

Maryland Well Under Quota For Summer Flounder

    Tom O'Connell, Director of Maryland Fisheries Service, has released the following memorandum:

As we wrap up our 2011 recreational Summer Flounder fishery, we know our stakeholders are interested in the progress of our fishery towards our Maryland target: 101,000 fish. The 2011 season was from April 22, through November 30, included an 18 inch minimum size, and 3 fish creel limit. Point estimates for Wave 4 were released much later than expected, and were only available to us recently. This week, Wave 5 estimates were expected and were released on time. This update includes estimates for harvest through October 31, 2011 (Wave 5).

The estimated Summer Flounder harvest for Maryland April through October is 29,038 fish. Each point estimate is accompanied with a Proportional Standard Error (PSE) as a measure of precision and represents the uncertainty in the point estimate. The PSE for through Wave 5 for Maryland Summer Flounder is 51.3. This translates into an estimated harvest that could be anywhere between 21,590 and 36,486 fish. The Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistic Survey (MRFSS) is undergoing a multi-year redesign that will change many procedures involved in estimating recreational harvest along the coast, and has been renamed the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). This is the first year that some new procedures will be used. The changes to the procedure used to calculate the estimates have been approved by peer review. It was expected that estimates from Wave 3 would be the first estimates produced using the new procedure. However, NMFS is in the process of producing estimates for 2004-2011 using the new method. Revised final estimates using this new procedure are now expected sometime in 2012. This means annual and Wave estimates are expected to change for 2004-2011.

Additionally, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council has changed the recommendation for the coastwide Summer Flounder recreational harvest limit in 2012. These changes were based on a new stock assessment that was not available when the harvest limits for 2012 were initially set this past summer. While the coastwide recreational harvest limit for
2012 is less than it was for 2011, Maryland’s harvest target in 2012 will be more than the projected landings for 2011. Therefore, we do not expect that additional harvest reduction measures will be needed for our 2012 Summer Flounder recreational fishery to stay at or below our 2012 harvest target. Fisheries Service staff will be putting together additional information to discuss with our sport fishing stakeholders by mid-February to obtain advice on management preferences.

Former Maryland DNR Staffer Named NOAA Fisheries Administrator

Eric Schwaab, former deputy secretary for Maryland's DNR, promoted

A statement from NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco on the selection of acting assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management

January 5, 2012

Today, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve chosen Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, to serve as NOAA’s acting assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management, a position left vacant by the departure of Dr. Larry Robinson in November 2011. Eric’s official start date is January 17.

The assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management drives policy and program direction for NOAA’s stewardship responsibilities, including ocean resource management, coastal management, and protected resources.

I’m pleased that Eric agreed to shoulder this new responsibility. I’ve been grateful for his leadership as the head of NOAA Fisheries, leading efforts with fishery councils and the fishing industry to meet deadlines to establish annual catch limits, fostering new, productive relationships with commercial and recreational fishermen and women and working to effect significant reform of NOAA’s enforcement program. Eric brings more than 25 years of experience in local, state and federal natural resource management to this new role.

Eric has also been working closely with David Kennedy, the assistant administrator for NOAA’s National Ocean Service, on a number of cross-line priorities — including the response and recovery effort for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, NOAA’s work in support of the president’s National Ocean Policy and recent NOAA wide efforts to better focus coastal and ocean habitat science and conservation effort. In addition to continuing to work closely with the fisheries team on priority fisheries issues, Eric tells me he is looking forward to further strengthening the connections among NOAA’s many coastal and ocean stewardship programs.

With Eric assuming this new NOAA role, Sam Rauch, currently NOAA Fisheries deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs, will serve as acting assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. Since 2006, Sam has led efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of our nation’s fisheries. He has also been instrumental in development of the new NOAA Habitat Blueprint and on a variety of critical protected resource issues. I am grateful to Sam for his willingness to shoulder broader responsibilities, and I look forward to his leadership.
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Museum Offering Docent Training Starting Feb. 2

     St. Michaels, Md. -- The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland is offering training for new and existing docent volunteers at the museum beginning on February 2 and continuing on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout February. The training is free and open to the public, with advanced registration needed.

