Upper Bay Western Shore
On Saturday 9/7 and Friday 9/13 Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) responded to fish health hotline calls regarding observations of ulcerated fish in Seneca Creek (Baltimore County). MDE also responded to another citizen hotline call from Joppatowne on the Gunpowder River (Baltimore County) also regarding observations of ulcerated fish. No menhaden were captured during the Seneca Creek investigation but eleven pumkinseed sunfish were caught and they all appeared healthy. On the Gunpowder River one of two menhaden captured had a lesion. Counts of Pfiesteria-like organisms (PLOs), conducted by Dr. JoAnn Burkholders laboratory at North Carolina State University (NCSU), were low at both locations. Genetic probe analysis by Dr. Oldachs lab at University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) found no Pfiesteria in the water sample from Seneca Creek on 9/7 but one of two samples tested positive for Pfiesteria piscicida at the Gunpowder River.

During routine fish contaminant collections on Middle River on Monday, September 9th, MDE collected nearly 300 menhaden all of which had ulcers. Of the approximately one thousand other fish of a variety of species caught that day during trawling, all appeared healthy. Water samples were collected, PLO analyses were conducted by NCSU and counts were found to be low. UMBI reported that the algal samples tested negative for both species of Pfiesteria.