Blackbanded Sunfish – Maryland’s Rarest Fish

Blackbanded Sunfish (Enneacanthus chaetodon) is Maryland’s rarest extant fish species, presently known from only a single location in the state within the Nanticoke River basin. Population research efforts beginning in 2006 indicate that this species has declined from historical levels in the Chesapeake Bay and greater Delmarva Peninsula. The remaining population in Maryland is small, genetically in poor health, and at high risk of extirpation (extinction from a geographic location) without intervention. Jay Kilian, program manager with the MDNR Resource Assessment Service, will share the current status of the species in Maryland and describe recent and planned conservation efforts aimed at restoring this jewel of our blackwater habitats.

Jay Kilian has worked at MDNR since 2001 as a biologist focused on freshwater stream and river ecology and has spent A LOT of time searching for Blackbanded Sunfish and many other rare fishes in Maryland.