I'm buying a ton of scallops - and you should too

[Pogo]

OK, I'm not buying a literal 2000 pound ton -- if I did that I'd eat 'em all in one sitting. But get 'em while you can; they might not be around much longer.

Vancouver Sun:

>> Ten million scallops that have died in the waters near Qualicum Beach due to rising ocean acidity are the latest victims in a series of marine die-offs that have plagued the West Coast for a decade.

Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere are being absorbed by the ocean and may have pushed local waters through a “tipping point” of acidity beyond which shellfish cannot survive, according to Chris Harley, a marine ecologist at the University of B.C. Rising ocean acidity is a global phenomenon, made worse by higher natural acidity in local waters, Harley said.

“I’ve seen pH measured down to about 7.2, so this is very much within the realm of possibility, though unfortunate and extreme,” he said. “We are in a hot spot in the Pacific Northwest.” The lower the pH, the higher the acidity. Local waters are typically a much-less-acidic 8.2.

High acidity interferes with the ability of baby scallops to form a protective shell, forcing them to expend more energy and making them more vulnerable to predators and infection.

... “In 2009 we started to notice significant problems in the hatchery and when we communicated with hatcheries in Washington, they were seeing the same thing,” he said. “Suddenly we were getting these low pH values. pH has been so stable that for a lot of years no one bothered to measure it, because it never changed. It was really startling.”

Scallop operations big and small are reporting die-offs this year. Mysterious scallop die-offs have also been reported in China since 1996.

Oyster die-offs in Washington state and Oregon dating back a decade have also been linked by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers to acidification and rising carbon dioxide levels.

... Carbon dioxide concentrations that had been stable for as long as records were kept started to climb and, rather than correcting, they stayed high. By 2011, concentrations were verging on double the normal range, he said. <<

(some emphasis added)

But you know what --- naaah, let's just continue to pretend dumping an unnatural balance of CO2 into the biosphere has no consequences. Addressing a bad practice is just so hard, let's take the path of least resistance, have an ice-cold Koch and get on with business as usual.

(/sarc)

 

[TheOldSchool]

It's God's will man. Humans have no impact on anything

 

[Pogo]

Weather Channel video


>> Over the past two years, Mr. Perreault&#8217;s oyster farm on B.C.&#8217;s south coast has experienced 80 to 90 per cent mortality of young shellfish &#8211; the normal attrition rate is 50 per cent &#8211; and last year, nearby Pendrell Sound had a massive die-off of wild oysters.

&#8220;It was in the billions,&#8221; he said of the Pacific oysters that died only a few months after they hatched.

.... Mr. Perreault routinely monitors the ocean for food abundance, temperature and salinity &#8211; but thinks he should test the pH level too, to keep track of how acidic the water is.

The Vancouver Aquarium has been doing just that &#8211; and its records show the pH level in Vancouver&#8217;s harbour steadily declining, from 8.1 (1954-74) to a low of 7.3 by 2001.

A pH unit measures acidity with a range of 0-14. The lower the value, the more acidic the environment.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has noted a direct correlation between rising levels of C02 in the atmosphere and levels in the ocean. As more C02 accumulates in the Pacific, the pH decreases and the acidic level rises.

... Dr. Johannessen said waters off the coast of B.C. are getting warmer and there has been a change in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out. Chris Harley, a zoology professor at the University of B.C., feels the same way.

&#8220;It&#8217;s an interesting puzzle. &#8230; I&#8217;m not sure what&#8217;s killed all those scallops out in the Strait of Georgia. &#8230; It might have been low pH, but I&#8217;m not sure we can say that with much confidence,&#8221; he said.

But Rob Saunders, CEO of Island Scallops, says he has tracked pH levels closely and sees a link between increased acidity and shellfish die-offs.

&#8220;I&#8217;m convinced the ocean is getting much more acidic, and much more acidic than anyone anywhere believed it could happen that fast,&#8221; he said.

Mr. Saunders&#8217; operation has lost 10 million scallops over the past two years, and smaller companies have had similar problems. Mr. Saunders is pushing for a research project to find out what&#8217;s happening. &#8220;Is it a disease? Is it just strictly C02 stress or acid stress? If we don&#8217;t figure it out, then we don&#8217;t have an industry,&#8221; he said.

