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| Brown Pelicans on the remains of Adam Island 2021 |
The brown pelican population around the Chesapeake Bay has plummeted by about half from its peak in the late 2000s and early 2010s, avian researchers say. And what’s causing the decline, given the lack of funding to investigate the phenomenon, is anyone’s guess.
There are many theories. But the hypothesis gaining the most traction involves one of the Bay’s most controversial industries.
Asked why there are fewer pelicans, Dave Brinker, an ornithologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, seemed at a loss: “They’re going down. That’s the simplest analysis.”
But after a pause, he added: “I suspect it’s a result of changes in menhaden. We don’t have food studies. But just thinking as an ecologist, [I know] these birds are very sensitive to prey availability.”
Atlantic menhaden are a small fish at the center of a huge debate over whether they are being overfished in the Bay. Critics accuse Omega Protein, a Canadian company that harvests menhaden and “reduces” them to make fish oil and fish meal. They say the company is taking so many menhaden that there aren’t enough left for birds and larger fish to feed on.
Since 2018, the “reduction fishery” has had a cap on its harvest in Bay waters of 51,000 metric tons per year — all of it coming from Virginia because Maryland bans the practice. Under pressure from conservationists and recreational fishing groups, federal fishery managers are now considering lowering that limit.
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| Osprey on nest in Solomons Harbor 2021 |
In recent years, researchers have been documenting a decline in ospreys around the Bay, which they blame at least partly on a lack of menhaden. The evidence, they say, includes female ospreys laying fewer eggs, emaciated chicks and the sight of young starved to death in the nest.
Some fishery scientists are not ready to make that conclusion, saying there is no solid evidence that the osprey hardships are tied to menhaden availability. “I don’t know that we have the data to support that yet, and I hope that’s where the new research goes,” said Reid Nelson, a fisheries scientist with George Mason University in Virginia.
Omega Protein officials also dispute those claims, including any suggestion that the woes extend to pelicans. “Before there is additional speculation in the media blaming the menhaden fishery,” Omega spokesman Ben Landry said in a statement, “those suggesting a connection should produce peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating that commercial menhaden fishing is responsible.”
I'm not sure that lack of Menhaden is affecting the Osprey (and now Brown Pelicans) but I am leaning that direction. I've certainly noticed a local decline in the Osprey population, and thinking back, I think I've seen less pelicans as well.
In a piece aired on Sunday, President Trump sat down for a contentious, but general respectful interview with Ross Douthat, formerly(?) the NYT's house conservative and staunch never-Trumper, and now Bari Weiss' catspaw. From the Victory Girls, Trump Sits Down With 60 Minutes For A Rambling Debrief. Sundance at CTH hosts Extended 60-Minutes Interview with President Trump – Full Video and Transcript as does Althouse in Donald Trump on "60 Minutes." "Here's Douthat's "10 takeaways from Trump's 60 Minutes interview: Why GOP lost the midterms, what went wrong on immigration and more" (CBS)." And Asked about UFOs, Trump raves about handsome pilots. Ace observes Ooof: Trump Says His Immigration Policy Was Too Tough, Seeks Some Kind of... Comprehensive Reform. "On one hand, I expected a softening. I floated the idea that if Trump had softened on the immigration raids the summer before the election, the GOP might have done a little better. (Emphases on "might" and "a little.")And who knows: This may be necessary to stop the Democrats from winning it all in 2028 and packing the country floor to rafters with immigrants (and immediately giving them full voting rights). But on the other hand: this is a disaster." News Wax picks it apart with '60 Minutes': Trump Reflects on Death and Heaven, '60 Minutes': Trump Says No Plans to Escalate Iran War, Defends Israeli Leadership, '60 Minutes': Trump May Not Endorse Vance and 60 Minutes: Trump Denies Making Billions Improperly. Also, Trump After Meeting Qatari PM: Iran War 'Effectively Over' and Hegseth to Face Press as Impeachment Fight Escalates. InfantryDort @infantrydort, "Do you know what I think an impeachable offense is? The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. .... Pete Hegseth is in the crosshairs for embodying the absolute antithesis of the Afghan withdrawal. And the politicians driven by envy will never forgive him for it." Quote Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "GOOD QUESTION: Trump asks why Democrats want to impeach Pete Hegseth but never impeached anyone over Afghanistan. "13 dead, hundreds killed at the airport.""
