Chesapeake Bay is 40% dead zone now?

[Ski in NC]

I listened to an NPR story on some islands on the Louisiana coast that are eroding away and flooding often. The whole discussion centered around rising sea level. NOWHERE in the discussion was any mention of land subsidence, which is apparently a big driver of the issue at that location. Kind of blew their credibility for me. It was more a plug for HCCC and not a reporting piece. Shame.

 

[Islanddreamer]

Yeah, but that's one of those balance issues. Reducing the size limit on striped bass often also means more people catch more "keepers" -- which can in turn impact rockfish levels, too. There's probably a sweet spot in there somewhere, but it's also probably a moving target from year to year.

Ag run-off gets mentioned a lot around here.

Sewage spills.... hit or miss...

-Chris

Agree completely - and the appetite for crab meat hasn't lessened either. A lot of the Bay issues can be coming down the Susquehanna as far as runoff or sewage is concerned - and that river passes through a lot of agricultural area.

Occasionally you will see sewage issues on the news in Baltimore City that end up draining directly into the Bay. The infrastructure in B'More is so old it happens with alarming frequency. There was a news article in the last two weeks that said sea grasses have really come back. I know that in my marina you can see it out to the first 3 pr 4 slips. Glad for the environment but heck on the sea strainer...

 

[sdowney717]

Land sinking is a proven fact in Norfolk the land is sinking.
The reason is during the ice age, heavy massive ice sheets depressed the land further up north. So when that earth was displaced, it bulged further down south where the ice was not existing or much thinner.

So now the bulge of the earth is flattening out as the heavy ice sheet is gone.

Simply to demonstrate, push your foot into mud or sand, and the surface beyond your foot bulges up past your foot.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Greetings,
I love eating oysters but I absolutely refuse to buy or even eat any harvested from the Chesapeake or the Gulf of Mexico due to the contamination situation in both locations.

You are living under the delusion that your server really knows where the oysters on the menu come from. And that the resturant would tell you the truth anyway.

 

[River Rat]

The Magothy is fresh water...Don't oysters need salt?

It's actually brackish, I think. The oyster reef in the main part of the river is doing well.

 

[rwidman]

The area of drainage that goes into the Chesse is huge.

Simply banning lawn fertilizer for home owners and municipal areas might solve the problem.

Or, as I posted above, ban humans.

 

[rwidman]

I listened to an NPR story .............

There's your problem. NPR and the like are not news organizations, they are propaganda organizations.

 

[Dougcole]

Greetings,
I love eating oysters but I absolutely refuse to buy or even eat any harvested from the Chesapeake or the Gulf of Mexico due to the contamination situation in both locations.

I listened to an NPR story on some islands on the Louisiana coast that are eroding away and flooding often. The whole discussion centered around rising sea level. NOWHERE in the discussion was any mention of land subsidence, which is apparently a big driver of the issue at that location. Kind of blew their credibility for me. It was more a plug for HCCC and not a reporting piece. Shame.

Mr. RT, with all due respect, you are misinformed on the Oysters from the Gulf. Apalachicola oysters are the best quality in the world, and while facing some shortages due to reduction of fresh water flow from the river, there are no issues due to contamination.

Ski. I heard that same thing, it got me pretty hot. Have you ever read Bayou Farewell? It does a great job explaining the land loss in South Louisiana. While global warming may have some small effect, the big issue is the channeling of the Mississippi River. NPR just used the opportunity to further their cause, right or wrong. The state of the media in this country is nauseating.

 

[FF]

"Or, as I posted above, ban humans."

the solution to most problems begin at home.

What ammo should I send so you can remove your family from the polution stream?

 

[swampu]

DougCole is absolutly right. When our oysters are shut down, they test before they allow harvest, I always enjoy a box of Apalachicola Oysters. You cant miss them they have a light green shell and taste is out of this world. Our oysters are a lot more salty.
FF, I'm not a fan of banning humans so you don't need to send me any shells...

 

[Ski in NC]

Our problem with Gulf oysters is that the have been on the truck for God knows how long before they show up. Our local oysters are only in season in the winter, so Gulf is the only option for the rest of the year. I don't think I have ever tried a fresh Gulf oyster. But I know what a non-fresh oyster is like, and no thanks. The nose knows...

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I will grant Chesapeake oysters some leeway based on the anecdotal evidence given thus far BUT in NO WAY can I ever be paid enough money to eat a Gulf of Mexico oyster or any seafood that originates there.

The attached link is biased against oil drilling but the information provided regarding the 1.84 MILLION gallons of Corexit dispersant (banned in the UK) and it's toxicity, is accurate from other research I have done...

Dispersants

Given that oysters are filter feeders and as noted, DO clean up the water they live in, I am not taking any chances with them or any Gulf species.

 

[Dougcole]

Greetings,
I will grant Chesapeake oysters some leeway based on the anecdotal evidence given thus far BUT in NO WAY can I ever be paid enough money to eat a Gulf of Mexico oyster or any seafood that originates there.

The attached link is biased against oil drilling but the information provided regarding the 1.84 MILLION gallons of Corexit dispersant (banned in the UK) and it's toxicity, is accurate from other research I have done...

Dispersants

Given that oysters are filter feeders and as noted, DO clean up the water they live in, I am not taking any chances with them or any Gulf species.

Please note that I say this with no disrespect intended, this is one of those spots where the written tone is not correctly relaying what I intend.

But you do realize how big the Gulf is, right? Many people from other parts of the world do not. Just last week I was at a meeting in Lake Tahoe and chatting with an intelligent, well educated, outdoorsy Canadian who asked me if you could see across the Gulf. When I tell people where I live, (on the coast south of Tallahassee) they often say, "oh, so really close to Pensacola?" Pensacola is 230 miles from here.

I worked as a fishing guide for many years in the area from Apalach to St. Marks, including the year of the BP spill. I was on the water at least 6 days out of every week that summer. I can tell you for an absolute certainty, thankfully, that not a single drop of oil, dispersant, whatever, made it within 200 miles of Apalachicola.

There are also no oil rigs anywhere near here.

We have our environmental issues like everywhere else, but that is not one of them. It would be like someone from San Francisco not going outside because there was smog in L.A.

Again, no disrespect, I can see how you wouldn't know, the media made it sound way worse than it really was, at least in Florida. Panic sells, you know.

Ski is right though, it's tough to get fresh oysters when they come from more than 500 miles away.

 

[fryedaze]

The oyster business in the Chesapeake is improving so much that they are bringing Skipjacks back in service.