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A new study led by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) and the University of Barcelona (UB) has revealed that marine plastic pollution could contribute to the introduction and transport of non-native species that attach to these particles of anthropogenic origin.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is excited to announce the 7th annual Lionfish Removal and Awareness Festival May 15 and 16 at AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar and HarborWalk Village in Destin. Come out and celebrate the fight against invasive lionfish with the FWC and Destin–Fort Walton Beach. Activities will include fillet demonstrations; family-friendly games and activities; art, diving and conservation booths; and the world’s largest lionfish spearfishing tournament, the Emerald Coast Open. Learn more by visiting FWCReefRangers.com. The 2021 Lionfish Challenge removal incentive program will begin May 21 and continue through Labor Day, Sept. 6. More details on how to get rewarded for your harvest coming soon to FWCReefRangers.com.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture expanded its spotted lanternfly quarantine to include a total of 17 counties and the city of Baltimore. The quarantine is effective immediately, and restricts the movement of regulated materials that might contain the spotted lanternfly in any of its life stages, including egg masses, nymphs, and adults. 

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has taken a significant step in its ongoing efforts to control the invasive spotted lanternfly. The department has announced the expansion of its spotted lanternfly quarantine zone to include two new counties – Charles and Garrett – effective immediately. This quarantine restricts the movement of regulated articles that might contain the spotted lanternfly in any of its life stages, including egg masses, nymphs, and adults.

The Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project (CBNEP) historically used working dogs to locate invasive nutria populations across the Delmarva Peninsula. As nutria populations decreased, the transition to detection and detector dogs was necessary. Dogs can be trained to smell the evidence of specific animals and plants in an area without visual identification.  

Governor Wes Moore is calling on the federal government to declare the expanding population of invasive fish species—including blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead—to be an ongoing commercial fishery disaster in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor sent a letter [Mar 2023; PDF, 2.4 MB] to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo requesting the declaration under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. The declaration would qualify Maryland for federal fishery disaster assistance.

The short story of invasive fishes in Maryland.
See also: Report an aquatic invasive using Maryland Invasive Species Tracker (MIST); tool for the public to help the state track invasive species in its waterways.

See also: Maryland Invasive Plants Prevention and Control for more information about the Maryland Invasive Plant Regulations

The Massachusetts Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program conducts science-based state and national surveys targeting exotic plant pests, diseases, and weeds identified as threats to U.S. agriculture and/or the environment.
See also: Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List and Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resource (MDAR)'s Invasive Pest Dashboard

The University of Massachusetts Extension Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program is a systems-oriented educational program that involves an interdisciplinary approach to ecosystem management, agricultural crop production and community pest management. This approach incorporates mechanisms for accurate estimation of both pest and beneficial insect populations, includes both economic and environmental cost and benefit assessments, and prescribes a combination of strategies for control of pest problems.

The Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and the UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program. Provides latest information on plant pests, pathogens, and weeds. 

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) today announced that it has identified two dead specimens of the spotted lanternfly (SLF) in Massachusetts communities, and is urging residents to report any sign of the invasive pest. The specimens were recovered in the towns of Milford and Norwood, and were brought into Massachusetts on materials shipped from Pennsylvania counties currently under a spotted lanternfly quarantine. Additionally, MDAR was recently notified that nursery stock with spotted lanternfly egg masses and adults may have been unintentionally imported and planted in several parts of Massachusetts.

MDAR is urging anyone who has received goods or materials, such as plants, landscaping materials, or outdoor furniture, from a state with a known SLF infestation to carefully check the materials, including any packaging, for signs of spotted lanternfly. Currently, there are known introductions of SLF in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. If any indication of SLF is found, residents should take a photo or collect the specimen, and report any potential sightings of the pest using MDAR’s online reporting form. Residents should look for large, gray insects, about one inch long, with black spots and red underwings, or inch-long, rectangular yellowish-brown egg masses covered with a gray waxy coating.