New Tool Attempts Transparency in Chesapeake Bay Restoration, Also Bluefin Tuna Anglers, $500 Reward for Returned TagsBy Brandon White (TidalFish Chief Angler)
Published: September 14, 2007
Print 
Email
Governor O’Malley Launches BayStat Website: New tool “brings transparency to the business of restoring the Bay”
“We designed BayStat to help us better coordinate, track, target – and ultimately improve -- our statewide restoration efforts,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “This new website takes State accountability to a new level, bringing transparency to the business of restoring the Bay by affording our citizens access to candid interpretations of the Bay’s health and the effectiveness of the programs that address it.”
“The site will provide citizens access to much of the same data we use to evaluate State activities and monitor setbacks and successes,” said Dave Goshorn, Director of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Office of Sustainability and the agency’s BayStat coordinator. “Hopefully, this information will also help inspire Marylanders to take the individual actions we know are necessary for a full Bay recovery.”
I just hope that Govornor O’Malley’s statement above from the press release is something he really means and the website turns into a real tool. I checked the new website “tool” out and it seems to be making an attempt to provide some information to us, the general public, about efforts underway to clean up the bay. However I think it has a long way to go if it really can warrant being called a “tool”.
The site provides a link to the Executive Order that Governor O’Malley signed to make the clean up the bay imitative happen. It has a BayStat Fact Sheet link which links you to a PDF document that I presume has some information about BayStat. Unfortunately, I could not access it because it locked up my computer. It has a link to Press Releases with nothing on that page, a link to BayStat Meetings that just provides a description of what BayStat is and will do, which was already stated in a few other places, a link to “What can you do?” that talks about volunteering for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and some links to other site environmental programs, and a link to “Public Input” that will pop up your email browser to send an email to them. Where that email goes or who reads it is anyone’s guess, it does not say. There is an area on the right hand side that is called “Basin Information” that has what appears to be some links to different areas of the bay where I presume we are supposed to be able to get information on the “status” of clean up in that area, however there are no links, it is just an image.
If it sounds like I am disappointed with the site, well I guess I am. (This is not a political thing, in fact to be up front I choose to vote on issues, not party lines.) I actually had some hope that Governor O’Malley would do something to clean up the bay, I still have some hope. I applaud the effort of this website, however, if his administration is going to put out a big press release about this website and everything and then to find what I did, well that is disappointing. I hope the website improves and even further hope the Governor can allocate money from state funds as well as attract federal funds to help us clean up the bay.
They say that a politicians first and foremost job is the get re-elected, fair enough. I just hope this website is not just a marketing effort, actaully turns into what it claims it will do and has some deep roots. Check it out for yourself and see what you think. BayStat Website
----
A note from Nuo Fragoso about the $500 Reward for tags returned from Bluefin Tuna that I thought I would pass on.
Hello Tag A Tiny anglers
I hope you are all having a fun and successful summer on the water.
I just got off the phone with a Captain that caught a juvenile bluefin tuna that we tagged with an implanted archival tag.
Unfortunately, he returned it back as he thought it was a fish we recently tagged.In fact the fish had been tagged in 2005 off the Regal Sword. It was caught today on Stellwagen (NW) and was 45”. Not only did he lose the chance at the $500 reward, Molly lost the chance to have 2 years worth of data on the movements of juvenile bluefin tuna. We all agree this is data we all critically need.We may never know where this fish spent the last 24 months. Keep your eyes open for tagged fish, they are out there!
Please keep any fish you catch with an electronic tag in it. (It doesn’t count against your bag limit!)
If it is recently tagged, we can reuse the tag. Even a few days worth of day is valuable to us, as we know little about the juvenile movements.We need to make sure we don’t lose fish with tags in them (this makes the third electronically implanted fish that has been caught but not kept).
If you catch a fish with an ID tag, cut it near the base and sent it to us and put in a new ID tag if you plan to release it.
Cheers
Nuno
Nuno M. Fragoso
Program Manager, Large Pelagics Research Center
University of New Hampshire
38 College Road
Durham, NH 03824
P: 603-862-2473
F: 603-862-2888
www.largepelagics.unh.edu
www.tunalab.unh.edu
Good fishing!
Brandon
For a listing of all past fishing blog articles CLICK HERE
Past Enteries:
Debuting Today for Virginia Anglers- “Angler Of Hampton Roads” Magazine on News Stands: Pick up a Copy- Sept.14, 2007
NEW 3D Chesapeake Fishing Maps - A MUST Have to Find Fishing Spots - Sept. 12, 2007
NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office Launches Third Real Time Weather Buoy in the Upper Chesapeake Bay - Sept 8, 2007
A Must Have Fishing Book for your Collection: So Many Fish, So Little Time. Sept. 5, 2007
Do you have a new product or service that anglers would benefit from knowing about? If so drop me a line for consideration at BrandonW@TidalFish.com. Please note that I receive a high volume of email in regards to new products and services so I do not guarantee that if you write I will be able to include your product or service in this blog.
Please also note: 1) I do not accept free products as I believe it does not allow me to give an unbiased opinion. 2) I will not write about a product or service that I have not used.
View Comments (0)
