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NARRATOR: Coming up... A fresh take on an old an underwater sanctuary where and a new tracking system Next.

ANNOUNCER: Outdoors Maryland with the Maryland Department DNR: inspired by nature, [waves crashing] Closed Captioning has been made empowering those who are deaf, or speech disabled * [seagulls squawking] [Calm guitar music] NARRATOR: As fall brings to the Chesapeake Bay, two boats each in search of a CHRIS WALSTRUM: Easy.

NARRATOR: Biologists of the Maryland Department of have population data to collect.

Their annual index of Blue crab Charter Captain Jason Seaman is swimmers for a different reason.

He's wondering if Old Bay can bring a new kind of customer One boat East and one boat West, The DNR research vessel turns on the Southeast side CHRIS WALSTRUM: Salinity is 9.8 ppt.

JASON SEMAN: All right, Sean.

We're good to go.

SEAN MILLER: Okay.

NARRATOR: Chris and Sean to sample the murky bottom, six minutes MILLER: Sixth and final We were here six times six times the year before.

SEMAN: Definitely feels heavy.

NARRATOR: They sort the crabs [crashing of bay creatures] MAN: Oh yeah, MILLER: Oh, there we go.

MAN: Live oysters, yeah.

Throw it back.

MILLER: We're here just to before things slow down and SEMAN: Got a couple MILLER: Smaller crabs.

SEMAN: Always like to see those.

MILLER: That's good to see 168 millimeters and 212 grams.

It's a good sook.

NARRATOR: Like the coastal the crab population and that makes it a tough [water splashing] There might be 600 million crabs perhaps only 300 million Females lay their eggs The youngsters float out to the before catching winds and No current, Other factors too might cause commercial fishery MILLER: 39 grams.

NARRATOR: Cold winters, fishermen, pollution... MILLER: Got another male.

So in October, right now, the females are starting all the way down Males on the other hand are They're trying to fatten up before winter.

They're not too feisty today.

Cold water's got them shocked.

SEMAN: Yeah.

Not what we're MILLER: Yeah.

We're accustomed NARRATOR: On the other side Captain Jason sets a course west across the shipping channel With the end of the he's trying something different and he's not carrying his fishermen.

SEMAN: Today is a great day MATT JOHNSON: We need that help.

SEMAN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: on the Great Lakes.

Now they sail the world, on camera.

It's something new on the bay, Razzie Murad is an immigrant Her daughter, Armine, SEMAN: You ready to catch NARRATOR: New is going to meet SEMAN: All right, let's go.

NARRATOR: 150 years ago, and commercial canning opened to crab meat.

The Blue crab was just and it was caught like this.

NARRATOR: A thousand feet of on either end.

Bait: eels, maybe The short bits of rope that held snoods or trots.

SEMAN: We just want to Just like that.

NARRATOR: It's called SEMAN: We got a Waterman [splash] Drop away.

We're ready to go.

CHRIS WALSTRUM: We came We crab here a lot.

It's always a pretty river.

You got the Naval Annapolis is here.

SEMAN: You ready to NARRATOR: The plan is simple.

Grab a net, peer over the edge SEMAN: You don't want NARRATOR: Don't Don't call it grabbing GIRL: Get it!

Right there!

[cheering] Way to go!

[cheering] ARMINE: Thank you!

NARRATOR: Next up for Each Winter as crabs lay dormant scientists count them at That data is used to estimate in the Chesapeake.

[scraping] MILLER: Here we go.

NARRATOR: DNR, summer surveys An attempt to understand of the crab population.

[sloshing] WALSTRUM: Nice crab.

[clanking of metal] MILLER: When you're looking at like this, we can kind of on what's been going on.

Its a....very soft.

NARRATOR: When did juveniles When did the females migrate?

WALSTRUM: Crabs are heavy.

They look good.

MILLER: 192 and one claw.

WALSTRUM: One claw.

Pretty good tow for being what we would see.

NARRATOR: Overall, the crab around Kent Island.

But not enough to The water was warmer, later.

So the females stuck around Healthy juveniles suggests that is functioning properly.

Today's work is just one [camera shutter clicks] One day in one month MILLER: It reminds me of hopefully the resource will crabbers.

