Comments for All Watermen
Watermen
The Noodlers
Luray HS
3/15/2012
We are fishermen of the Shenandoah River! We are
not happy about the chemicals that
are going into our waters. Can you imagine what the fish
population would be in local
communities throughout the coast of the Chesapeake Bay
if there weren't so many
pollutants? What is the point in going out on the waters
and fishing for hours if you can't
eat the fish! In Page County we have a major problem
with the fish in the rivers and creeks
having sores! That's not normal, and it's not something
that should be tolerated! Yes we do
understand that there are runoff problems in certain
areas! The noodlers think that we
need to correct this problem! Is it necessary to give
chickens steriods? No, because all of
those steriods go back on to our feilds. Then after time
when it rains the runoff from
these fields go to the closest estuary! Sounds like
nonpoint pollution to me. This is one of
the reasons why fish lesions are getting more widespread
each year. Why not try
eliminating steroids for a few years and see if we see
any improvements in Bay health. We
all just need to get a group together and figure out
what we need to do to fix this problem.
Another thing we need to consider. Has anybody
ever tested waters that is discharged
into the rivers and creeks from wastewater treatment
plants? I don't think they have the
ability to filter out chemicals such as antibiotics,
steroids, or any type of medicines used by
people.
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From:
K&T Group - recreation - MslmnHS
Ask
4/3/2012
Solid points. Completely agree. Something needs to be
done and some of your ideas
were great suggestions.
From:
Farmers of WV - farmer - MslmnHS
Ask
4/5/2012
Very well thought out points. We completely agree.
Eliminating steriods being given to
chickens would also make the eggs and meat healthier for
those who eat them!
From:
Helmet Stealers - farmer - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
We completely agree with those points. If we let this
keep going, it will affect our
fields as much as it affects your streams.
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Watermen
The FIshers
Luray HS
3/15/2012
The reasons our streams are polluted is because of
trash and run off from farmers. I
don't think they are aware of the situation. Many groups
and organizations are trying to
clean streams and water ways but not many people are
involved. More people need to get
involved with helping clean up the streams. The
pollution is hurting us fisherman badly
because many of our catch are dying off and making us
lose money. Making us lose money
means we cannot make a living, but sometimes fishing is
for recreation but either way, it
effects us because we need fish either way. That makes
us look bad by tourist coming in
and seeing trash, dead fish, and brown water. The
pollution also causes a lot of algae
growth and the banks along the side look terrible. Have
these people ever heard of
eutrophication? There is sometimes trash along the side
and dead fish. People need to start
helping the community by cleaning the streams and
keeping trash and pollutants out of our
waterways. Everyone needs to be involved so that we can
make this place look as good as it
did before. The water has to be clean. Not many people
want to fish in dirty streams. The
state also puts a lot of money into stocking creeks, for
example trout. If the streams are
polluted the fish count is low so both the state and the
county will lose money. People want
live healthy fish, not dead ones laying along the side
or floating down the creek. That's how
I think we can improve the streams and keep healthy
fish available for fisherman. Cleaner
streams will mean a cleaner Bay.
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From:
The Fishes Advocate - Waterman - MdS
Ask
3/27/2012
What are some ways that you propose people can get
involved when it comes to
cleaning up the water ways? What are some suggestions
for the state involving the
trash pollution in the waters?
From:
K&T Group - recreation - MslmnHS
Ask
4/3/2012
Great points. Definately agree. How can we work towards
keeping the fish healthier?
From:
Hicks - farmer - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
How are some ways that we can get the farmers to
participate in cleaning the streams
without costing them money
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Watermen
Theb Fishermen
Musselman HS
3/19/2012
This is the fishermen of the local area and I have some
problems of chemicals, trash and
bad stuff running in the streams. The bad chemicals
running into the stream are affecting
the fish like making them deformed or making them have
weird disease. Which means you
can't take the fish home and eat them because they might
have a disease that can make
you sick. So I think the government needs to tell the
factories to watch where the
chemicals go and keep them in a safe place. But its not
all coming from factories it's also
coming from people who are throwing unknown substance in
there that just don't care.
