Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

baldwin · 03-14-2006, 10:06 AM

This disease isn't that new, I've been mentioning it in my conservation reports for years. As with most environmental problems, it was ignored until it is becoming so large we can't avoid its effects. The bacterium itself was probably always in the bay, but infection was able to be staved off by the immune systems of healthy fish.
I suspect two factors that lead to this infection causing disease in the fish. The first is lack of a sufficient high-energy food source. Thank Omega Protein for the continued overfishing of menhaden from the bay (and our politicians for allowing it). The second factor is pollution in the Chesapeake. Every fishery in the bay, except for striped bass, has been decimated in recent years, as have other ecosystem components. Blue crabs and oysters once supported huge fisheries in the Chesapeake. Today, they are in trouble, along with the aquatic vegetation that helps form the base of the bay's food chain.
I've said before that I believe the bay ecosystem is on the verge of
collapse. Chemical-laden industrial effluent is not the only type of pollutant choking the bay. Nitrogen loading from point source and non-point sources such as lawn and agricultural fertilizers and human waste treatment plants leads to low oxygen in the waters and overabundance of algae. Reduced menhaden numbers leads to less algae being filtered from the bay. This can lead to hypoxia as algae die and are metabolized by bacteria, and reduces sunlight levels reaching the bottom, reducing biological productivity in grass beds.
Unfortunately, we all know how the powers that be respond to problems such as these. They order years of research studies to be done, while the problem grows in the meantime. Studies funded by industry will counter those conducted by those who have environmental interests in mind. More studies are ordered. Then, when the evidence is indisputable, laws are passed which do the bare minimum necessary to convince the public that something is being done about the problem, without actually inconveniencing industry enough to make a difference.
If bass populations crash, then are brought back to half what they are now, they'll call it an environmental success.
Nobody can be sure what the future will bring, but I'm expecting that things will get MUCH worse before they get better. I hope I'm wrong.

03-14-2006, 10:06 AM	#3
baldwin Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Haven County, CT Posts: 3,885	This disease isn't that new, I've been mentioning it in my conservation reports for years. As with most environmental problems, it was ignored until it is becoming so large we can't avoid its effects. The bacterium itself was probably always in the bay, but infection was able to be staved off by the immune systems of healthy fish. I suspect two factors that lead to this infection causing disease in the fish. The first is lack of a sufficient high-energy food source. Thank Omega Protein for the continued overfishing of menhaden from the bay (and our politicians for allowing it). The second factor is pollution in the Chesapeake. Every fishery in the bay, except for striped bass, has been decimated in recent years, as have other ecosystem components. Blue crabs and oysters once supported huge fisheries in the Chesapeake. Today, they are in trouble, along with the aquatic vegetation that helps form the base of the bay's food chain. I've said before that I believe the bay ecosystem is on the verge of collapse. Chemical-laden industrial effluent is not the only type of pollutant choking the bay. Nitrogen loading from point source and non-point sources such as lawn and agricultural fertilizers and human waste treatment plants leads to low oxygen in the waters and overabundance of algae. Reduced menhaden numbers leads to less algae being filtered from the bay. This can lead to hypoxia as algae die and are metabolized by bacteria, and reduces sunlight levels reaching the bottom, reducing biological productivity in grass beds. Unfortunately, we all know how the powers that be respond to problems such as these. They order years of research studies to be done, while the problem grows in the meantime. Studies funded by industry will counter those conducted by those who have environmental interests in mind. More studies are ordered. Then, when the evidence is indisputable, laws are passed which do the bare minimum necessary to convince the public that something is being done about the problem, without actually inconveniencing industry enough to make a difference. If bass populations crash, then are brought back to half what they are now, they'll call it an environmental success. Nobody can be sure what the future will bring, but I'm expecting that things will get MUCH worse before they get better. I hope I'm wrong.