     This training is offered once a year, and prepares participants to lead group tours, interpret the museum’s exhibits, and assist at special events. Anyone who enjoys interacting with people, has a curiosity about the Chesapeake Bay, and would like to help promote the Bay’s cultural heritage is encouraged to participate in CBMM’s volunteer docent training.

     The new volunteer orientation from 10 - 11am on Thursday, February 2 will provide the basic information for becoming a museum volunteer. The orientation is followed with a 6-part intensive training program led by CBMM’s Director of Education Kate Livie, with topics ranging from learning about the museum’s exhibits and collections to developing tour group management techniques. Sessions are scheduled for 10am-12:30pm in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium on February 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, and 23. All sessions must be attended to qualify as a museum docent.

     CBMM docents provide invaluable support to the museum in its mission to promote a deeper understanding of the Chesapeake Bay region and its history. Docents are asked to commit to one, 4-hour weekly shift. Duties can include guiding museum visitors and providing a memorable and positive visit; staffing individual exhibitions and leading demonstrations, classes, and special events as needed; and promoting the museum and its mission to others.

     “Many docents express that volunteering at the museum is one of their most gratifying experiences,” commented CBMM’s Director of Events and Volunteer Program Melissa Spielman. “I often receive comments from volunteers who say that engaging museum visitors from across the country and around the world is inspiring and fulfilling work. That kind of feedback makes me feel the same about my work here also.”

     Pre-registration is required for the volunteer training. To enroll or to receive more information, contact Melissa Spielman at 410-745-4956 or at mspielman@cbmm.org.

Pocomoke River Bridge to be Closed Jan. 19-20

     Pocomoke City, Md. -- Mariners are advised that the Route 675 (lift) Bridge, at mile 15.6, over Pocomoke River in Pocomoke City, Maryland will be closed to vessels requiring an opening beginning at 7 a.m. on Thursday, January 19, 2012 through 5 p.m., on Friday, January 20, 2012 to facilitate an electrical outage for testing purposes. The available vertical clearance in the closed position is approximately three feet, above mean high water.  Mariners should adjust their transits accordingly. Chart :1222

First Landing Buoy Back Up and Running

     Cape Henry, Va. -- The First Landing buoy—the tenth buoy in the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System—was deployed in mid-August, but it was soon damaged in the high wind and seas of Hurricane Irene at the end of August.
     The CBIBS field team has worked on multiple rounds of diagnostic tests and repair work to get the buoy back up and running again. To repair the buoy, approximately 75% of the sensors and electronics were replaced. Repair was made more challenging given the open-water weather the field team experienced in attempting to repair the buoy on site.
     Their work ultimately was successful; as of December 20, the buoy is back up and running and transmitting data.
     See the data and find out more at http://buoybay.noaa.gov

'Foodways of the Chesapeake' Lecture Series Begins Jan. 12

     St. Michaels, Md.-- The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) begins a new lecture series entitled “An Abundant and Fruitful Land: Foodways of the Chesapeake, Now and Then” on January 12, with the four-part series continuing through March 14. Held on the museum’s waterfront campus in St. Michaels, Maryland, the series welcomes CBMM members and the general public’s participation, with pre-registration required.

     From 6 to 8 pm on January 12, “Spirits of the Chesapeake: Taverns, Tankards, and True Stories from 18th Century Maryland” will take place in the museum’s Van Lennep Auditorium and features Rod Cofield, director of interpretation at Historic Londontown in Edgewater, Maryland. Cofield will share his research into the history of tippling in the Colonial Chesapeake and how primary documents reflect the people, environment, and debauchery of 18th century life in the Tidewater. The lecture is followed by a presentation from Joe Dolce, manager of Chestertown’s Imperial Hotel, whose talk about the original colonial cocktail the “rum shrub,” will be highlighted with tastings and recipes. The cost is $15 for CBMM members and $18 for non-members.