Latest news with #ChesapeakeBayFoundation
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Veterans, service members help restore oysters and clean water in the Chesapeake Bay
A group of veterans and active-duty service members from across the country got their hands dirty for a cause that's helping them heal and helping the Chesapeake Bay thrive. At Parrish Creek Landing in Shady Side on Tuesday, veterans and active-duty service members spent the day helping the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) get more oysters into Maryland waters. CBF oyster restoration coordinator Kellie Fiala said oysters provide habitat for aquatic life and are essential to the overall health of the bay. "An adult oyster can filter many gallons of water a day," Fiala said. The group helped process recycled oyster shells that will be used to grow new baby oysters – called spat. "It is manual work," said Fiala. "It's all part of the job, but it gets people out." These volunteers don't shy away from hard work. "They understand mission, they understand purpose," participant Garrett Robinson said. "They understand, 'Let's go get this done because it matters.'" Working as a team, they filled more than a dozen cages, each of them holding about 1,000 pounds of shell. "Which we're quantifying as around 2 million oysters that these will become home for," Fiala said. When they're ready, the oysters will be planted onto sanctuary reefs in the bay. These veteran volunteers are part of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) Armed Forces Initiative (AFI) – an organization that helps military members navigate PTSD and traumatic brain injury through outdoor experiences. "There's a restorative aspect of that – getting out there, there's a lot of peace, tranquility," said AFI volunteer and Marine Corps veteran Garrett Robinson. Robinson said participants also find purpose through conservation efforts like this. "So that a generation from now, people can still go out on that water and go fishing because of the work I did today," Robinson said. Fiala said it's been a "special partnership" working with AFI. "These are service members that have and are currently still giving their time for our country, and we appreciate them taking the time to come and help out an organization like us with the work that we're doing," Fiala said. After their Maryland oyster restoration event, the group will travel down the Eastern Shore for various fishing expeditions and complete their trip at CBF's Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach on July 17.
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Could Maryland's declining crab population impact the price of your next feast?
The blue crab population in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay is among the lowest it's been in 35 years, but watermen say this won't impact the cost of crabs this summer. A survey by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources estimated total crab abundance is at 238 million, a 25% drop from 317 million in 2024. This is the lowest count since surveys began in 1990. Blue crab population declines in Maryland and Virginia According to the report, this year's decline affected all population segments. The population of adult male crabs dropped to 26 million, adult female crabs dropped to 108 million and juvenile crabs dropped to 103 million. The numbers are significantly lower than those in the 2024 report, which showed levels were slightly below average. "It's definitely a red flag, and people should be considering what comes next for blue crabs," said Dr. Allison Colden, Maryland Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "We have seen the number of females around this range produce many more juvenile crabs than we are seeing now. What that signals to us is that there may have been a shift in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem." The blue crab is an indicator of the health of the bay, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). The annual survey between Maryland and Virginia looks at 1,500 sites and is conducted in the winter when crabs are embedded in the bottom of the bay and not moving. The numbers are then translated to the summer season. The number of juvenile crabs is also a key observation that provides a better scope of what the population will look like in the summer and fall. Why are blue crab populations declining? Blue crab populations can vary dramatically year-to-year due to weather trends, predator numbers and habitat availability. The loss of critical crab habitats, such as underwater grasses, threatens the species. Invasive predators like blue catfish also pose a significant threat to blue crabs, so much so that the CBF recommends that fishermen catch and sell them to help the bay. Climate change and polluted runoff can be detrimental to young and spawning crabs. Chesapeake Bay area residents believe blue crabs are the bay animal that is most in need of protection, according to a poll taken by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation earlier in 2025. Demand for blue crab in Maryland The blue crab is the economic engine of the Chesapeake Bay and a summer staple on the shores of Maryland. They are not only a delicious meal, but the bread and butter of business on the bay. The crabbing industry in Maryland adds $600 million to the state's economy. It's the state's