District of Columbia permission to dump RAW SEWAGE into the river that flows
into the BAY that is a huge problem! The executive federal agency tasked
with the protection of the enviroment contributes to its DESTRUCTION.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/04/watermen-paying-bays-fouling
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 21, 2008
The crab population in the Chesapeake Bay is collapsing, and it will take
drastic measures to restore it to normal levels. That fact is driving
unprecedented efforts by Maryland and Virginia to limit the crab harvest.
Both governors have pledged to reduce the taking of female crabs by 34
percent. More limits, some draconian, are almost inevitable if the fishery
is to be rescued.
That's bitter mustard for watermen, who have seen their livelihood suffer in
the past few decades. The annual harvest once reached 100 million bushels;
last year, it was about 44 million; this year, early signs are it will be
even smaller.
The reasons are complicated. Over fishing is part of it. But so is the
degradation of the Bay, which has been fouled by nutrients that leave it
devoid of oxygen. The loss of sea grasses, where juvenile crabs hide, has
been another factor.
Far more simple is the result: In 2008, the $125 million crab industry is
reeling, and a way of life is threatened. Watermen are reasonably and
rightly frustrated by being asked again to bear the burden.
Much of the damage wasn't done by fishermen, but by sprawl and farmers and
industry. By limiting the crab harvest, argue the watermen, they are being
asked to pay for the sins of others. Worse, their suffering won't solve the
problem.
There is truth there. Both Maryland and Virginia have spent millions to
clean up what their citizens put in the Chesapeake. Given the size of the
problem, neither has done nearly enough.
The result is a Bay that is not much healthier now than it was a decade ago;
and with both states facing lean times, there is little prospect of finding
the money they need. The lack of progress on Bay cleanup, the subject of a
2000 agreement between the surrounding states, has been a consistent
frustration for environmentalists, law-makers and watermen.
But watermen have been the only ones asked to sacrifice much. Despite that,
the crabs are still disappearing, along with native oysters. If things don't
change in the watershed, the watermen will be gone with the species on which
they depend.
Maryland and Virginia are working to delay that. By protecting crabs, they
hope to ensure the long-term survival of the fishery. At some point, though,
the states surrounding the Bay will have to acknowledge that it's not the
crabs, or the oysters, or even the water-men who need saving. It is the
Chesapeake Bay itself.
================================================
Fishing reduces stress and gives you a break from our modern world where everything is going a million miles per hour
73
Check & Clear 6
LOC: 38-54-14.60N / 097-14-09.07W
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