Collapsed bay fishery loses historic culture

Chesapeake Bay watermen

Pollution, nutrient runoff and overfishing have destroyed the crab and oyster harvest of the Chesapeake Bay.  Excessive algal growth from the overabundant nutrients produces low oxygen “dead zones” and prevents sunlight from reaching sea grasses on the bottom.  But another casualty has been the local watermen culture.  The uniqueness of the Chesapeake Bay has produced a one of a kind fishing way of life based on crab and oyster harvesting over hundreds of years.  A new report from the Washington Post details how the people involved in the fishery are trying to adapt to the loss of their livelihood.

Efforts since 1983 to reduce nutrient levels in the bay have not met their goals.  State officials and the EPA recently announced that their previously set long-term goals for bay cleanup will not be achieved and are now setting more short-term goals for reduction of pollution runoff from land.  It does not seem that the crabs or oysters are coming back anytime soon.  The Post profiles three Maryland communities and the ways they are changing with the Bay.  Everywhere on the Eastern Shore of Maryland people are losing the knowledge that came from intimate lives with the Bay – how to predict when crabs will molt based on their shell color so that the more valuable soft shells can be brought to market – or the slang used to describe water conditions on the bay.  Locals have sold off their skipjacks, the sailing vessels used to dredge oysters, and moved on to jobs outside of fishing when they can be found.  One town on the Eastern Shore, St. Michaels, has turned itself into a tourist destination and is often haunted by the likes of Dick Cheney.  Locals find it particularly humorous that the town funeral parlor is now an inn.

There is an excellent collection of maps, photos and videos at the Post site along with their continual coverage of this fascinating science, environmental and societal story.