... &#8220;It&#8217;s definitely a sign. It&#8217;s like the canary in the coal mine,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That is the early indicator of climate change and how it is going to affect the availability of various products.&#8221; << (Globe and Mail)

 

[Luddly Neddite]

It's God's will man. Humans have no impact on anything

Besides, what purpose do they serve?

Only thing I can think of is a vehicle to get garlic and butter to my mouth.

rw's don't care cuz all they eat is bacon.

 

[CaféAuLait]

I live not too far from this area, and I read about this yesterday and have heard about it because it's so close. They are not sure what is happening. And somehow because your article says it "may" be the cause, it suddenly is? I'm all for reducing waste, and environmental safety, but why say the PH levels are the cause unless proven?

“It’s hard to say without having somebody there monitoring what’s going on. It could be food related. Maybe there were too many oysters and there was not enough food and they just starved – or something else [is happening] in the water like the acidity level,” he said. “To be frank, we don’t know a lot about it and that’s what’s scary.”

Asked if ocean acidification is to blame for oyster die-offs – and the recent collapse of scallop stocks in a Vancouver Island operation – she said: “I’m not sure yet. … We need to know if there is some local problem.”

Dr. Johannessen said waters off the coast of B.C. are getting warmer and there has been a change in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out. Chris Harley, a zoology professor at the University of B.C., feels the same way.

“It’s an interesting puzzle. … I’m not sure what’s killed all those scallops out in the Strait of Georgia. … It might have been low pH, but I’m not sure we can say that with much confidence,” he said.

Mystery surrounds massive die-off of oysters and scallops off B.C. coast - The Globe and Mail

Lower pH values occur naturally on the West Coast...

What is Ocean Acidification?

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known. It reminds me of the 'little boy who cried wolf" and then everyone is turned off from believing the facts when they are presented.

 

[Gracie]

Japans fuck up with their nuclear plant might have something to do with it, too.

Bear shits in the woods, not in it's den. Humans have been shitting all over mother earth including her waters. Try surviving in shit and see how long ya live.

 

[Pogo]

Japans fuck up with their nuclear plant might have something to do with it, too.

Bear shits in the woods, not in it's den. Humans have been shitting all over mother earth including her waters. Try surviving in shit and see how long ya live.

Ted Nugent did it. Just sayin'.

 

[Pogo]

I live not too far from this area, and I read about this yesterday and have heard about it because it's so close. They are not sure what is happening. And somehow because your article says it "may" be the cause, it suddenly is? I'm all for reducing waste, and environmental safety, but why say the PH levels are the cause unless proven?

&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to say without having somebody there monitoring what&#8217;s going on. It could be food related. Maybe there were too many oysters and there was not enough food and they just starved &#8211; or something else [is happening] in the water like the acidity level,&#8221; he said. &#8220;To be frank, we don&#8217;t know a lot about it and that&#8217;s what&#8217;s scary.&#8221;

Asked if ocean acidification is to blame for oyster die-offs &#8211; and the recent collapse of scallop stocks in a Vancouver Island operation &#8211; she said: &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure yet. &#8230; We need to know if there is some local problem.&#8221;

Dr. Johannessen said waters off the coast of B.C. are getting warmer and there has been a change in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out. Chris Harley, a zoology professor at the University of B.C., feels the same way.

&#8220;It&#8217;s an interesting puzzle. &#8230; I&#8217;m not sure what&#8217;s killed all those scallops out in the Strait of Georgia. &#8230; It might have been low pH, but I&#8217;m not sure we can say that with much confidence,&#8221; he said.

Mystery surrounds massive die-off of oysters and scallops off B.C. coast - The Globe and Mail

Lower pH values occur naturally on the West Coast...

What is Ocean Acidification?

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known. It reminds me of the 'little boy who cried wolf" and then everyone is turned off from believing the facts when they are presented.

