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These fish are everywhere. Maryland only wants them on your dinner plate – WTOP News

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These fish are everywhere. Maryland only wants them on your dinner plate – WTOP News


The push is on to get blue catfish on more restaurant menus, dinner plates, and anywhere else that can keep the population manageable (if not eradicated) as they continue to overtake the Chesapeake Bay, eating almost everything in its sight.

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Can Maryland convince you to eat fish that aren’t native to the bay?

While there have been improvements, there remains a fragile ecosystem within the Chesapeake Bay. Among the growing problems are some of the animals that live and swim in those waters.

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That’s because they’re not supposed to be in those waters but have found their way in and really enjoy it.

There are doubts in the state of Maryland that the invasive blue catfish will ever disappear. But the push is on to get it on more restaurant menus, dinner plates, and anywhere else that can keep the population manageable (if not eradicated) as they keep swimming north from the Virginia end of the Chesapeake Bay, eating almost everything in its sight.

“It’s kind of the perfect invasive species,” said Chris Jones, whose job with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources is to focus on invasive species like the blue catfish and the Chesapeake Channa, also known as the snakehead fish.

People don’t necessarily think of a blue catfish as native to the Chesapeake region, so when it’s probably not something one thinks about ordering. The state is hoping to change that.

Maryland is launching a campaign aimed at making the blue catfish more popular as a meal. The effort includes publishing recipes and marketing that says your dinner makes a difference for the Bay and those who work on it.

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At the same time, Jones is aware that the blue catfish problem probably can’t be eaten away, no matter how many you order, so they’re also investigating future uses of the blue catfish in pet food and for fertilizing compost.

“This is a great, delicious meat that can be cooked so many different ways and (for) so many different things, and provide a good, nutritious, delicious meal for folks,” said Jones. “This is a fish that’s commercially, recreationally viable. They’re delicious. They are abundant as they can be, and it provides a unique opportunity for watermen to make a living with something different, to fill some income or subsidize some of the other stuff that they tend to do.”

Scientists have found lots of animals, including rock fish, inside the bellies of blue catfish. But one of their favorite things to eat are the blue crabs that swim on the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

“Right out here in this Chester River, we didn’t have blue catfish five years ago. Now, we have commercial fishery based in the river. So it’s not very good,” said Jason Ruth, the owner of Harris Seafood Company on Kent Island. “I don’t know where the future is going to be in it, but we need to at least get it in check so they can keep the balance of all the other species that are here as well.”

Next door to the processing plant that Ruth operates sits Harris Crab House. And on the menu is a fried blue catfish po’boy sandwich.

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“The fish is great,” said Ruth, who said it’s similar to perch, which are in abundance in the bay and also among an angler’s favorite to eat, though also really easy to catch. “It’s a nice, beautiful white fish. It’s flaky. It cooks up easy. It’s a cheap protein, and that’s what you need in today’s time.”

He hopes the fish will be featured on even more menus, and the state is trying to help.

“They are estimating that blue catfish are eating about 400 metric tons of blue crabs in a year, which is about 4% of the harvest of the state of Virginia,” said Jones. “But then consider that harvest crabs are five inches or larger. These blue catfish are working on juvenile crab. So 400 metric tons of juvenile crabs is a significantly larger quantity of crab than eating five inch, six inch, eight-inch crabs. So it’s become a huge problem.”

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Maryland

Around Town: Maryland Home and Garden Show returns to the State Fairgrounds

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Around Town: Maryland Home and Garden Show returns to the State Fairgrounds




Around Town: Maryland Home and Garden Show returns to the State Fairgrounds – CBS Baltimore

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The Maryland Home and Garden Show returns to the State Fairgrounds.

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No. 6-seed Maryland women’s basketball stunned by No. 11-seed Oregon, 73-68, in Big Ten Tournament second round

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No. 6-seed Maryland women’s basketball stunned by No. 11-seed Oregon, 73-68, in Big Ten Tournament second round


No. 6-seed Maryland women’s basketball had a chance to earn the final shot Thursday night.

Oluchi Okananwa drew an and-one opportunity to potentially cut the deficit to one point. But she missed the free throw.

No. 11-seed Oregon went the other way and head coach Brenda Frese decided not to foul. With 4.4 seconds remaining, guard Avary Cain knocked down a 3-pointer to end Maryland’s run in the Big Ten Tournament after just one game with a 73-68 loss in Indianapolis.

“It felt like deja vu,” Frese said.

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Just like the last time it faced Oregon — in College Park in late January — Maryland led by a slim margin heading into the fourth quarter.

