April 29 2013 I Reducing Latency License Buybacks a Virginia and Maryland wanted to use part of federal disaster relief money 30 million to offer to buy back licenses from current license holders to reduce latent effort i Non punitive b Reverse Auction i License holders submitted sealed bids on the amount of money they would accept to permanently retire their license ii State s accepted lowest bids until the money allotted was used up iii Maryland eventually cancelled their auction and offered a single amount of 2 300 per license iv Virginia followed up c What happened i Maryland eventually cancelled their auction and offered a single amount of 2 300 per license posted price offer ii Some people who bid lower than 2 300 did not take the offer iii Overall low participation in reverse auction iv WHY 1 Value Uncertainty they were unclear of value so chose not to participate v Maryland second buyback using two price system similar to eBay s buy it now sell it now at lower price or take your chance at a higher price vi Somewhat successful in reducing latency Easier to implement catch shares in the future II What about Menhaden a Spotter planes direct the fleet b Purse seine surrounding school c Pumping fish from the seine to the boat d All the Menhaden caught in the Atlantic Ocean are sent to Omega Plant in Reedville VA only one left in the United States i Left with omega protein ii Sophisticated processing system to extract fish oil iii Some people use Menhaden for bait recreational fishing e The Menhaden Issue Ecosystem Value vs Fishery Value i Filter feeder ii Key prey species 1 What is their effect on plankton blooms 2 What is their effect on Bay nutrient budgets 1 What is their effect on other commercial harvests 2 What is their effect on recreational harvest III Positions Hardened a Recreational fishermen want industrial menhaden fishery severely curtailed or shut down b Many environmental groups feel the same way c Others want fishery to continue for local economic impacts it creates such as jobs a tax base etc d Menhaden is also harvested for bait in crab pots e But science isn t there to tell us how other fisheries an the health of the bay would respond if less menhaden were harvested Although all groups feel that the current science is on their side This continues to be a contentious debate Oyster Policy a From the 1880s to after World War II oyster landings and population were in IV continual decline would mine coal i Failed to manage as a renewable resource mining oysters like one ii Clearly they were overharvesting harvesting more oysters than they could possibly replenish in a year iii Oyster shell is the best habitat for new oysters the process of harvesting oysters destroyed the habitat as well as the oysters b After WWII through the early 1960 s oyster harvests were maintained at about 30 35 million pounds per year by the use of aquaculture fish farming practices i Some areas were good for seed production example James River ii Other areas were better for growout example seed to adult iii Seed oysters are moved to grow out area that may also have oyster shell placed on the bottom to provide habitat and keep small oysters from being buried iv Virginia leaded bottom to private growers v Maryland the State paid watermen to move oysters to public oyster bottom c The Disease Era i Dermo is naturally occurring in the Chesapeake Bay