Abstract |
The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement describes the living resources of the Bay watershed as 'the main focus of the restoration and protection efforts.' The 1989 living resources agenda spelled out in the Agreement also was carried out with the adoption in July of Baywide management plans for blue crabs, oysters, and alosids (shad and herring), and a policy for the protection and restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation. The fishery management plans (FMPs), the first in a series of such plans required under the Agreement, were developed by a broadly representative workgroup of the Bay Program's Living Resources Subcommittee. The collection, management and analysis of data on the Bay's living resources expanded in 1989 as a result of the Stock Assessment and Living Resources Monitoring plans developed the previous year. Maryland and Virginia worked together on a trawl survey which is providing a comprehensive look at the distribution and abundance of several species of fish throughout the Bay. The States also are cooperating to complete a Baywide assessment of blue crab stocks. |