largest fishery, and provides half of the country's blue crabs. Watermen spend hours on the bay, hoping their pots are plentiful and reminiscing about days gone by when there were more crabs to catch. "There used to be a lot of crabs back in the day. A lot. Nowhere near what's there now. They used to go out, catch as many as they want and come in," said Nicholas Malec, a waterman whose family owns Lady Frances Crab House in Essex. The demand from customers is ever present, especially on warm summer weekends. The unpredictability of the business is a challenge for crab houses. Malec has been on the water his whole life, working with his family. His grandparents owned a crab house when he was growing up. Lady Frances Crab House has been in business for 29 years. "There are days we have to close because we don't have crabs," Malec said. "Like today, we went out and it wasn't that good. Tomorrow, we could go out and catch them again." Robbie Seiders has been on the water for 20 years. He used to sell crabs wholesale from his home. He built a steam trailer to sell this summer in Bowley's Quarters and Brooms Bloom in Harford County. The season sputtered to a start after a spring cold snap. The warmer temperatures mean more crabs to catch and sell. He took us out to check his pots, finding a sliver of optimism for the rest of the season. In his pots, he found not only a jumbo crab, which he can sell for a lot of money, but also a juvenile crab, which signifies hope for the seasons ahead. "Normally, something like that would need to be there for a couple days, but to have them go in there in a few hours, that's pretty good," Seiders said. "I was going to take tomorrow off, but I don't think I am anymore." Impact on crab prices in Maryland Watermen say that as the water gets warmer, their crab pots are filling up. But what does this mean for crab prices this summer? "Just because you're not catching anything doesn't mean you can jack the price up through the roof, because then people just won't want them," Seiders said. Malec agreed, noting that his prices stay the same, so customers know what to expect. "Stay kind of consistent with everybody," Malec said. "When we have a lot of crabs, we try to drop our prices to get rid of them." These watermen said Marylanders won't have to dig further into their wallets to buy crabs this summer. The major price driver isn't the supply, but the thousands of dollars it takes to even be on the water. "To maintain the boat, to pay help, to pay to keep the boat at the dock, or to keep up with new crab pots. They're things are very expensive," Seiders explained. "Those are the kinds of things that drive the price of crabs up. I'm pretty optimistic for the rest of the season. I think we are going to have a great year all the way up until it gets cold, maybe Halloween, maybe even Thanksgiving."
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Reality TV star sparks outrage after sharing video of shocking scene at local beach: 'This is unacceptable'
The internet makes it increasingly easy for anyone to witness a wide range of environmental issues, regardless of their location. In a recent TikTok post, Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt), an American reality television star who probably wasn't on your bingo card to appear in an article for raising awareness about pollution, shared a troubling video of toxic runoff. "Look at this water," Pratt says in the video as he pans the camera, showing dirty, mucky water at the edge of the ocean. "That's before they even bring the toxic waste down from town." Toxic runoff, or runoff pollution, is created when rainwater or melted snow runs off the streets, carrying with it harmful waste or substances, trickling down until it reaches water sources, the Environmental Protection Agency explained. "Runoff picks up fertilizer, oil, pesticides, dirt, bacteria and other pollutants as it makes its way through storm drains and ditches - untreated - to our streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean," it said in its report. While there is a limited amount of runoff in natural areas, due to soil, fields, and plants being able to absorb most of the water, urban areas are much different. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, "Close to 100 percent of the rain that falls on concrete and other hard surfaces produces runoff. One inch of rain falling on an acre of hardened surface produces 27,000 gallons of runoff." Earlier this year, people in Los Angeles were warned against drinking the water or going into local water sources, due to the extensive runoff from heavy rains following the LA wildfires. Furthermore, new research has shown that storm runoff is a silent contributor to microplastic pollution. As urban areas have asphalt, concrete, and even rubber pavement, the runoff picks up the microplastics these materials possess as they break down, and carries the microplastic particles into the ocean with the water. Commenters on the TikTok video showed their distress about the polluted runoff. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. One person said, "This is unacceptable….how does our government allow this BS." "This is actually insane…wow," someone else added. "Thanks for sharing all of this." To do your part in protecting the Earth, you can educate yourself on key climate issues, such as toxic runoff. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US oyster gardeners rebuild nature's own water-cleaning system