That night, the Terps were outscored 24-11 in the fourth. It was 21-11 in favor of Oregon on Thursday.

“They just made a few more plays than we did late game that sent us home,” Frese said.

Maryland’s offense didn’t come through when it needed it most — it made just one 3-pointer on 15 attempts on the night.

The Terps relied on interior scoring in the first half. Of its first 23 points, 22 came from inside the paint — the only other score was a free throw. The game finished with Maryland scoring 48 points in the paint. The other 15 points came from free throws.

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But that was too one-dimensional offensively. The Terps attempted 21 layups and seven 3-pointers in the first half. It finished with 33 layups and 16 3-pointers, and made 20 layups compared to one 3-pointer.

As the first half progressed, Oregon adjusted to take away that gameplan. The second quarter started with an 11-2 Ducks run — they simply found more ways to score. Maryland could not find scoring outside of the paint or the charity stripe — its only 3-pointer came with 1:50 remained in the first half.

The Ducks weren’t dominating from deep, either; the game consisted mostly of back-and-forth layups. Still, the lack of success from beyond the arc was relatively uncharted territory for head coach Brenda Frese.

Early on, the Terps were overly cautious in avoiding foul trouble. But it backfired.

Oluchi Okananwa started the game on 3-of-3 shooting and scored six of Maryland’s first eight points. She has dealt with foul trouble in recent games. So Frese opted to have her sit for the remaining six minutes of the first quarter after committing a foul.

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But amid the intention to avoid foul trouble, Yarden Garzon committed two quick fouls early in the second quarter.

The referees continued to call a tight game in the third quarter. Okananwa got up to three fouls, and so did Isi Ozzy-Momodu. The Terps were in the exact position they were looking to avoid.

Due to its cautiousness regarding foul trouble, Maryland’s rotations were altered. Breanna Williams had some extended playing time — though it started out well, it turned sour quickly. She made an early layup, but also had some defensive lapses and looked largely out of place.

Maryland relied on its freshmen for 35 collective minutes in the first half. They were impactful, but not as much as its senior leadership, which was hampered by foul trouble.

Okananwa finished with 27 points and was Maryland’s main workhorse. It didn’t end up being enough, but her ability to drive inside gave her team a fighting chance.

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“Just be aggressive. Be my normal self. A lot of good things happen for me when I drive,” Okananwa said. “Whether it’s me getting to the line or finishing the bucket. So that was my mentality. Just be aggressive.”

With a loss in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, what seemed like a sure thing that Maryland would host NCAA Tournament games now looks in jeopardy.

1. A shocking loss. Since joining the Big Ten, this is the first time Maryland failed to reach the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. Last year, the Terps lost their first game but had a double-bye; this was their worst outing ever in the Big Ten Tournament.

2. What now? With the Terps’ run in Indianapolis now over, they will wait to see if they will host in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland was not the only Big Ten team slated to host that lost on Thursday — Michigan State did too. It remains to be seen what that means for the Terps.

“It shouldn’t be judged off of one game, and I think our conference prepares you night in and night out,” Frese said. “I think you should be rewarded for your body of work.”

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3. Garzon’s bad game. Maryland needed more from Garzon on Thursday and simply didn’t get it, as she shot 1-of-11 from the field and 1-of-9 from deep. If she made one or two of those shots, there’s a good chance Maryland would have won.



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Maryland AG Brown announces $1.99M settlement with LifeBridge Health over hospital fees

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Maryland AG Brown announces .99M settlement with LifeBridge Health over hospital fees


Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Thursday that his office has reached a settlement with LifeBridge Health, Inc. that will provide nearly $2 million in restitution to certain patients who paid outpatient facility fees before new state notice requirements took effect.

AG Brown said the Consumer Protection Division entered into a settlement agreement with LifeBridge concerning hospital fees known as outpatient facility fees that were charged prior to July 1, 2021, when the Facility Fee Right-to-Know Act took effect and established standards for notices about such fees.

The Consumer Protection Division alleged that consumers were not adequately informed they would be subject to the facility fees. LifeBridge denied that patients had been inadequately informed, but agreed to pay $1,985,198.90 in restitution.

ALSO READ | Maryland families ‘can’t even imagine’ impact of Gov. Moore’s disability funding cuts

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The restitution is for patients who paid out-of-pocket for fees charged by certain LifeBridge hospital clinics for clinic services received before July 1, 2021, when those services also were available at a non-hospital facility owned or operated by a LifeBridge affiliate where the consumer would not have incurred a facility fee.

Eligible patients should expect to receive a refund check from LifeBridge over the next six months, according to AG office.

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Consumers with questions about the settlement can call 410-576-6571.

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