Lower pH doesn't "occur naturally" if it's gone from 8.1 to a 7.3 only recently. Mortality doesn't go from 50% to 90% "naturally". And you must have missed, or cherrypicked around, some of this:

&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen pH measured down to about 7.2, so this is very much within the realm of possibility, though unfortunate and extreme,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We are in a hot spot in the Pacific Northwest.&#8221; The lower the pH, the higher the acidity. Local waters are typically a much-less-acidic 8.2.

and this:

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has noted a direct correlation between rising levels of C02 in the atmosphere and levels in the ocean. As more C02 accumulates in the Pacific, the pH decreases and the acidic level rises.

and this:

&#8220;In 2009 we started to notice significant problems in the hatchery and when we communicated with hatcheries in Washington, they were seeing the same thing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Suddenly we were getting these low pH values. pH has been so stable that for a lot of years no one bothered to measure it, because it never changed. It was really startling.&#8221;

and this:

Oyster die-offs in Washington state and Oregon dating back a decade have also been linked by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers to acidification and rising carbon dioxide levels.

... Carbon dioxide concentrations that had been stable for as long as records were kept started to climb and, rather than correcting, they stayed high. By 2011, concentrations were verging on double the normal range, he said.

So when you try to weasel around with this:

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known.

... it's like the die-hard (no pun intended) smoker who insists, despite all the mountain of evidence, that "the true reason is not known" why they had to be fitted with a voice box in order to talk.

Denial is not a river in Egypt -- it can appear anywhere. So my question for the denialists has always been, and continues to be:

Where the hell is the harm in cleaning up our act?

What I just peppered above are reasons TO clean it up. What are the reasons not to?

Let's say your town has a dump spot and it's up thataway up the river. One year you all notice that your lake has an oil slick on it. Turns out a local car repair shop started dumping its used motor oil up there last year. Now do you honestly need to wait for somebody to develop a micro-camera that can follow a molecule of oil all the way down before it occurs to you to just .... STOP DUMPING THE OIL??

 

[CaféAuLait]

I live not too far from this area, and I read about this yesterday and have heard about it because it's so close. They are not sure what is happening. And somehow because your article says it "may" be the cause, it suddenly is? I'm all for reducing waste, and environmental safety, but why say the PH levels are the cause unless proven?

“It’s hard to say without having somebody there monitoring what’s going on. It could be food related. Maybe there were too many oysters and there was not enough food and they just starved – or something else [is happening] in the water like the acidity level,” he said. “To be frank, we don’t know a lot about it and that’s what’s scary.”

Asked if ocean acidification is to blame for oyster die-offs – and the recent collapse of scallop stocks in a Vancouver Island operation – she said: “I’m not sure yet. … We need to know if there is some local problem.”

Dr. Johannessen said waters off the coast of B.C. are getting warmer and there has been a change in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out. Chris Harley, a zoology professor at the University of B.C., feels the same way.

“It’s an interesting puzzle. … I’m not sure what’s killed all those scallops out in the Strait of Georgia. … It might have been low pH, but I’m not sure we can say that with much confidence,” he said.

Mystery surrounds massive die-off of oysters and scallops off B.C. coast - The Globe and Mail

Lower pH values occur naturally on the West Coast...

What is Ocean Acidification?

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known. It reminds me of the 'little boy who cried wolf" and then everyone is turned off from believing the facts when they are presented.

Lower pH doesn't "occur naturally" if it's gone from 8.1 to a 7.3 only recently. Mortality doesn't go from 50% to 90% "naturally". And you must have missed, or cherrypicked around, some of this:



and this:



and this:



and this:

Oyster die-offs in Washington state and Oregon dating back a decade have also been linked by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers to acidification and rising carbon dioxide levels.

... Carbon dioxide concentrations that had been stable for as long as records were kept started to climb and, rather than correcting, they stayed high. By 2011, concentrations were verging on double the normal range, he said.

So when you try to weasel around with this:

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known.

... it's like the die-hard (no pun intended) smoker who insists, despite all the mountain of evidence, that "the true reason is not known" why they had to be fitted with a voice box in order to talk.

Denial is not a river in Egypt -- it can appear anywhere. So my question for the denialists has always been, and continues to be:

Where the hell is the harm in cleaning up our act?

What I just peppered above are reasons TO clean it up. What are the reasons not to?

Let's say your town has a dump spot and it's up thataway up the river. One year you all notice that your lake has an oil slick on it. Turns out a local car repair shop started dumping its used motor oil up there last year. Now do you honestly need to wait for somebody to develop a micro-camera that can follow a molecule of oil all the way down before it occurs to you to just .... STOP DUMPING THE OIL??

