The Department of Natural Resources? release is discouraging. Maryland Chesapeake Bay underwater grasses declined in 2006, down about 9,734 acres to 32,586 from the 42,320 acres of 2005. Include Virginia, and it is down to 59,090 in 2006 from 78,263 in 2005.
So what? We tend to glaze over with numbers and continued bad predictions. But they do involve us. That’s particularly true for hunters and fishermen who want waterfowl to hunt and fish to catch. In simple terms, think of grasses as day-care areas for baby fish, home for crabs and a cafeteria for ducks and geese.
“Not only do some waterfowl feed on grasses, but grasses also hold invertebrates, which are food for ducks,” said Larry Hindman, DNR waterfowl project leader.
Dabbling ducks feed on widgeon grass, canvasbacks on wild celery, wigeon on eel grass and canvasbacks switch to clams with bay grass losses, according to Hindman. It’s a cycle.
Grasses also affect fish. Pickerel returning to the Severn, South, Magothy and Patapsco rivers are a direct result of more grasses. Yellow perch benefit, but are harder to measure with the commercial harvest. White perch, thought of as deep water mid-bay species, also thrive in grasses. Stripers, weakfish, and bluefish eat little fish that call grasses home.
Crabs are important, both as human food/recreation and as tasty morsels for growing stripers. Lower bay eel grasses, which are not doing well right now, are very important for baby crabs before they move up the bay to become fish and human targets. Grasses doing poorly break the cycle.
Mike Naylor, DNR director of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) restoration and education, said there has been an awareness of grass losses since the 1960s. The goal since 1984 has been to restore Maryland bay grasses to former 1930-40 levels of 110,000 acres by 2010. It’s 2007, and we aren’t going to make it.
Naylor points out that excessive siltation and phosphorus/nitrogen pollutants prevent light from reaching grass, thus stifling growth. Today, grasses live in depths to four feet. With clear water, grass growth to 12 feet is possible. Grass clears the water to make it easier for other plants and animals to thrive. It’s a cycle.
That does not mean that we aren’t making progress, noted Naylor, who points to “massive increases” in bay grasses north of Annapolis. But poor results in the lower bay offset upper bay successes. This loss of grass and lower Eastern Shore erosion is troubling, and no one knows the cause.
“There are a couple of real worries,” said John Page Williams, senior naturalist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, who echoes the thoughts of others as to losses of grasses and the deleterious effect on fish, game and crabs.
“Is the bay getting better or worse?” he asked rhetorically. “The answer is yes.”
It doesn’t have to get worse. It can be a cycle. With more grass, it can be a good cycle ? with more fish and game.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting, and the outdoors, and is currently working on his 25th book. He can be reached at [email protected].
