Shades of the American Chestnut: Asian Oysters to go to the Chesapeake.

[NNadir]

Many people are familiar with the Chestnut blight attack that lead to the near extinction of the important American Chestnut Tree, a disaster that may have been one of the worst ecological tragedies to have struck the US in the twentieth century.

The blight was caused by the introduction of parasite infected Asian Chestnut trees, ostensibly to "improve" the American fruit, the Chestnuts.

In case we haven't learned our lesson, apparently some propose to introduce the Asian oyster to the Chesapeake Bay.

"NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A 30-month fact-finding experiment will examine how Asian oysters grow, perform and survive in the Chesapeake Bay.

Researchers with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the University of Maryland will place thousands of the exotic oyster species in cages in the bay at four sites, two in Maryland and two in Virginia.

The scientists want to see how the Asian oysters compete with native oysters, whether they survive diseases that have ravaged the native stocks and how they grow amid predators in a real-world setting on the bottom of the bay.

Results from the study, to cost at least $721,000, will help determine whether Virginia and Maryland should be allowed to introduce Asian oysters into the bay as a way to restore a wild population...

...While the bay states have struggled to resurrect the local species, ravaged by pollution and parasites, seafood merchants have urged the use of the Asian strain from the waters off China, Vietnam and Japan..."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050530/ap_on_sc/asian_oysters

I suppose introducing a new variety of oyster is preferable to actually trying to clean the Chesapeake up...

[prodigal_green]

1. can you say

zebra mussel or snakehead fish?

[Massacure]

3. Or goby, ruffe, purple loosestrife, and the Asian longhorned beatle.

Plus there are plenty more I cannot remember from my environmental science class.

[amandabeech]

6. and the Emerald Ash Borer.

[prodigal_green]

4. or Europeans

that was probably the most destructive species ever to be accidentally or purposely introduced to the Americas.

[Nihil]

5. Ouch!

Honesty hurts at times doesn't it?

[lenidog]

2. This is a disaster in the making

[blindpig]

7. to think what the Bay was like 40 years ago........

NOBODY could have concieved of this coming to pass, though it was in the cards. The shad were still running on the Gunpowder. River oysters were $6 a bushel and large steamed crabs were $7 a dozen at House of Neptune. The harbor was a wreck but otherwise nobody thought about it much.

Frogs in boiling water. We proles bear our share of blame as do those who overfished,dumped agricultural chemicals and the industrialists. The prize goes to the developers who got rich making sprawl, turning everything brown with run off.

This latest proposal is an insult. Stick a fork in it, it's done.

Maryland. My Maryland.