May Letter from the Captain

Greetings CBFL Members and Friends,

CBFL teachers and staff welcomed the sunshine Friday after many straight days of rain.

Student trips are still on schedule with classes until early June. CBFL just finished a program for The Friends Community School of College Park and this year's class for Leadership Maryland. The shore-based exercises are a big hit with all students and teachers.

The Blue Crab season has begun. Males last week were bringing $80 and Sooks were $40 to the crabber. We will have mostly males now in the Lower Potomac River because the male crabs buried here last fall. Male crabs seek fresher water than the females and as a result the males travel toward the headwaters of the Chesapeake during hot dry times in the summer.

The Blue Crab shedding of mostly males that we have in May is a direct result of the migration pattern of the Blue Crab.

It is always nice to see the return of the "Laughing Gulls" because we then know that the soft crabs are on the flats. Laughing Gulls have a distinct black head and sound like they are laughing when they call. The Winter Dredge survey done each year by the Department of Natural Resources indicated a doubling of the amount of crabs available to be caught this year. Hopefully, after several molts, we will have an abundant supply to "fill our crab tooth."

The Ospreys will soon have their eggs hatched. The male shares the nesting duty with the female. The pair of Ospreys in the front of our house on St. George Island change the guard about 10 am each morning. Forty days after the start of nesting, the chicks appear and it will take both adults fishing dutifully to keep the brood fed. The 50 pair of birds on St George island will probably increase the Osprey population by 80-100 individuals.

The Oyster Hatchery in Piney Point, Maryland has resumed operations for the oyster restoration program in the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries.

Governor O'Malley's decision to restart operations after the hatchery had been "moth balled" for 6 years will be a defining step in restoring the native oyster ( Crassostrea Virginica ) to Maryland's waters. Thank you Governor O'Malley, Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources John Griffin, Deputy Secretary Eric Schwab, Director of Fisheries Tom O'Connell, and Aquatic biologist Mike Naylor, for your efforts in making this a reality.

The skipjack, Dee of St. Mary's, will be at Historic St. Mary's City for the 375th anniversary on June 20, 2009 for short cruises and to spread "Lore of the Chesapeake."

The next event at CBFL will be the Inaugural Kayak and Canoe Race on St George Island at the Bay Lab on June 28, 2009, 12 till 4 pm

Please click here to read mroe about the event. We are looking for sponsors for this event to join Cindy Broyles from Booz Allen Hamilton.

For more info about what we have lost in the Chesapeake and other interesting missives go to www.vikivolk.com


Remember : It's our Bay , Let's Pass It On"

From Capt'n Jack and First Mate Fulchiron