Little Elk Creek Watershed: Potentially Exposed Resources

Potentially Exposed Resources

The primary habitats of concern to NOAA are Little Elk Creek and Mill Creek. Little Elk Creek is a tributary of the Elk River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay. Mill Creek is a tributary of Little Elk Creek. Several anadromous species and the catadromous American eel use Mill Creek and Little Elk Creek during important stages of their life histories (Table 1). Currently no trust resources that are listed as endangered, threatened, or state species of concern occur in Little Elk Creek (USFWS 2005b).

Table 1. NOAA trust species that use Little Elk Creek and Mill Creek.
COMMON NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME	HABITAT USE			FISHERIES
COMMON NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME	SPAWNING	NURSERY GROUND	ADULT FORAGE	COMM.	RECR.

Blueback herring¹	Alosa aestivalis	•	•	•		•
Alewife¹	Alosa pseudoharengus	•	•	•		•
White perch	Morone americana	•	•	•		•
American eel	Anguilla rostrata			•		•
American shad²	Alosa sapidissima			?
Gizzard shad²	Dorosoma cepedianum			?
¹ Only blueback herring and alewife have been documented in Mill Creek ² American and gizzard shad are fished in the Elk River and may use Little Elk Creek or Mill Creek, though they are not documented there.

Commercial & Recreational Fisheries

American shad pulled from Susquehanna River.

In 1995, the largest commercial fisheries on the Elk River were for blue crab, catfish and eel, but herring, striped bass, white perch, and gizzard shad are also commercially fished (Lewis 1996). There are no commercial fishing operations on Little Elk Creek.

Some recreational fishing takes place on Little Elk Creek. NOAA trust resources that are targeted by fishers include blueback herring and alewife. White perch and American eel are also fished recreationally on Little Elk Creek. Resident smallmouth bass are also targeted by recreational fishers (Schaefer 2005).

There are currently no health advisories for fish consumption or fisheries closures in effect for Little Elk Creek. A health advisory has been issued from the origin of the Elk River to where it empties into Chesapeake Bay. The advisory recommends limited consumption of channel catfish and white perch because of PCB contamination (MDNR 2005).