People in the middle of the 20th century knew that the water quality of both had diminished, yet the Monterey Bay has been rehabilitated in a way that the Chesapeake Bay has not. Dr. Pulombi offered several potential explanations for this.
Looking at the geography, the Chesapeake Bay is shallower, and there's a higher density of people who live in the areas immediately surrounding the Bay.
The California coast is regulated by laws in the state of California, and the California Coastal Commission is quite strict. In contrast, the Chesapeake Bay runs through several states. Agricultural runoff regulations are not uniform and are not regularly enforced. In terms of blue crabs, Maryland has stopped winter harvesting of females to protect the population, while Virginia has not.
On the human side, the technology industry benefited the California coast because of the vast profits associated with it. A few individuals with substantial funds could pay to clean up the bay and found the aquarium and research institute.
Finally, and significantly, the marketability of the keystone species play a role. "Sea otters are furry and cute, while oysters are very, very tasty." I can tell you with certainty there's an "aawwww" factor around here with sea otters that doesn't occur with oysters.
So, no real answers, just some observations.
2 comments:
All of the chickens being raised near the Chesapeake Bay aren't helping matters either . . .
Oh, but oysters are sooo tasty. We just need to learn how to farm them in less destructive ways. Otters are cute, but boy do their habitats stink. Yet, still I like them.
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