Any one notice that we have not yet had much rain this spring. We had loads of snow, but really very little rain. The snow is gone and the temperature is going up and down. Without a good rain to wash the decaying organic matter (read mostly leaves here) into the Sound, there will not be a spring algae bloom. the bloom is a bringer of life as many of the plankton eating fish come to feast, spawn and move on, The fish eggs, babies and grown-ups make food for other fish.
The question is, Are we going to have our cycle or not?
I bring this up because there are many things that may affect fish populations and weather is definitely one of them.
Catching winter flounder has been now restricted. This is rather ironic because the gentleman who I call the Patron Saint of Long Island Sound (1, 2, 3 and 4)tried to get winter flounder on the endangered species list a few years back and now it is. They told him was not ever going to happen, they were not endangered. Someone was wrong and it was not him.
I wait with "baited" breath (pun intended).
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4 comments:
Joe,
Thanks for writing on my blog. Our paths have actually crossed before. I was the science research teacher at Stamford High School from 95-03. One of my students and I came to the H.D. to meet with you and discuss a potential project. My main interest and student research has focused on using biologicals as indicators of water quality in the Sound. We've done grass shrimp, Mud crab, mummichog, Spartina, and lots of other spp. to examine health. We often look at both macro and molecular features. My favorite field site over the years has been Great Meadows in Stratford. Often have used Barn Island as the control site, since it is so pristine compared to other LIS marshes.
Frank LaBanca
Your blog is asking me to ID myself, so I am using my Google Account. I very rarely check my Gmail, so feel free to contact me through my http://problemfinding.labanca.net blog
Nice to see some one studying "critters"! It seems that most people like TMDLs and chemistry, they forget what it is all about the small stuff!
Baited breath-ha! I used to catch lots of flounder with my dad when I was a kid. The last few times I tried it seemed a waste of time. A real shame what we've done to some of the fish populations.
The real question is why!
Have we missed the boat in understanding what our influence is on the Sound? According to USEPA, we have reduced the nitrogen load significantly from 30 years ago, mostly by sewage treatment plant upgrades and last year there was a very low chlorophyll (read algae) level in the water, but hypoxia was longer and more wide spread than ever. May be we are approaching it the wrong way.
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