What are all the striper fishermen going to do if the Cod farms catch hold? What if there are many farms in your New England waters do you think that will have an effect on your fishing?
Just a small scenario here. The farms take hold throughout New England. The food taken from the ocean to feed these cod are anywhere between 5 and 11 times the volume that wild fish would eat over the same time that it took to raise the farmed cod and get them to market. Now economics says the feed would come from close by, most likely from the mid atlantic states where there has been an abundance of pogies and herring in past years. Plus there is no restrictions as far as I know on the commercial harvest of forage fish. These fish are mined, yes mined to record lows and then what? Yes one of the main bait fish in a stripers life in the area where it spends much of it's life is all but gone. By now the Cod farms are doing just great, they have been in operation for about 5 years. The industry is thinking about harvesting local sand eels because Mid Atlantic poggies are almost gone so they start the process of lobby to State and federal pols. But state and federal pols are being told by the biologists that the number of sand ells and other lower food chain creatures are begining to disapear at an alarming rate already. Reason! Because the Cod farms are creating so much pollution in the many bays throughout New England that the low food chain creatures such as plankton do not exist anymore or in just small areas. Take one look at what the Bay of Fundy Salmon farms did up there. The bottom of the bay has become lifeless and remember that Cod can create up to 50% more pollution and most likely be able to have many more fish in each pen than the salmon farms can put in their pens. But millions of dollars have been spent to get these great gifts to the world started. Money is coming into the pol's coffers from the Farmers. They are not going to let these farms just die off. They are going to let harvest what ever fish in the mid food chain they can. But hey your sand eel population is already in trouble because their summer feeding area has little plankton left from the polution. Sand eels are not showing up on your flats and upper food chain fish can not follow something that does not exist can they. But who cares there were not many stripers left anyway because of what was happening in the Mid Atlantic States.
You boys better start doing something about this now not tomorrow. This is going to happen and soon. The Salmon and shrimp industrial farming caught most of us by surprise and now we are in a fine mess. Remember the great gift of the Nuke power plants we were promised in school science class in the late 50's and early 60's? Well gentlemen here we go again. DON'T MESS WITH MOTHER NATURE!
Just a small scenario here. The farms take hold throughout New England. The food taken from the ocean to feed these cod are anywhere between 5 and 11 times the volume that wild fish would eat over the same time that it took to raise the farmed cod and get them to market. Now economics says the feed would come from close by, most likely from the mid atlantic states where there has been an abundance of pogies and herring in past years. Plus there is no restrictions as far as I know on the commercial harvest of forage fish. These fish are mined, yes mined to record lows and then what? Yes one of the main bait fish in a stripers life in the area where it spends much of it's life is all but gone. By now the Cod farms are doing just great, they have been in operation for about 5 years. The industry is thinking about harvesting local sand eels because Mid Atlantic poggies are almost gone so they start the process of lobby to State and federal pols. But state and federal pols are being told by the biologists that the number of sand ells and other lower food chain creatures are begining to disapear at an alarming rate already. Reason! Because the Cod farms are creating so much pollution in the many bays throughout New England that the low food chain creatures such as plankton do not exist anymore or in just small areas. Take one look at what the Bay of Fundy Salmon farms did up there. The bottom of the bay has become lifeless and remember that Cod can create up to 50% more pollution and most likely be able to have many more fish in each pen than the salmon farms can put in their pens. But millions of dollars have been spent to get these great gifts to the world started. Money is coming into the pol's coffers from the Farmers. They are not going to let these farms just die off. They are going to let harvest what ever fish in the mid food chain they can. But hey your sand eel population is already in trouble because their summer feeding area has little plankton left from the polution. Sand eels are not showing up on your flats and upper food chain fish can not follow something that does not exist can they. But who cares there were not many stripers left anyway because of what was happening in the Mid Atlantic States.
You boys better start doing something about this now not tomorrow. This is going to happen and soon. The Salmon and shrimp industrial farming caught most of us by surprise and now we are in a fine mess. Remember the great gift of the Nuke power plants we were promised in school science class in the late 50's and early 60's? Well gentlemen here we go again. DON'T MESS WITH MOTHER NATURE!