There is also a problem which people have picnic next to
the streams and river and just
throw their trash in there like it's a trash can. So
when people go fishing there not hooking
fish there getting hooked on trash that should not be
there. Trash cans are made for a
reason the river was made for fish and others things it
wasn't made for trash and
chemicals. Now the bad stuff running in the streams are
coming from farms and cities. So
I think the government should tell the farmers to make
like a fence line around there area
that catch the bad use and throw it away do it dose not
make to the stream. It would be
so nice if all this stuff would get cleaned up and all
the fish would get healthy. Healthy
fish mean that they would get bigger and when you catch
them you can actually take them
home and eat them with out worrying about diseases.
Then all the fishermen would be
happy and won't have to complain anymore and try to
catch a big one!!
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Watermen
appleman fishers
Musselman HS
3/20/2012
We have many local water problems as well as problems
with our fish quantity and quality.
We can fix the problem but it will take hard work and
dedication. We can start with
filtration systems in our streams by using rocks piled
up to reduce the sediment flow and
on the side of the filtration system we can have a
sediment pond for all the sediment to go.
We can also try to give the farmers a tax cut for the
less fertilizer they use. Also we can
create controlled estuaries so only certain fish can
enter and exit the temperature and
chemically controlled estuaries to maximize fish
reproduction. We can use volunteer help to
manage the estuaries and filtration systems. We can get
local donations of stone and
plants to put in both. We can also address the problem
of chemical problems by checking
the levels of the chemicals and reduce or increase the
amount according to the local fish
population. Before the winter we can see where the large
areas of algae growth are and
prevent it from coming back the next year. The algae can
be prevented the next year by
reducing the nutrients in the water around the affected
area. This can also help out the
areas down steam considering the nutrient count up steam
is low. That is the appleman
fishers ideas on how the local streams, rivers, and
ponds can be cleaned to make the fish
population better in the future so that fisherman like
ourselves can finally have good
fishing again.
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From:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
You have a really good plan and it takes a lot of time
and dedication, but where are you
getting the money for it, donations aren't going to do
it all. Filtering the water is really
good, but what about about reducing the pollutants that
pollute the water?
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Watermen
Fishin apples
Musselman HS
3/20/2012
Our streams and rivers are being polluted by run
offs from trash and other bad
chemicals like pesticides from the farmers. Fishing in
the coast of the Chesapeake Bay is
important to us. It can be an enjoyable pastime, but
when you can't take the fish home
because they have chemicals in them and odd side effects
due to the chemicals it can be
dangerous for our health. The chemicals a killing the
fish and diminishing their population,
this is causing problems for the habitats.
We agree with the Noodlers that it is unnecessary to
give steroids to the chickens
because it is causing a big problem for the surrounding
environment. If we were to try not
using steroids or possibly move the chickens somewhere
else then it would help to solve the
problem. There needs to be ways to filter out the
chemicals found in the water so that the
fish can repopulate and be healthy to eat. We do not
believe that the farmers know exactly
how bad the situation is, and that if we could come to
a compromise, everyone could win a
little and the Bay could become healthy once again. More
people need to get together and
start solving this; people are being too stubborn on
their point of view. Everyone will need
to give up a little of what they believe so that the Bay
can be restored.
The Susquehanna is the best contributor to the water
in the Chesapeake Bay, so if we
clean up there first it could help exponentially, our
information for that comes from the
website http://water.usgs.gov/wid/html/chesbay.html. If
the water is not cleaned it could
have bad effects on the people as well. For people who
use a well to get water to their
house it could cause health problems. For example, my
cousin lives near the Bay and when
you put white clothing under the faucet water it would
turn orange.
The bacteria in the water is causing mutations in
the unborn fish, and problems for
animals that drink the water like deer, rabbits,
raccoons, etc. This is causing a huge
problem with the surrounding environment. The Bay is
important to many of the inhabitants
of the forest around it and the animals in it. This
could cause the animals to leave the
environment and that could greatly harm the people that
hunt for food, and the trees to
overpopulate.
