The 9/18/15 letter written by Kent County Commissioner Ron Fithian and distributed via the Clean Chesapeake Coalition, asserts that environmental groups are demonizing the Delmarva poultry industry without applying sound science. A former waterman, Mr. Fithian asserts there is sufficient evidence in the fact that counties (Kent and Queen Anne’s) on the upper shore are devoid of a wild oyster harvest, whereas counties on the lower shore with higher concentrations of chicken farms (Wicomico and Somerset) have had recent strong oyster and crab harvests. The problem with applying this observational logic, is that it confuses correlation with causation. In other words, the fact that there are less commercial poultry operations on the upper shore coinciding with lower relative oyster and crab harvests and vice versa on the lower shore, does not mean the former directly caused the latter.
Consider the basic biological facts associated with geographic differences in crab and oyster harvests. The upper Bay has lower overall salinity levels than the lower Bay, leading to less consistent oyster spat sets and subsequent harvests. The once state administered commercial oyster seed program in the upper Bay bolstered harvests, but following its cessation, wild oyster harvests declined. The lower Bay by contrast, never relied as heavily on a state seed program, as their bars are replenished by wild oysters. Basic oyster biology suggests that the counties in question in the upper Bay, would have lower oyster harvests in recent years, regardless of the lack of commercial poultry operations. And the same holds somewhat true with crab harvests. The upper Bay tends to have a shorter harvest window in the fall compared to the lower Bay, as crabs migrate with the salt wedge that advances north as summer ends. And the upper Bay is not host to anywhere near the levels of female crabs that the lower Bay maintains, as they stay close to their egg-laying grounds at the mouth of the Bay. Again, the crab lifecycle dictates significant potential harvest disparities between the upper and lower Bay, regardless of the presence or lack of poultry farms.
And those are just the basic biological factors; there are myriad other variables that must be taken into account to understand differences in crab and oyster harvests. To name just a few, the size of the watermen fleet in the particular county, the limiting or enabling weather factors, and market conditions. There is also the issue of the by-product, chicken litter, being spread as fertilizer on farms across Delmarva.
Mr. Fithian also asserts that sediment trapped behind the Conowingo Dam is the greatest contributor to Bay pollution. This position was refuted by the 2014 inter-agency report released by the US Army Corp of Engineers and Maryland Department of Environment, which clearly showed that nutrients flowing down the Susquehanna into the Bay contribute more to water quality problems than the sediment trapped behind the Conowingo. CRA advocates for improved practices across the watershed – from farming, to wastewater treatment and waterfront land usage.
Years of scientific water quality data collected by CRA show that most of the pollution in the Chester River comes from local sources. If the Clean Chesapeake Coalition wants to address pollution coming from the Susquehanna and points north, we’re all for it. But it can’t come at the expense of cleaning up our local waterways as well.
CRA has been and will continue to be a science based advocate for productive discussion that leads to improved water quality and the shared benefits that arise as a result.
Scott Budden
Board of Directors, Chester River Association
Douglas Smith says
As a former pathologist, retired 19 years now, I’m probably superannuated out of being a proper critic. Nonetheless, I respect the proper application of scientific method evidenced by Mr. Bidden in his article. His observations clearly point us back to the local responsibility we all need to have for improving the environment that surrounds us. My wife and I live on Still Pond creek. Our first couple of years in the middle 1990s had me spreading fertilizer and week killer on our acre or so of lawn. I will admit that laziness may have contributed to my having given up on that effort, but I am pleased to be able to say that I’ve been doing my part in a small way for nearly 20 years now. It’s a “drop in the bucket”, but if we all work at it, and support each others efforts, we can collectively make a difference.