Pollution and overharvesting in the Chesapeake Bay have devastated the blue crab population by killing crab feed and eroding key habitats, a leading environmental group said in report released yesterday. And, the group said, the federal government has failed to enforce environmental laws that would help remedy the problem.To prevent the dead zones that kill clams and worms that crabs eat and the algae blooms that kill crab habitats, the Environmental Protection Agency must impose a regulatory cap on the amount of pollution entering the bay and enforce the Clean Water Act, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's report.
The report, "Bad Water and the Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake Bay," also cites overfishing of crabs as a major factor in the decline of the blue crab. But it theorizes that a healthier bay would produce more crabs, and, in turn, reduce the need for harvest reductions.
"The blue crab is really hardy and resilient but is really fighting for its survival," said William C. Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "We'd like to see the biggest fight for clean water we've ever seen. We share the anger and frustration of the watermen, who run the risk of being the most endangered species on the Chesapeake Bay. But if there are fewer [crabs] there, you can't keep taking as many."