We need to get the factories to watch where they
spill their chemicals. If they can't be
careful with where their chemicals end up then they
need to relocate, because we can't
move they, but they can move their factory. We
understand that we can't get rid of all the
factories everywhere to protect the environment, but we
can take precautions to keep the
environment safe from harmful chemicals. If the
chemicals were away from the fish then
they could get bigger and better for animals and people
to eat. We could plant roots and
other barriers to help absorb some of the chemicals, and
keep it clean for people.
The chemicals are causing the algae to overgrow
causing many problems for the fish in
the water. The overgrowth is causing ripples in the
water. The chemicals are also turning
the water brown, which is unhealthy for the water and
the creatures in it. The chemicals on
the crops are being washed into the water causing all
of these horrible things to happen to
it. If we could find a way to keep the chemicals out of
the water it could start cleaning
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Watermen
MSS
East Hardy HS
3/26/2012
As watermen, the water pollution has become a problem
because we can no longer catch
POV:
the amount of fish we need. Therefore, we cannot make
the profit we need. If we don't
catch the right amount, people around the community will
not have fish, oysters, and crabs.
The restaurants and other businesses around would go out
of business. Besides the
economic problems we would have, the pollution destroys
the habitats of animals living in
the water. To solve the pollution problem, we could
start cleaning up the bay and being
more careful about where factories dispose of their
wastes, . The Chespeake Bay area
could invest in more wastewater treatment facilities, as
that would reduce the waste
discharged into the bay.
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From:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
3/27/2012
If you find out the contamination is coming from
factories, how do you plan to help
solve the factories problems?
Response
MSS - Waterman - EHHS
To:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
4/11/2012
We plan to start petitions within the county and
community to have the factories
have better disposal systems.
From:
Wilderness Tours - recreation - MslmnHS
Ask
3/29/2012
We agree with you all good job
Response
MSS - Waterman - EHHS
To:
Wilderness Tours - recreation - MslmnHS
4/11/2012
Thank you very much!
From:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
4/16/2012
10-4 captain.
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Watermen
octtoes
East Hardy HS
3/26/2012
We're the Octtoes crew, we fish on the main streams
of the Chesapeake Bay. We catchPOV:
all feshwater fish like trout, bass, carp, catfish,
etc.
We have been fishing for over 10 years, and we've
had some issue's with pollution but
not as bad as this year. People have been very uncaring
about the fish economy. We think
that people do not care about what their doing to the
environment so they are polluting it.
People in the Chesapeake Bay has been affecting us,
because it is killing our fish and all
of the dirt pollution and things like excessive erosion
has made the population of the fish
decrease.
We think if people would be more caring for their
land and take care of it, then maybe
the dirt pollution and excessive erosion would clear
out. It would probably cost a good
amout of money to fix up the areas where the erosion is,
but it would be worth it.
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From:
Sheep Farmers II - farmer - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
How are we supposed to stop erosion? That is something
that happens to the earth
over time.
From:
MSS - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
How can people help clean the Bay?
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Watermen
The Fishes Advocate
Mount de Sales
3/26/2012
REVISED.
If you had
the choice to eat a diseased, poisonous piece of food
versus a healthy, delicious piece of food, which would
you choose? As watermen, our goal and job is to help
protect the fish that we catch and sell so that the
consumers of our catch receive the best possible fish,
crabs, oysters, and shellfish. If the water the fish
live in is dirty and polluted, how do you think that
affects the organisms that live within? They’re probably
not going to be that appetizing, right? If we reduce the
amount of land pollution, or at least regulate it to a
manageable level, the organisms we catch will have an
overall health level that is much more beneficial to the
humans and other animals that are consuming what we
catch. This is a small change could vastly improve the
state of the Bay for everyone.
It’s easy to
overlook something as small as fertilizing a few crops,
or putting chemicals on our lawns to help them look
better, and grow stronger, but these things are hurting
the organisms that live in the Bay. Not only does this
affect the amount of fish in the Bay, as watermen, this
is our living. If there are less animals for us to
catch, that’s less money that we’re earning, and less
food we have to offer the consumers.
In addition
to lessening the amount of catch available, the
chemicals washing into the Bay and washing off of the
land are affecting the organisms in a genetic way as
well. Fish are developing intersex (male fish were found
to have female sex cells in their testes), among other
developmental issues. When you really think about it,
the fertilizers, nutrients, gasoline, chemicals and
other type of pollution that are coming into the water
are also entering our bodies when we consume the
organisms that are caught in the poisoned waters.