For many just a tasty delicacy, the oyster may actually be the hero the world needs to fight environmental degradation -- and volunteers like Kimberly Price are battling to repopulate the surprisingly powerful species. The 53-year-old is an "oyster gardener" who fosters thousands of the mollusks at her waterside home until they are old enough to be planted in the Chesapeake Bay near the US capital Washington, where they clean the water and can even offset climate change. Far removed from the menus of seafood restaurants, oysters also have a supremely practical use as prolific water filters -- with an adult able to process up to 50 gallons (190 liters) each day. This produces a healthier habitat, boosting plant and animal life, which experts say can also help waterways capture more planet-warming carbon dioxide. But today, just one percent of the native oyster population found in the bay before the 1880s remains, due to pollution, disease and overharvesting -- leaving a mammoth task for environmentalists. Volunteers like Price are crucial to these efforts led by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). For around nine months, they keep infant oysters in cages at their docks to give them the best chance of reaching adulthood. Then they put them to work at helping preserve the planet. "We humans destroy everything, right? So this is like, let's fix our problems: how do we try and correct this?" Price, a housing consultant, told AFP. At her Maryland home, where ospreys flew overhead and tiny fish swam below, she pulled up a mesh cage marked "Not for sale or human consumption" suspended by rope in the water. Inside on large, old oyster shells -- many recycled from restaurants -- were half a dozen smaller live oysters each about the size of a knuckle. When Price got them last summer, they were no bigger than pinpricks that the CBF had received as oyster larvae from a specialist hatchery before bonding them to shells in setting tanks. Price's role has involved scrubbing her eight cages and rinsing them with fresh water every two weeks to remove organisms that can restrict oxygen and hinder feeding. When AFP visited in late May, she was giving them a final clean before joining other volunteers returning the oysters to the CBF to be planted on sanctuary reefs in the bay, where fishing of the mollusks is banned. - 'We can get there' - It's part of an ambitious goal that the nonprofit and its partners set in 2018 to add 10 billion new oysters to the bay -- America's largest estuary -- by the end of 2025. Around 6.7 billion have been planted so far, CBF oyster expert Kellie Fiala said at the group's headquarters, adding that the population is "trending in a positive direction." "Thinking about how many oysters used to be in the bay, we still have a ways to go," she said, but insisted that "working together, we can get there." A key challenge is a lack of substrate in the bay -- the hard riverbed material that oysters need to grow on -- because for many years, shells were removed to be used in building driveways and gardens. "Folks then just didn't understand the importance of putting that shell back so it can be a home for new oysters," Fiala said. To address this, the organization is encouraging volunteers to make "reef balls" -- igloo-style concrete blocks that can serve as artificial underwater habitats. This initiative, like oyster gardening, encourages community participation ranging from schoolchildren to retirees. Some of those volunteers, including Price, arrived at the CBF's office next to the bay to drop off their buckets of homegrown oysters ready for planting. Each got a rough tally of how many they had brought based on the average number of babies on a handful of shells. For Price, it was what she celebrated as a "very good" total of around 7,500. Her oysters were loaded with others onto a small, single-engine boat that the captain, 61-year-old Dan Johannes, steered towards a sanctuary reef in a tidal tributary of the bay. There, two interns began dumping the 20 buckets overboard, with the oysters splashing into the water. The planting process took no longer than a minute -- 75,000 oysters, raised for almost a year -- returning to the bay. bjt/sms/nl
E&E News
03-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Chesapeake Bay blue crab populations nosedive
The Chesapeake Bay blue crab could be experiencing a population crash on par with the early 2000s, when experts feared the prized mid-Atlantic species was at risk of hitting unrecoverable levels. New data from winter crab surveys completed by the states of Maryland and Virginia showed drops in both adult male and female crabs between 2024 and 2025, as well as a worrisome decline in juvenile crabs that are vulnerable to predators and other environmental stressors. 'The red flags are flying for blue crabs,' said Allison Colden, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, in a statement. 'With more than five years of below average crab numbers, it is clear that changing conditions in the Bay are undermining the current management of this important species.' Advertisement But Chesapeake Bay crab harvesters, called 'watermen,' say they are not seeing evidence of a dangerously depleted blue crab stock and will lobby Maryland and Virginia to maintain current catch limits.