Keep the traditions alive.

SEMAN: Ready Mike?

Speaker 10: Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: Back on This tradition, charms a new kind of customer.

SEMAN: Eye of the tiger now.

Yeah!

JESSICA JOHNSON: We see the and we knew that one time Yeah.

M. JOHNSON: Stole it from People talked about it.

How much fun it was and [cheering] ARMINE: Yeah!

NARRATOR: The technique M. JOHNSON: There's one.

NARRATOR: Aim below the crabs.

Try not to cast shadows [water splashes] J. JOHNSON: It's kind of dipping your net in and out I'm really enjoying [little girl screams] NARRATOR: Armine is working She might just have a future [tussle of crabs] SEMAN: Five and a quarter so that we can keep that crab.

ARMINE: Good job Mommy!

GUY: Awww.

M. JOHNSON: Think of crabs.

I thought to myself, it's just my business and give them ARMINE: Yeah.

Yes!

J. JOHNSON: We are going by steaming ARMINE: Now lets eat them!

[hiss of gas] NARRATOR: Back on Kent Island.

The pot boils, the crabs steam.

J. JOHNSON: Wow.

Look at that.

NARRATOR: Stories are told, past her bedtime.

ARMINE: What inside?

NARRATOR: Will she Does any true Waterman remember SEMAN: Oh they're so good!

NARRATOR: Alongside new friends, [camera shutter clicks] [soft suspenseful music] NARRATOR: Submerged just thirty miles South lives a vestige of World War I.

A hidden piece of history National Oceanic and is eager to share.

SAMMY ORLANDO: the resting place of about wooden steam ships.

These boats were commissioned and it was basically some to the war time effort.

These ships never made it to across the ocean during the war ended before a lot of for those specific NARRATOR: And with these wooden ships became SUSAN LANGLEY: With metal hulls coming back from war, slow steam engine powered, NARRATOR: Too expensive the ships were eventually in an out of the way inlet Nearly a century later, are integral to the ecosystem Artifacts of war, ORLANDO: These vessels, in an area of the Potomac River And that structure provides of sediments.

It provides the basis for It provides the basis And as nature continues to this becomes one of the more of the Potomac river in terms of and biodiversity.

NARRATOR: It's an incredible LANGLEY: We look at it as It's fascinating that we had NARRATOR: Susan Langley is the at the Maryland Historical She has an encyclopedic LANGLEY: The engines vibrated and that was another problem.

They built them with The vibration would cause World War I is not an entity remaining and to have them so close at hand, they're They're not They're accessible NARRATOR: In 2019, the Administration, NOAA, gave this GOVERNOR LARRY HOGAN: and pleasure to welcome to this event to celebrate the Potomac River as our nation's [applause] ORLANDO: NOAA got involved through a nomination It was from a broad base group and community organizations something special right here GOVERNOR HOGAN: As a result of we are preserving the remains World War I era Along with ships dating back and the Revolutionary War that are nearly LANGLEY: Becoming a sanctuary global street cred.

We know we're important.

We always know it was great, NOAA spotlight on it.

ORLANDO: It's getting the public to capture that spirit and is so important.

If they understand and they get The stewardship is a natural and their desire to keep for future generations.

JOHN ZIMMERELLI: One and a half.

NARRATOR: is this solar powered buoy, between NOAA and the Maryland John Zimmerelli and his team the water in Mallows Bay at healthy levels.

JOHN ZIMMERELLI: Our group looks into the bay NARRATOR: The buoy provides information for anyone and watermen.

Long term, environmental conditions, water temperature and turbidity, even the ships rate of decay.

ZIMMERELLI: Every hour, will call up the station, and put it right to the web.

This is an array of We have temperature chlorophyll and dissolved Right before every reading and spin around to keep them clean.

NARRATOR: Every few weeks, and new sensors ZIMMERELLI: It's not bad though.

We could get down to two We stop when we hit 10% of We get down to two meters, pretty far.

I believe it's a very Not only for a public health but an environmental standpoint.

NARRATOR: The health of the has made for a robust Joe and Shelly Perry JOE PERRY I'd like to in beautiful NARRATOR: They love to share with a growing number of who come for a great day [sloshing of water] SHELLY PERRY: You see all the is standing out today.

