Feds: Chesapeake Bay logperch are recovering, don’t need endangered species protection

By Emmett Gartner

Populations of a small darter species found only in the lower Susquehanna River have rebounded enough not to warrant protections under the Endangered Species Act, according to a federal review released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The service last month touted the recovery of the Chesapeake logperch as a testament to years of conservation efforts between the agency and officials on both sides of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border that could yield further population expansions.

“Efforts to improve Chesapeake logperch habitat have allowed the species to maintain stable populations and may help partners reestablish populations in parts of its historic range where it is no longer found,” the agency said in a press release announcing the finding.

Since 2017, the coalition has concentrated efforts to improve water quality and connectivity throughout the tiny, green-striped fish’s spawning and foraging grounds. Support from the nonprofit organization Conservation Fisheries Inc. helped spawn more than more than 1,500 Chesapeake logperch from 23 captive fish in 2019, the first time anyone had tried to breed the fish in captivity, the USFWS said. Logperch populations bloomed from there.

The Chesapeake logperch was not recognized as its own species, distinct from the common logperch, until 2008. They require clean, flowing water and a silt-free gravel bottom as habitat. The primary threats to the fish, according to the service, are diminished water quality, competition from invasive species and barriers in the waterway that can keep them from reaching areas for spawning and feeding.

While current research determined the logperch has not triggered the criteria that would merit federal endangered species protections, the USFWS announcement added that the agency will continue to monitor its populations for possible changes. Both Maryland and Pennsylvania list the Chesapeake logperch as threatened at the state level, and Pennsylvania has targeted the species for further conservation work.