Officials Reviewing Comments on C. ariakensis Introduction to Bay

[yellowcanine]

State and federal officials are reviewing more than 2,000 comments generated from states, scientists, industry groups, politicians and others who weighed in on whether non-native oysters should have a place in the Chesapeake's future. The comments reflect strong support for use of Crassostrea ariakensis in the Bay from watermen, the seafood industry and a number of lawmakers. But any use of the nonnative oysters in the Chesapeake drew nearly unified opposition from other coastal states, federal agencies, scientists and environmental groups who warned C. ariakensis poses substantial risks and that any introduction would likely be irreversible.

Link to article:
http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3514


Very interesting article. Count me among those who have a lot of qualms about introducing a nonnative oyster into the Chesapeake Bay.

[ElboRuum]

1. The introduction of non-native species...

...rarely has benefit to the indigenous ecosphere.

[AlecBGreen]

2. i have a suggestion

how about we stop dumping chicken s**t and nitrogen fertilizer into the bay and paving over its entire watershed?

:shrug:

just a suggestion...

[kristopher]

3. That won't bring back the oysters.

They've been wiped out by illness, not pollution. The Japanese oysters are immune.

[AlecBGreen]

4. illness tends to be indicative of stress

i have a feeling that if the bay were restored to its former state, the oysters would return.

[kristopher]

5. Another case of religion over science?

You have a feeling, eh?

It's good that you don't let the facts get in the way of your search for Truthiness.

[AlecBGreen]

6. lol

ok, see if you can follow this logic

1) changing environmental conditions tend to create stress in a population

2) stressed oranisms are more susceptible to disease

therefore (here's the big jump! look out!)

3) if you remove the stress, the prevalence of the disease might decline

Is that logical enough? Would you prefer "I hypothesize..." to "I have a feeling..." ?? :shrug:

[kristopher]

7. No, I'd prefer

you to familiarize yourself with the specifics of the issue, including water quality statistics over the past 50 years. The fact is that the Chesapeake Bay oyster population isn't coming back and we have a gaping hole in the ecosystem that can be effectively closed by introducing a more disease resistant species.

[AlecBGreen]

8. you sound like you have some knowledge on the topic

could you fill me in? Here is what I know about the Bay

- the watershed is being developed rapidly
- water quality is seriously impaired because of excess nitrogen from agriculture, chicken farms & lawn fertilizer runoff
- eutrophication leads to algal/phytoplankton blooms which cause anoxic water in the summer
- crab and oyster harvests are extremely low

Why do you think the oyster population isnt coming back? Im not being snarky, I really love the Chesapeake and it sounds like you might know about its current conditions than I do.