[sloshing of water] S. PERRY: What I like about I like to be able to get people just be here for the ships.

I have people out here that Some people are out I like to be able to intertwine S. PERRY: That was not here Doesn't the front look GUY: That's amazing.

[water sloshing] S. PERRY: When we give tours at we want people to come away with of what a precious resource this Sanctuary.

From here you can see cause water can be deceiving.

KAYAKER: I think the experience was really interesting as well.

There's this weird industrial Some of these boats look like and it was just really ORLANDO: There's a special when you're out here.

The more that you're out here, [soft calm music] NARRATOR: Millions of birds, thousands of species making between wintering grounds and breeding grounds A journey that counts amongst mysteries.

GREG KERNS: When you look at in North America, NARRATOR: It's not just birds.

Bats, and even some insects travel immense distances driven by the promise of and longer days.

It's an arduous undertaking.

And one that often demands at stop over habitats Jug Bay Wetlands on GREG KERNS: The Patuxent River migration pathway.

[seagulls squawking] I always liken Jug Bay I call it nature's gas station.

NARRATOR: Greg Kerns is the here at Patuxent River Park Home to the Jug Bay [water splashes] KERNS: It's a refueling stop of hundreds of species to and refuel for the next leg of NARRATOR: That's especially true headed South for the Winter to gorge on the area's Springtime is quieter, but there are still On a sunny April morning, Greg for one bird in particular.

The Sora rail, less likely to be seen [Sora rail calls] KERNS: They spend majority vegetation.

The only time they fly is at the vocalizations are the key to in that dense marsh.

NARRATOR: Little do they know in their midst.

[Sora call on speaker] KERNS: Here we have this that uses MP3 files We actually load the files all three different main calls.

We've learned that using those into the traps and we can catch over 6, 000 rails over the last 30 years.

NARRATOR: And counting, KERNS: All right, we just got Appears to be a male here looks like a female.

NARRATOR: Both headed North potentially as far South as in Canada and the Northern U.S.

It's a dangerous endeavor.

Traveling thousands of miles at the mercy of These long distance migrants which could change or even to the next, takes its toll.

KERNS: Wetlands are declining, more than half of the wetlands have disappeared I think that the populations of right along with it.

NARRATOR: But with each Greg hopes to shed a little of migration and gain conservationists to protect KERNS: We know they show up of the year, but, That's what we want to know.

How long does it take them?

Where are the most important NARRATOR: In decades past, individual birds involved coded aluminum bands and hoping These days the technology thanks to something called the Launched in 2014 Motus is a global network of like this one.

Which enable researchers to birds, bats, and butterflies transmitters.

Each with its own KERNS: The amazing technology right here has a battery, that transmits a signal It can be picked up as much The weight of it shouldn't but now it has the chance to be of more than 650 Motus towers throughout North America, NARRATOR: Including upwards Many established by Department Dave Brinker.

DAVE BRINKER: So we're here at to do an annual inspection on and the antennas.

The Motus system is a great science.

We put some towers up the Pennsylvania game commission and we all then allow fairly sophisticated questions are getting through the by passing this NARRATOR: Motus towers form running from Assateague Island to the mountains of BRINKER: So that any bird if it passes through Maryland one of the two types of tags there's a good chance that by one of these towers.

NARRATOR: Back at Jug Bay, tagged Sora's with KERNS: They're probably feeding ready for the next leg of Once they leave here probably I would estimate NARRATOR: Jug Bay's own Motus tower will of their departure.

Take transmitter 400, which will begin its journey flying within range of two of before heading to in the Great Lakes region.

KERNS: We've learned more about just using these nano tags than in previous 100 years of NARRATOR: From how fast and far can fly in a night to how they But perhaps one of the biggest protecting places like Jug Bay.

With new Motus towers there are undoubtedly still to come.

KERNS: A lot of people on a clear starry night when what is going on over their I just think it's opening [chatter in background] * ANNOUNCER: Drop into our website and suggestions.

And now, you can also [owl hoots] ANNOUNCER: diverse natural beauty DNR: inspired by nature, *