Posted under Chesapeake Bay
A report released today by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) explains why the “Bay’s blue crab population has plummeted from 791 million in 1990 to 260 million in 2007.” The primary problem: nutrient pollution. From the CBF release:
Key findings include that dead zones kill an estimated 75,000 tons of bottom-dwelling clams and worms each year, enough to feed 60 million crabs annually. In addition, algal blooms caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution have damaged underwater grass beds, key crab habitat. More than half the eelgrass beds in the lower Bay have died since the early 1970s.
Moreover, the failure to control nutrient pollution is costing the region jobs and money:
According to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), jobs relating to crabbing in Maryland and Virginia have fallen 40 percent between 1998 and 2006 (the most recent year for which economic data is available). Looking more broadly at the impact on restaurants, crab processors, and wholesalers, VIMS estimates the economic cost to Maryland and Virginia about $640 million over the same time period.
Maryland’s budgetary woes will prompt some to argue that the State can’t invest in environmental improvements. The new report raises the question: can we afford not to act?
Read more coverage about the report from the Washington Post.
Comments Off