Although the
catch restrictions on things like oysters and other fish
found in the Bay are detrimental to the watermen’s
lifestyle, the population decrease due to disease and
death as a direct result of the various pollutants
interacting with the different species is only going to
make it worse. As watermen, we supply the public with
(seemingly) fresh, healthy fish to eat, and although
further restrictions on the aquatic organisms that we
catch will be difficult for us, in the off seasons we
could pick up another job until the fish populations
take a turn for the better. The government could help
support the watermen by offering them paid positions in
the water cleanup process. One way to increase the
amount of healthy fish would be to focus on various land
pollution restrictions and regulations to limit the
amount of pollutants going into the water, so the fish
and other Bay organism populations can manifest and
allow the watermen to continue fishing healthy
organisms. A solution for those who help reduce the
amount of pollution could be governmental reward, tax
reductions, and an increase in healthcare benefits for
volunteers of the cause.
Not only
would this help the watermen economy, but consumers of
said organisms will become healthier because the fish
they are eating will not be ridden with poison and
bacteria and disease. The fault is ours, but the
solution can be ours as well.
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Watermen
Fisherwomen
East Hardy HS
3/26/2012
We are the fisherman of our area. We catch the fish in
our area and then we sell them to
POV:
the local markets, which make us a major food supplier
in this area. The Bay's problems
and conditions affect us by damaging our food supply.
The more fish that become
contaminated and die leave less for us to catch and
sell. The less amount of fish we bring
back daily in return means less pay. We have families to
support and mouths to feed. We
not only need the fish to bring in for money but also
for our own families and well being.
Also, if we do not supply enough fish for the local
markets and restaurants they may start
searching for new suppliers. We need to keep our
business running and our supplies heavy,
but with all the contamination it seems to make that
impossible. The causes of the
contamination come from local farms and factories not
controlling the runoff of their
wastes. It also comes from local residents polluting by
throwing trash and other wastes on
the ground and in the water. We could help solve this
problem by promoting trash clean up
around the community and more recycling bins and waste
disposable areas. We could also
try and form a group that could go around and talk to
all the local farms to see what we
can do to eliminate our runoff in those areas. Another
option could be testing other waters
that are combining into ours, to be sure that the
contamination is not coming from another
source. We plan to try and pin point the source of
where the contamination is coming from
and stop it to save the well being of our community.
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Watermen
alligator pancakes
East Hardy HS
3/26/2012
We are the waterman. Keeping the Bay clean is essential
to our livelihood. We make our
POV:
livings off of the feesh and other critters that live
in these waters. Quite delicious.
But on a serious note, something needs to be done to
help the bays ecosystem. Anybody
that makes a living off of the water needs to regulate
their takeout of these waters,
including us. Pollution needs to be controlled to keep
populations high. This starts with
controlling heavy plant pollution, over fishing, and
farming techniques. Anything that is done
in the Chesapeake Watershed affects everyone. Any
solutions would help our cause
because this is our living. Better regulations on every
group would be a big contributor to
solving the bays problems. Everyone takes a part in
pollution. It's up to everyone to think of
ways to cut back. If something is not done to help the
cleaning up of the bay then us
waterman could go extinct. This would be a loss to the
economy and the world will have lost
a great natural resource. Something needs to be done
NOW!
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From:
The Fishes Advocate - Waterman - MdS
Ask
3/27/2012
You have some good points and address that something
needs to be done and a solution
needs to be found, but how are you planning on fixing
the problem?
Response
alligator pancakes - Waterman - EHHS
To:
The Fishes Advocate - Waterman - MdS
4/11/2012
We plan on using proper fishing techniques to conserve
what resources we have.
This will keep population high. Maybe change how long
some fishing seasons are in.
Thats about as much as watermen can control
From:
Ninja Kangaroos - Other - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
As the United States goverment, we find your comment a
bit disturbing. We ourselves,
do not take money from the budget. It is a pay check.
Just like you getting a pay
check for your work, we get a pay check for ours. Our
way of living has nothing to do
with the budget.
