Blue Crab Disaster in the Chesapeake Bay

This week the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a disaster for the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay fishery. The blue crab is not only a multi-million dollar industry. It is a symbol and a tradition in a large area on the east coast of the United States. Over the last 15 years, the blue crab population has declined by more than 70 percent, setting off an alarm among governments, industry, and environmentalists. Producer Zulima Palacio traveled to the Chesapeake Bay and has the story. Marissa Melton narrates.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• disaster
• Chesapeake
• Bay
• east
• coast
• environmentalist
• environment
• survive
• fishermen
• harvest
• family
• business
• supermarket
• restaurant
• Congress
• crabber
• seafood
• Scientist
• pollution
• climate
• change
• Palacio
• VOA
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[Captrowdy49]

Those who really know are aware that all the restrictions on watermen make no difference. They just make it harder for the few working watermen left to make a living. The number of crabs in the bay are determined two year prior, by the wind direction in the spring when the immature crabs are at the mouth of the bay. Simple as that. Also the number of predatory fish, primarily big rockfish and horse chokers take their toll on small crabs before they reproduce.

[oceannavagator]

Pollution is a problem no doubt but years of taking female crabs, winter crab dredging, over fishing of bay species that filter the water (menhaden, oysters and clams) have all exacerbated the problem. So far everything has been too little, too late.

[n2thai]

Read the comments...

[tkieffer63]

Look to the oil companies for most of the problems. Those that live there are for the most enviromentally responcable for one. Big corps and oil have the money to get away with all these crimes against Earth and all living! Look at the Gulf and all those that have died and are sick from the clean up, and the shit they are spraying at night to hide the oil which is worse then the oil! No one is reporting on that are they just as this is not being reported on to the masses

[strikenetter]

Great Video? Love to watch videos on my heritage. Liked the part on fish feeding exclusively on blue crabs? Could this be the mis-managed striped bass? Would like to know thanks.

[bandfreaks17]

i try to save them by only getting 2 dozen only someties more though