Post by Moses on Dec 14, 2004 12:49:51 GMT -5
12/14/2004
Gilchrest outlines case for delay in introduction of Asian oysters
Says scientists don'tsupport introduction of nonnative oysters
By: GRETCHEN PARKER , Associated Press Writer
ANNAPOLIS (AP) - Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a critic of Gov. Robert Ehrlich's push to answer the nonnative oyster question early next year, upped the pressure on the governor with a hearing at the state capital Monday.
Gilchrest, known as a longtime advocate of the Chesapeake Bay, invited three scientists who testified that not enough is known about nonnative oysters to bring them into the Bay next year. One researcher, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, testified that the oysters may prove to be enthusiastic hosts of a raging, deadly pathogen that lives quietly in the Bay but has gone largely unexplored.
Ehrlich's administration has accelerated research of the oysters, native to China, and says that in February or March the state should know whether the introduction would be dangerous for the Bay. He has emphasized that he'll bow to scientists' recommendations when making a decision but has made it clear he believes the nonnatives are the Bay's last, best hope for oyster restoration.
Gilchrest said Monday he believes Ehrlich, a fellow Republican, will be convinced to hold off on nonnative oysters when he's confronted with "the enormous pressure of all of us standing there saying, 'No.'"
"They can't make a decision in February. How would the state move forward, with the scientific community walking away?" said Gilchrest, who said he has interviewed scientists from the University of Maryland, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Connecticut and the National Academy of Sciences.
"I asked them who is going to stand with the state of Maryland in February and say, 'We're ready to go.' No one," he said after the hearing, which was attended by a few members of his Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
The federal Army Corps of Engineers is coordinating a multimillion-dollar study into whether Crassostrea ariakensis are safe to bring into the Bay.
But the federal government doesn't have the authority to stop an introduction from moving forward.
"We don't have a hook," Gilchrest says.
Complete story appears in the print version.
Gilchrest outlines case for delay in introduction of Asian oysters
Says scientists don'tsupport introduction of nonnative oysters
By: GRETCHEN PARKER , Associated Press Writer
ANNAPOLIS (AP) - Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a critic of Gov. Robert Ehrlich's push to answer the nonnative oyster question early next year, upped the pressure on the governor with a hearing at the state capital Monday.
Gilchrest, known as a longtime advocate of the Chesapeake Bay, invited three scientists who testified that not enough is known about nonnative oysters to bring them into the Bay next year. One researcher, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, testified that the oysters may prove to be enthusiastic hosts of a raging, deadly pathogen that lives quietly in the Bay but has gone largely unexplored.
Ehrlich's administration has accelerated research of the oysters, native to China, and says that in February or March the state should know whether the introduction would be dangerous for the Bay. He has emphasized that he'll bow to scientists' recommendations when making a decision but has made it clear he believes the nonnatives are the Bay's last, best hope for oyster restoration.
Gilchrest said Monday he believes Ehrlich, a fellow Republican, will be convinced to hold off on nonnative oysters when he's confronted with "the enormous pressure of all of us standing there saying, 'No.'"
"They can't make a decision in February. How would the state move forward, with the scientific community walking away?" said Gilchrest, who said he has interviewed scientists from the University of Maryland, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Connecticut and the National Academy of Sciences.
"I asked them who is going to stand with the state of Maryland in February and say, 'We're ready to go.' No one," he said after the hearing, which was attended by a few members of his Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
The federal Army Corps of Engineers is coordinating a multimillion-dollar study into whether Crassostrea ariakensis are safe to bring into the Bay.
But the federal government doesn't have the authority to stop an introduction from moving forward.
"We don't have a hook," Gilchrest says.
Complete story appears in the print version.