Depending on Horseshoe Crabs and Bait for Nutrition

The author of American Catch, Paul Greenberg starts us on a journey through america's seafood industry from the early days of abundant seafood to the present condition of our fisheries. America has about 94,000 miles of coast and about 3.5 million miles of rivers, but about 91 percent of our seafood is imported. Here in America 39 percent of citizens call themselves coastal folk, but Greenberg argues we have lost touch with the complex ecosystems of the nation’s shorelines. Estuaries and salt marshes are strange crossroads where salt and freshwater currents meet to be home for oysters, shrimp, and crab. They are also home of dozens of varieties of fish. Greenberg complains about our nation’s destructive relationship with its own shoreline and tells Americans they must desire to “build a bridge back from the plate back to the estuary. This requires us to not just to eat local seafood. It requires the establishment of a working relationship with salt marshes, oyster beds, the natural flow of water from river to sea, and the integrity of the ocean floor.”.

Ray McClain). The ‘farmed’ and the wild crawfish are both composed of the same species, the red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the white river crawfish (P. zonangulus). The more popular of the two crustaceans the red swamp crawfish, as it is caught more often is purchased more at the market. There are other crustaceans that are important to the basin besides crawfish, however. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are a vital resource in Louisiana’s seafood industry. The crabs are harvested by way of traps. In the case that the traps are lost or abandoned, they will continue to catch crabs. This is leading to a downturn in the blue crab population. Fish are also affected by the traps, as they are also caught. Despite the risked to the crab population, , the Marine Stewardship Council recognized the Louisiana blue crab fishery as the only sustainable blue crab fishery in the world in March of

Iconic Cape Cod Massachusetts is named after the Atlantic Cod. For centuries, this fish has provided food and trade for New Englanders. In this time, there have been several instances of overfishing by humans from the aboriginal era to colonial times but none so drastic as the present conditions of cod fisheries (Jackson, Kirby, Berger, and Bjorndal, 2001). Overfishing is a human induced occurrence where humans are fishing more than a body of water can sustain. In other words, humans are catching more adult fish preventing the existing population from growing to replenish the fish that were caught (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). Worldwide, over 80% of the fish stocks are “fully- to over-exploited, depleted, or in a state of collapse” (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). The results of this careless behavior has reduced the biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine and landed the Atlantic Cod on the endangered species list as being “vulnerable” (Cod, n.d.). In the neighboring region of Newfoundland, Canada, communities are already feeling the effects of overfishing. In 1992, at the beginning of the fishing season in the Grand Bank region, there were suddenly no more cod. The local economies collapsed and to this day, the region has not quite recovered (Brennan and Withgott, 2005).

The Maryland Blue Crab, which is the most iconic creature of the Chesapeake, has decreased in population from 276 million in 1990 to 131 million in 2008. This dramatic decrease has caused a cumulative loss to both Maryland and Virginia of 640 million dollars. In an attempt to restore the blue crab population, Maryland and Virginia instituted a public policy to place restrictions on the crabbing of the Chesapeake. This is an example of a command and control policy because public authorities established direct controls on individual actions. This created harsh economic hardships for many crabbers, causing the Secretary of Commerce to decide that the blue crab fishery had undergone a commercial failure as it is defined under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary authority for fishery management in the United States and it created regional fishery management councils that attempt to establish limits on total catches and regulations. This failure

The food chain of the Chesapeake Bay is very simple. It has fish, big fish depend on small fish. The small fish feed off of oysters or sometimes zooplankton. Oysters then feed off of many small zooplankton. Once, it gets down to what the zooplankton feed off of it is mostly algae or grass. Now, since there is a major decrease in the algae population, this

Silvershell Beach is the home to many different aquatic species and other forms of wildlife. Last lab block the class and I went into the ocean at Silvershell beach and took seven different seine net samples. With each sample we took, we noticed a variety of different organisms. As we moved around different areas of the ocean, we would come out with changing species and number of species that we did not find in other areas of the water. Species we found included sea robin, hermit crabs, moon jellies, minnows, shrimp, eels, and more. Sample one and two were taken from around the same area in the water and there was a reappearance of three of the species. In sample one we found hermit crabs, minnows, moon jellies, and a sea robin. In sample two