From:
Ninja Kangaroos - Other - EHHS
Ask
4/16/2012
We are also the United States Goverment or as you would
put it the "feds". we think
that you're a little confused about the eForum. We are
not actually the Us goerment
and neither is Ynok. I think what Ynok is trying to say
is that money is tight, we can
take it out of other interests and put more money for
the bay in our budget. What
happens in the bay strongly affects the economy greatly.
If we lost the buisness there
we would loose a lot of money for our country. And
about us leaving our "luxurious
homes", most of us have normal two story houses. Not
luxurious homes. We do hire
people, but not to do part of our jobs. We hrie them to
do research, which is there job.
We visit the bay to review the progress of research and
observe the problems of the
bay. And we are trying to resolve the issues because it
doesn't just affect the
fisherman or the ecosystem itself, it effects america as
a whole.
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Watermen
Watermen of MdS
Mount de Sales
3/27/2012
REVISED
From the gas and chemicals
emitted from boats and other water vehicles to the
runoff from the land, the bay is getting worse and
worse. If it weren’t for these pollutants, the
population of fish, plants, and other species would be
outrageously greater. As a fisherman, the more that the
water is polluted, the worse it is for me and for my
business. By being a waterman, I take out large
shipments of different kinds of fish and crustaceans and
I sell them. If the water is extremely polluted, the
less healthy and lively the animals will be. In fact,
many of them could be diseased or even dead before I get
to them. If an outbreak of diseased fish transpires,
people will boycott buying such fish and I will
substantially lose business.
If you live or work anywhere
even remotely near the Chesapeake Bay watershed, you are
contributing to the pollution. I understand that
everyone is part of the problem, including myself. Using
large fishing boats is the main way that I contribute to
the pollution, but that is something that I cannot get
around. I need to use this boat to do what I do to make
a living. If a solution to these environmental problems
includes modifying the vehicles and/or utilities that
watermen like myself use, then I might lose my business.
Everything that I use is completely necessary and is
essential for my business to be successful, and in my
life right now, my job is more important than the
cleanliness of the bay.
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From:
Nessie the lock ness monster - CB_Ecosystem - MdS
Ask
3/29/2012
The clean water act should be ratified to include new
pollutants that threaten the bay.
From:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
If you're so concerned about the pollution of the
Chesapeake Bay, and the Bay being
your job, why aren't you trying to help clean it up?
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Watermen
the real sportsman
Musselman HS
3/29/2012
Being a fisherman I like to catch all kinds of fish:
trophy trout, catfish, and bass, and many
other species. The problem is that most people don't
care what they throw in the water. I
have seen everything from fishing line to boots to full
tiers. I don't understand what makes
someone want to harm the environment in such a way. I
believe a way we can help is going
around taking hooks out of trees that people throw and
get caught in the trees. I also
believe that if we go around and take the fishing line
out of the water we can keep the fish
from getting tangled up and dyeing taking out litter
throw in the water could help reduce
fish deaths. The more removed from this beautiful bay
the better. Less dead areas in the
bay will bring back life and if we bring back life there
will be more fish to sell and make
money. Another plus to getting the litter I that more
people would want to come and have a
nice family day and swim.
If farmers keep putting chemicals in the water, such as
manure and fertilizer, it will cause
more dead areas and the fish population will cease to
exist.
How does excess fertilizer create dead zones?
When nutrients come into the water in rivers, lakes, and
oceans algae grows out of control
which this creates the dead zones in the water like the
Bay. Extra algae will cause the fish
to suffocate and die.
One thing we can do is join Trouts Unlimited and plant
more trees along streams in the
water shed.
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Watermen
Team NewEra
Musselman HS
4/4/2012
The bad chemicals running into the stream are affecting
the fish such as making them
deformed or create weird diseases. We can't take the
fish with these problems home to
POV:
our family or make a profit off them. If we try to keep
the Chesapeake Bay clean and
polluted free, the fishes will be healthy and more
populated. Once this happens, we can
take the fish home to feed our families and sell for
profit.
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From:
Fisherwomen - Waterman - EHHS
Ask
4/11/2012
What actions do you plan on using to clean up the
Chesapeake Bay?
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