I guess you did not bother to read my entire post, try the first paragraph where I say I am for environmental safety.

The issue is your first line says "it may have been caused by" and scientists don't know why it happened.

I mentioned the natural change in PH because of what one scientist said:

in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out

That natural change could have put it over the edge. And if you'll note the man whose farm is affected said his waters are pristine, clean, and its a remote area.

As far as your contention this is only recent, scientist state since the beginning of the "Industrial Revolution", the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units.

What is Ocean Acidification?

And:

Coastal upwelling systems consistently experience natural ranges in surface seawater carbon dioxide concentrations and pH that are among the most extreme in the ocean. As it upwells, older, deeper water carries high levels of carbon dioxide — the biogeochemical imprint of accumulated microbial respiration of organic matter — to the surface. This is especially true in the Pacific Ocean, where underlying waters have been isolated from the atmosphere for many decades. As a result, carbon dioxide levels in surface sea water in upwelling zones can exceed 1,000 ppm, and pH can drop as low as 7.6–7.7 (ref. 5). In comparison, typical pH values in most of the surface ocean are ~8.1, and equivalent partial pressures of carbon dioxide will not be reached in the atmosphere for a century or more6.

As this naturally acidified water ages and warms at the surface, phytoplankton blooms consume much of the inorganic carbon through photosynthesis. This leads to the rapid drawdown of carbon dioxide and an increase in pH in the upwelled waters.

Microbial biogeochemistry of coastal upwelling regimes in a changing ocean : Nature Geoscience : Nature Publishing Group

Again, your article says acidification may be the reason but they are not sure. There may be other factors as well such as natural upwelling, food, plankton blooms, etc...

As I said above, one can say ' this is the reason' and when it turns out it is not, then it will not bode well for the next case where it is a direct result of pollution. Not sure where you are getting 'weaseling' out of something because I believe it is prudent to be sure before you announce this is the reason. Thusly turning off people from knowing the real deal and not believing the truth when a inaccuracies may be presented to begin with.

 

[Againsheila]

Due to Fukishima, I'm not eating anything out of the Pacific Ocean and probably won't for the rest of my life.

 

[HenryBHough]

Most of what you pay big bucks for as "scallops" are nothing more than pieces of skate wings stamped out by gigantic cookie-cutter machines.

Seriously.

 

[Pogo]

I live not too far from this area, and I read about this yesterday and have heard about it because it's so close. They are not sure what is happening. And somehow because your article says it "may" be the cause, it suddenly is? I'm all for reducing waste, and environmental safety, but why say the PH levels are the cause unless proven?




Mystery surrounds massive die-off of oysters and scallops off B.C. coast - The Globe and Mail

Lower pH values occur naturally on the West Coast...

What is Ocean Acidification?

I honestly think this is why so many are skeptical of those who say with a certainty 'this is the reason!!!' when the true reason is not known. It reminds me of the 'little boy who cried wolf" and then everyone is turned off from believing the facts when they are presented.

Lower pH doesn't "occur naturally" if it's gone from 8.1 to a 7.3 only recently. Mortality doesn't go from 50% to 90% "naturally". And you must have missed, or cherrypicked around, some of this:



and this:



and this:



and this:



So when you try to weasel around with this:



... it's like the die-hard (no pun intended) smoker who insists, despite all the mountain of evidence, that "the true reason is not known" why they had to be fitted with a voice box in order to talk.

Denial is not a river in Egypt -- it can appear anywhere. So my question for the denialists has always been, and continues to be:

Where the hell is the harm in cleaning up our act?

What I just peppered above are reasons TO clean it up. What are the reasons not to?

Let's say your town has a dump spot and it's up thataway up the river. One year you all notice that your lake has an oil slick on it. Turns out a local car repair shop started dumping its used motor oil up there last year. Now do you honestly need to wait for somebody to develop a micro-camera that can follow a molecule of oil all the way down before it occurs to you to just .... STOP DUMPING THE OIL??

I guess you did not bother to read my entire post, try the first paragraph where I say I am for environmental safety.

