Chesapeake Bay, Fisheries, and Life in The Ocean

Chesapeake Bay Fisheries and Marine Life

A Research

Q : In Maryland the most important coastal feature is the Chesapeake Bay . Discuss its geologic origin . How can the bay`s oyster and crab fisheries be restored from their decline

A : Chesapeake Bay was formed near the end of the Pleistocene period when massive chunks of glaciers exposed themselves to the world at the northeastern part of the Americas . In the course of thousands of years the sea levels rose and fell due to the reorientation of the glaciers 18 ,000 years ago , melted

10 ,000 years ago , and formed the present Chesapeake basin 3 ,000 years ago ADDIN EN .CITE CIMSCIMSChesapeake Bay : An Introduction to an EcosystemChesapeake Bay ProgramChesapeake Bay Program200515 April 2007http /www .chesa peakebay .net /about .htm01 /03 /2 005 (CIMS , 2005a

The coastline of Chesapeake Bay has undergone all types of weather erosions through time , and the otherwise jagged edges of rock has been smoothened into the shorelines of present day . Frequent erosion deposited sediments onto the sea bed and into the channels and other places along the shore ADDIN EN .CITE CIMSCIMSChesapeake Bay : An Introduction to an EcosystemChesapeake Bay ProgramChesapeake Bay Program200515 April 2007http /www .chesa peakebay .net /about .htm01 /03 /2 005 (CIMS , 2005a

There has been a steady decline in the number of crabs and oysters throughout the decades and it has become more apparent in each passing day . The Chesapeake Bay is the main distributor of crabs and shellfish in the country , but the continuous influx of pollutants in the bay result to the depletion in the number of the species of commercial importance . The degeneration of the waters do not provide enough sustenance to the development of the species like it did a century before , and this calls for the rehabilitation and maintenance of Chesapeake Bay ADDIN EN .CITE CIMSCIMSCrabs and ShellfishChesapeake Bay ProgramChesapeake Bay Program200515 April 2007http /www .chesa peakebay .net /baybio .htm 11 /1 /05 (CIMS , 2005b

The condition of the surrounding waters greatly affect the life cycles of the oysters , clams , crabs , and other crustaceans living in it , as well as the availability of food and other minerals . Oysters attach on clean surfaces and are affected by excess sedimentation , which can extinguish spat or mature oysters . Clams also are sensitive to contaminations in the sediment . Crabs and shellfish share habitats and feed on smaller crustaceans and fish , and respond to the same environmental stimuli ADDIN EN .CITE CIMSCIMSCrabs and ShellfishChesapeake Bay ProgramChesapeake Bay Program200515 April 2007http /www .chesa peakebay .net /baybio .htm 11 /1 /05 (CIMS , 2005b

What are needed are the rehabilitation and the preservation of the bay 's waters and the ecosystem surrounding it . The procedures involve implementing strict rules on the pollution and overfishing issues that come with the exploitation of the bay 's resources . Those areas that are protected can recover drastically and further contribute to the production of the community at large ADDIN EN .CITE APAPSo Long Seafood ?The Frederick News-Post The Frederick News-Post200615 April...