Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 11:05:20 -0700 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Charlie Subject: Re: Horseshoe Crabs and Virginia MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I know this sounds partly off-topic, but since this directly impacts the well-being of many migratory shorebirds (and other fisheries issues affect pelagic species as well...) Perhaps the biggest instance of over-fishing destorying an ecosystem is off New England. The series of under sea banks (George's Bank, Stellwagon Bank, Great Banks, etc) there causes upwellings, which brings together 1) the nutrient-rich lower waters, 2) sunlight, and 3) relatively warmer temperatures. Once it was perhaps the best fishing in the world. When Captain John Smith went by, they were able to *dip net* large tuna and other fish! Average fish caught ran about 6-7 feet. (Smith is generally considered NOT to have been an exagertor). Now IF a boat is able to catch tuna off George's Bank, it averages 18-24 inches. Irrelevant to birds? Well the lack of fish means lack of, um, fish created nutrients. So far less phyto- and zoo-plankton. This means less of the smaller critters which are eaten by bigger ones, including the pelagic birds. Whales also eat this stuff, and there has been a major decline of Humpback Whales on George's, which is now being off Stellwagon. This also means that whale watches have to go MUCH farther out to sea to get good looks at whales. That hurts a *non-consumptive* industry. If only some of the fishermen would change to this very profitible means of income, the problem would be helped. But they don't like change. Not even if it means loss of an entire ecosystem. With the loss of these nearer-shore banks, the Great Banks are being used. After this, near-shore fishermen have no more spots that are within the range of their equipment. So they are protective. Not in the sense of reducing catch, or raising minimum size, though. These bright, forward-thinking US & Canadian fishermen are so "concerned" about their well-being that they have resorted to SHOOTING at other boats whom they percieve to be in "their" area. Wonderful people. So I stopped eating any but farm-raised fish 9 years ago. Why support these guys? Ok, soapbox is now vacant. Unfortunately the poor weather has made my first day in Frostburg nearly bird-less. Decided to spent effort moving in, instead. Primarily just suburban avifauna: starling, house finch, rock dove, and a bunch of crows that simply will not mutate into ravens! Charlie --- Gail Mackiernan wrote: > Actually, the science for protecting the > Horseshoe Crab is quite good -- but > as often happens in fishery work, it takes guts > to implement unpopular (e.g, > unpopular with industry) regulations. This is > why so many of the world's > fisheries are terminal, despite supposed > government oversight. As an example, > the state of Maryland was extremely courageous > in the 1980s to implement a > moratorium on taking of Striped Bass > (rockfish). The fishery managers and > governor were vilified by many watermen -- they > said, "the science is no > good, the rockfish are down because of (take > your pick) 1) natural cycle, > 2) disease, 3) pollution, 4) predaceous fish, > crabs, birds etc...) Of course, > as soon as the species was protected, numbers > rebounded tremendously, with > year class strength close to that of early days > -- a clear indication that > the primary cause of the species' decline was > OVERFISHING. > > The reproductive strategy of the Horseshoe Crab > is somewhat like that of > the Striped Bass -- several years to reach > maturity, migration of stocks to > restricted spawning areas, multiple spawning > over number of years by longlived > mature females. That the take of a single > spawning female eliminates not > only this year's offspring, but, in a > multiplier effect, all of her future > spawn. Species with this sort of lifestyle > often decline quickly when over- > harvested, and can take a long time to recover. > > And it is not as if there are no other baits > for conch and eel -- for years > watermen used bull lips and similar goodies -- > but horseshoe crab is better so > now it is the "only" thing they can use! > > Sorry if I sound cynical, but I have seen this > many times before, having been > working as a marine scientist on Chesapeake Bay > since the mid-60s! The states > of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland should be > commended (and a letter to > the governors or their fishery agency heads > would not be amiss). Virginia is > behaving much as it always has, but the > protection of minor industry by > threatening destruction of world-valuable > resources exceeds even their usual > irresponsibility! > > Gail Mackiernan > > ========================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to > listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff > mdosprey > ========================================================================= > ===== **************************************** Charlie Muise, Naturalist Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Maryland, USA Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send online invitations with Yahoo! 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