The issue is your first line says "it may have been caused by" and scientists don't know why it happened.

I mentioned the natural change in PH because of what one scientist said:

in the timing of zooplankton blooms, which shellfish eat. She said a shortage of food, or increased temperatures, could have put shellfish under stress, and then a slight change in pH could knock them out

That natural change could have put it over the edge. And if you'll note the man whose farm is affected said his waters are pristine, clean, and its a remote area.

As far as your contention this is only recent, scientist state since the beginning of the "Industrial Revolution", the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units.

What is Ocean Acidification?

And:

Coastal upwelling systems consistently experience natural ranges in surface seawater carbon dioxide concentrations and pH that are among the most extreme in the ocean. As it upwells, older, deeper water carries high levels of carbon dioxide — the biogeochemical imprint of accumulated microbial respiration of organic matter — to the surface. This is especially true in the Pacific Ocean, where underlying waters have been isolated from the atmosphere for many decades. As a result, carbon dioxide levels in surface sea water in upwelling zones can exceed 1,000 ppm, and pH can drop as low as 7.6–7.7 (ref. 5). In comparison, typical pH values in most of the surface ocean are ~8.1, and equivalent partial pressures of carbon dioxide will not be reached in the atmosphere for a century or more6.

As this naturally acidified water ages and warms at the surface, phytoplankton blooms consume much of the inorganic carbon through photosynthesis. This leads to the rapid drawdown of carbon dioxide and an increase in pH in the upwelled waters.

Microbial biogeochemistry of coastal upwelling regimes in a changing ocean : Nature Geoscience : Nature Publishing Group

Again, your article says acidification may be the reason but they are not sure. There may be other factors as well such as natural upwelling, food, plankton blooms, etc...

As I said above, one can say ' this is the reason' and when it turns out it is not, then it will not bode well for the next case where it is a direct result of pollution. Not sure where you are getting 'weaseling' out of something because I believe it is prudent to be sure before you announce this is the reason. Thusly turning off people from knowing the real deal and not believing the truth when a inaccuracies may be presented to begin with.

All that, and you failed to address the question. Maybe I should shorten it.
What's the reason not to clean up?

If I have dirty dishes in the sink, should I not bother to wash them on the basis that their dirtiness won't prevent me from eating?

 

[Pogo]

Most of what you pay big bucks for as "scallops" are nothing more than pieces of skate wings stamped out by gigantic cookie-cutter machines.

Seriously.

Topic address: Zero

 

[CaféAuLait]

Due to Fukishima, I'm not eating anything out of the Pacific Ocean and probably won't for the rest of my life.

Man, oh man.... we had some of the best Dungeness crab caught fresh last month.

 

[CaféAuLait]

Lower pH doesn't "occur naturally" if it's gone from 8.1 to a 7.3 only recently. Mortality doesn't go from 50% to 90% "naturally". And you must have missed, or cherrypicked around, some of this:



and this:



and this:



and this:



So when you try to weasel around with this:



... it's like the die-hard (no pun intended) smoker who insists, despite all the mountain of evidence, that "the true reason is not known" why they had to be fitted with a voice box in order to talk.

Denial is not a river in Egypt -- it can appear anywhere. So my question for the denialists has always been, and continues to be:

Where the hell is the harm in cleaning up our act?

What I just peppered above are reasons TO clean it up. What are the reasons not to?

Let's say your town has a dump spot and it's up thataway up the river. One year you all notice that your lake has an oil slick on it. Turns out a local car repair shop started dumping its used motor oil up there last year. Now do you honestly need to wait for somebody to develop a micro-camera that can follow a molecule of oil all the way down before it occurs to you to just .... STOP DUMPING THE OIL??

I guess you did not bother to read my entire post, try the first paragraph where I say I am for environmental safety.

The issue is your first line says "it may have been caused by" and scientists don't know why it happened.

I mentioned the natural change in PH because of what one scientist said:



That natural change could have put it over the edge. And if you'll note the man whose farm is affected said his waters are pristine, clean, and its a remote area.

As far as your contention this is only recent, scientist state since the beginning of the "Industrial Revolution", the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units.

What is Ocean Acidification?

