Ophelia and the Spotted Sea Trout

October 17, 2023

On 9/27/2023, Mr. Pellock’s 7th grade science class seined the very first Spotted Sea Trout that CHESPAX has on record. The CHESPAX team haven’t seen a Spotted Sea Trout in at least 25 years of instructing the SAV program. This was a special catch that could have been linked to the post-tropical cyclone Ophelia, which impacted the Chesapeake Bay area on the third weekend in September.

With the high winds and heavy rain, lots of coastal areas were flooded.  The direction of the storm caused higher tides and increased salinity levels in the bay’s surrounding tributaries.  This is a possible reason why the Spotted Sea Trout was found that far into the Patuxent River.

The Spotted Sea Trout is not actually a trout, but a member of the drum family. They are most abundant in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the United States and prefer salinity levels between 5-35ppt.  

Local fishermen also reported the presence of Red Drum off the King’s Landing Pier. This is also an uncommon species in the river and is further evidence of higher salinity levels caused by Ophelia. Witnessing new varieties of fish during seine hauling generates excitement during the SAV field studies and leaves the students questioning what other species are in the Patuxent.