Some excellent programing on PBS - Channel 22 this week - "Chesapeake Bay Week"

[Fishinfool]

Gents,

There's some fine programming on the Bay this week, produced locally here on Channel 22 PBS out of Annapolis.

Tonight at 10:00 is about Menhaden. and at 10:30 - 11:30 a full hour look at at the Oysters decline. Here's the line-up all week:

http://www.mpt.org/bayweek/programming.shtml

[ronaultmtd]

Great- ....and Mike (Chexone)- you need to clean out your PM box- it isn't taking any new messages and I need to send you one-

[chex]

Mailbox cleared- and on my way to watch PBS! thanks for the tip, FIshinfool.

[chex]

That was sad... no winners in this menhaden story...

[Fishinfool]

The menhaden program was shot before the N.O.A.A. reduction of 20%, so they should have gone back and edited it w/ a tag at the end, just to show that there's been some progress.

The hour long one on oysters starting at 10:30 pm was a rebroadcast from last year too, but I always pick up more info the second time around. For anyone who saw it, as romantic of characters as the watermen are, they have to lock those guys up and throw away the key that are dredging on those oyster sanctuaries that the biologists from the U. of Md. spent so much time and money trying to get back. Some of those guys are just dumb as bricks.

It's amazing that at one time, probably up until the end of the nineteenth century, there were high rise oyster reefs all up and down the Bay. Oysters were a staple food for a large part of the country, and the shells were used to build roads back then, incredible.

[ronaultmtd]

Same story down in South America and Central America- look at the Tuna fishery in the Mediterranean Sea- almost extinct- the locals will fish the fish until they are all gone-

[chex]

The oyster story is very sad as well... even more sad perhaps than the menhaden who still have somewhat of a chance with proper legislation.

Imagine how different the bay would be with living highrise oyster reefs. There would be so many fish all over.

I had never heard about the Japanese oyster import that caused so many problems.

And yeah... shame to the poachers who in effect, are shooting themselves -as well as everybody else- in the foot.

I'm surprised that dredging is still allowed... it seems VERY destructive.

[Fishinfool]

Sad yes, but a story that must be told if there's going to be continued progress. Oyster harvests are up. Maybe they should close it off entirely, like they did with rockfish and just give the little critters a chance.

I am not sure why the replenishment efforts are more successful in the upper Bay where the salinity is 10% or less. Maybe it's all those parasites that have gotten out of the ships' ballasts below the Port of Baltimore and are ubiquitous from Baltimore south.

So much speculation, so little science.

[chex]

I would guess that the parasites do not thrive in low-salinity environments... they need to "breed" some parasite-resistant oysters... I'm sure they're trying.

[chex]

While on the topic of conservation, just received this email from DNR:

DNR Sets a May 10 Striped Bass Commercial Control Date for Quota Allocation

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service is making a significant management change to the commercial Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass fishery. DNR is working to meet fishing industry goals, create a more sustainable system, increase accountability and make it easier for police to enforce the law. The system will also comply with new Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requirements. These changes are the result of extensive meetings with the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission's Striped Bass Industry Workgroup over the past 18 months.

The proposed change is the allocation of individual quotas to fishing permit holders based on their Striped Bass catch histories from January 1, 2001 through February 29, 2012. New regulations will impact Striped Bass permit holders fishing in 2014.


Not sure if this is good or bad news though.

[DanMarino]

The other night I saw two Maryland PBS shows about water quality in Maryland's rivers and the Bay. They spent time talking about water quality in the Anacostia, Potomac, Choptank, and Severn Rivers. I work at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and our HQ facility is right on the Anacostia next to the Washington Navy Yard. The PBS show had some video of my building in the background as they showed the sewage pumping station between Nationals Park and the Navy Yard. I thought it was interesting they were showing so much stuff in Washington, DC. I was wondering why they didn't focus more on the Maryland problems....