And:

Coastal upwelling systems consistently experience natural ranges in surface seawater carbon dioxide concentrations and pH that are among the most extreme in the ocean. As it upwells, older, deeper water carries high levels of carbon dioxide — the biogeochemical imprint of accumulated microbial respiration of organic matter — to the surface. This is especially true in the Pacific Ocean, where underlying waters have been isolated from the atmosphere for many decades. As a result, carbon dioxide levels in surface sea water in upwelling zones can exceed 1,000 ppm, and pH can drop as low as 7.6–7.7 (ref. 5). In comparison, typical pH values in most of the surface ocean are ~8.1, and equivalent partial pressures of carbon dioxide will not be reached in the atmosphere for a century or more6.

As this naturally acidified water ages and warms at the surface, phytoplankton blooms consume much of the inorganic carbon through photosynthesis. This leads to the rapid drawdown of carbon dioxide and an increase in pH in the upwelled waters.

Microbial biogeochemistry of coastal upwelling regimes in a changing ocean : Nature Geoscience : Nature Publishing Group

Again, your article says acidification may be the reason but they are not sure. There may be other factors as well such as natural upwelling, food, plankton blooms, etc...

As I said above, one can say ' this is the reason' and when it turns out it is not, then it will not bode well for the next case where it is a direct result of pollution. Not sure where you are getting 'weaseling' out of something because I believe it is prudent to be sure before you announce this is the reason. Thusly turning off people from knowing the real deal and not believing the truth when a inaccuracies may be presented to begin with.

All that, and you failed to address the question. Maybe I should shorten it.
What's the reason not to clean up?

If I have dirty dishes in the sink, should I not bother to wash them on the basis that their dirtiness won't prevent me from eating?

I addressed your original post where you imply acidity is probably the reason 'scallops may not be around much longer". In fact, you posted twice with the same 'may be' the reason article, and you posted only the arguments which supported what you took away from the article. I also state I am for environmental safety, I never said we should continue along any course which may hurt the environment. I believe stating or inferring something is the reason, when it may not be, is dangerous. I'm quite sure you can figure out why...

 

[Pogo]

So.... no answer?

That's OK. There really IS no reason not to. Just say it.

 

[R.D.]

It's God's will man. Humans have no impact on anything

Besides, what purpose do they serve?

Only thing I can think of is a vehicle to get garlic and butter to my mouth.

rw's don't care cuz all they eat is bacon.

Partisan hack!!

 

[Shrimpbox]

Pogo I am not sure what you would like me to comment on. I have no knowledge of what is going on with scallops in the NW.

But if you want some generic thoughts on the issue here are a few. I don't know where the farmed scallops are coming from but farmed things have much less resistance to things than wild stock. I would be skeptical of conclusions on the reasons for their demise that cover such a short ecological time frame. Remember that the area you are talking about is flamingly liberal and predisposed to climate change arguments.

Most of the time with fishery issues you find scientists whose paycheck depends on maintaining a crisis atmosphere stoking the fire. They position themselves to be the only experts and therefore the only judges and juries on what should be done and unfortunately the govt grants them total control over fishery decisions under the guise of best available science. Ok, but when they turn out to be wrong they aren't fired or pay reparations but rather like the VA they are promoted and given more power. I find these people to be a little too full of themselves and their self importance and too dismissive of Mother Nature. There are way too many variables for any marine scientist to speak with any certainty. You have to have a long view on these things.

We have also had problems with oysters in Apalachicola Bay. I am not making any connection with scallops, but no one really knows why this is happening, but they are already on the rebound. Causes from BP oil spill, lack of water, over harvesting, drought, certain storms covering up the oyster beds with silt, and on and on. Everyone has an opinion, but no one knows. But all sea life goes through cycles, regulated by environmental factors that are beyond the comprehension of man today. My guess is that sometime in the next five or ten years the scallops will return in abundance. But like every one else that is just a guess.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Most of what you pay big bucks for as "scallops" are nothing more than pieces of skate wings stamped out by gigantic cookie-cutter machines.

Seriously.

Well skate wings are fucking delicious then.

Huh... learn somethin new everyday

 

[percysunshine]

Why are you only buying one ton Pogo?

If scallops are becoming that rare and endangered, you should buy 50 tons and sell them to desperate Russian mafia 1%ers for a profit.