There is a population of more then eight million residents in this region and millions more congregate there every year for recreational purposes (Tedesco). The commercial opportunities of the Long Island Sound are vast. It has been estimated that about ?$5 billion is generated annually in the regional economy from boating, commercial and sport fishing, swimming, and beach going? (Long Island Sound Study). There are many other benefits from the uses of the sound, cargo shipping, ferry transportation, and power generation are just a few of them. In addition, recreational and commercial fishing provides a generous living in the Sound. Shell fishers bring in plentiful harvests of clams, oysters, and lobsters from the waters. The ideal clamming conditions provided by the sound are world renown. These conditions provide Long Island residents with an essential economic resource (Tedesco). The Long Island Sound provides some crucial components for these Long Island residents that it is considered among the most important and valuable estuaries in the world. Moreover, it has been remarked ?The Long Island Sound?s intrinsic value as a natural value and a natural resource is worth protecting and preserving for future generations? (Long Island Sound Study).

Studies have repeatedly shown that as oxygen concentrations decrease, the abundance and diversity of fish decrease (Breitburg). Fish kills, in which large numbers of dead and dying fish float to the surface or wash onto shore, are probably the most dramatic and publicly visible manifestation of hypoxia and nutrient over-enrichment of coastal waters(Breitburg). In addition to mass mortalities that are easily observed, high mortality of fish lacking a swim bladder can occur leaving little or no visible evidence of fish at the surface or littering beaches (Breitburg). With no fish, shrimp, or crabs the Louisiana fishing market takes a huge hit that the economy feels in a major way. The gulf accounts for almost one-fifth of the countries fishing landings, which total to be three billion dollars (Petrolia). Fishing is not only a major part of Louisiana’s economy but also its culture. Without wildlife in our waters microorganism are given more opportunity to grow leading to bacteria infected waters. These bacteria infected waters could cause major health risks for those who come in contact with

New England Seafood Company executives face a potential two-stage plan to move into the freshwater catfish market because of the banned oyster harvesting along much of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and increased competition from foreign producers.  These factors have resulted in significantly lower yields for New England Seafood.  In order to stay in business, New England Seafood Company needs to look at harvesting and processing something other than seafood.  New England Seafood Company looks to

Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/esact.html

The Atlantic cod fishery collapse left terrible ecological consequences. As mentioned above, the fishing technology was a major destruction to the ecological system by using deployment and draggers. The huge nets that were dropped and dragged along the bottom of the ocean destroyed the underlying eco-system in the process. The effect of selective fishing on spawning grounds – that is, selectively over-exploiting one species in an ecosystem – had disastrous effect on the feeding relationships in that ecosystem. This contributes to the overall reduction of spawning stock biomass of the targeted species, but also an increase in the number of invertebrate and vertebrate predators such as crustacean and fish which will prey on cod eggs, larvae, and younger fish. It is a little wonder that a species like cod, would eventually run into difficulties struggling to survive when its habitat is being continuously destroyed and the balance of their food chain had been wiped out.

The dataset used in the study is the largest one by then, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which includes around 1000 fishermen and more than 300 days during1996-2007

Digest of federal resource laws of interest to the U.S. fish and wildlife service. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FISHCON.HTML

In Canada, the Grand Banks habitat is in “environmental degradation” (Connor and Taitano) due to bottom trawlers tearing up the sea floor displacing and destroying the vegetation at the seafloor and therefore disrupting the habitat of the small fish the cod prey upon (Connor and Taitano). Bottom trawls also disrupt the “breeding patterns of the cod.. Damaging fertilized eggs.. And greatly reducing the amount of young born” (Connor and Taitano). In the United States, the Gulf of Maine provides evidence of a loss of the young and old cod due to predation (Connor). Farming atlantic cod, like many fisheries are doing to replenish the atlantic salmon populations, have resulted in a breakout of the disease Yersiniosis (Connor and Taitano).The disease affects the fish’s intestinal tract before spreading throughout its body. The mortality rate with this disease is low, about 5%, however the illness prevents the affected cod from being sold at a market due to health violations (Connor and

Many of the horseshoe crab larvae feed on small nemotodes and polychaetes, but the larger ones feed on an array of sea life including clams, worms, and mussels.