Based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial information, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined the Chesapeake logperch does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The Chesapeake logperch is a small, freshwater fish currently found only in the lower Susquehanna River and its tributaries in Pennsylvania and Maryland. To complete their lifecycles, these fish need connected habitat in large rivers and tributaries with clean, flowing water and silt-free gravel bottoms. The primary factors impacting the species’ survival are degraded water quality, in-stream barriers that prevent individuals from reaching spawning and foraging areas, and competition from invasive fish.
However, the Chesapeake logperch is not currently in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, thanks to proactive, collaborative partner initiatives to assess and address conservation needs. 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.
Formerly lumped in with the common logperch, the Chesapeake logperch was recognized as an individual species in 2008 and became a priority in both Pennsylvania and Maryland’s State Wildlife Action Plans, motivating research and coordination.
In 2017, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Maryland Department of Natural Resources developed a range-wide conservation plan identifying strategic actions needed to achieve near- and long-term goals for the species. In 2019, Pennsylvania and Maryland received a State Wildlife Grant from the Service to implement the plan in collaboration with others to boost numbers of the Chesapeake logperch in the lower Susquehanna River and its tributaries.
The multi-year project has meaningfully advanced conservation for the species by improving water quality, removing instream barriers, controlling invasive fish species, and developing a successful captive-rearing program. In 2019, nonprofit Conservation Fisheries, Inc., spawned more than 1,500 Chesapeake logperch from 28 wild-caught individuals in a matter of weeks. It was the first time anyone had tried to breed the species in captivity.
Today, the Service’s Northeast Fishery Center, in Lamar, Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s Aquatic Conservation Center in Union City, Pennsylvania, are also raising Chesapeake logperch in captivity and releasing them into the wild.
Partners are also working to reestablish populations across the species’ historic range by capturing wild Chesapeake logperch from areas where they are doing well, tagging them, and releasing them in carefully selected streams where the quality of the water and habitat is high. During annual surveys in these streams, biologists have recaptured tagged Chesapeake logperch and captured untagged Chesapeake logperch, suggesting the possibility of natural reproduction. Species experts believe reintroduction and population augmentation offer a high potential for reestablishing the species across much of its historically occupied range because of improvements in habitat and water quality in those areas.
Although Endangered Species Act protection is not warranted for the Chesapeake logperch, the Service will continue to coordinate with and support partners in their conservation and research efforts.
A notice of the not warranted finding on the petition to list the Chesapeake logperch and supporting information for the decision is available today for public inspection in the Federal Register Reading Room and will publish tomorrow in the Federal Register, under Docket FWS–R5–ES–2026–2806.