Stephen Kruiser at PJM predicts Trump's Legacy Will Brilliantly Survive Last Tuesday. At PM, GOP voters turned out to smack Trump, not support Dems. "10 percent of voters who consider themselves to be conservative voted for Democrats." NYPo's Michael Goodwin thinks JD Vance sold Trump out after the midterm shellacking — it’s time to cut him off. Algemeiner notices Iranian Officials Gloat as US Voters Deal Blow to Trump. But was there any coordination between them? Sundance hosts Secretary of State Marco Rubio Holding a Press Conference Following G7 Meeting in Paris. Dmitri Bolt at TownHall sees Republicans Keep Screaming 'Socialism.' Ron DeSantis Says That's Not Going to Cut It. TownHall's Matt Vespa notices Attorney General Todd Blanche Wasn't Falling for This Loaded Question on CNN. "Host Dana Bash tried to bait him on this loaded question about the weaponization of the government, as if these people don’t realize that we know all about the Biden DOJ and its Arctic Frost and Plasmic Echo operations against Trump, his officials, and the conservative movement writ large." Don Surber claims it's Miller time. "Donald Trump taps the nation’s top conservative to guide America."
From the Center Square, Congress faces crammed lame-duck session with little bipartisan appetite. It's been a long time since Congress had a bipartisan appetite. Jen O'Connell at RedState says Ouch: Mike Johnson Implies the Senate Owns the 'Lame' in Lame-Duck Session. Matt Vespa is not exactly heartbroken to see John Thune's Push to Lead Senate Republicans Again Is Getting Bogged Down. Francis Sempka at Am Spec worries Will Democrats Bring Down Trump as They Did Nixon? "As Congress prepares to confront the president, the lessons of Watergate and Iran-Contra offer a warning about the dangers of partisan warfare during international crises." PJM's Matt Margolis has hopes, Has the Democrats’ Revenge Plot Already Hit a Wall? News Wax, Centrist Democrats Warn Against Party Overreach. From Da Caller, Bureaucrats Are Trying To ‘Subvert’ The Trump Administration, Former Adviser Alleges.
Sundance adds EU/Ukraine Put U.S. Military Protection at Forefront of Security Guarantees During Ceasefire Discussions and cites REUTERS – EU Assessment Concludes Russia Tricked Europe into Importing Migrants to Burn Down Paris. Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger, "Ah, yes. A crack “covert Russian network” came to the same conclusion as everyone with half a brain. And now @Reuters is helping @vonderleyen smear anyone who recognizes reality and rejects EU/Reuters propaganda 2016 is calling and wants its psyop back." Quote Reuters @Reuters, "Exclusive: A covert Russian network sought to exploit last month's riots in France by using social media to blame the unrest on uncontrolled immigration and portray the government as having lost control, according to an internal EU assessment seen by Reuters." From the Free Bacon, Trump Admin Boots Lebanese Diplomat Over Posts Praising Hezbollah's 1983 Marine Barracks Suicide Bombing. "Ibrahim Charara called the attack ‘heroic resistance’ against ‘American military occupation’ in posts first reported by Free Beacon."
Captain Eli @TheCaptainEli, "SpaceX did something on November 4 that most companies building AI infrastructure never bother to do. It sent its own people into an elementary school auditorium in Cochise, Arizona, put the numbers on the table and took questions from a packed room. Riley Trettel, who leads energy and supercomputer development at SpaceX, said it plainly: "SpaceX is the owner, and with approval, will be the builder and the owner of the project long term." Then he laid out what the county gets. Up to 40% off residential power bills for Sulphur Springs co-op members for the life of the project. $3.6 billion in new power lines paid by SpaceX and handed to the co-op, which takes on no debt. $30 to $100 million a year in new property tax, with a 20% cut in everyone else's county property taxes. Enough one-time sales tax to pay off the county jail bond. Dry cooling, so the whole campus uses about as much water as 20 to 30 homes. No gas turbines on site. Up to $50 billion invested and about 1,000 permanent jobs...." unusual_whales @unusual_whales, "Bloomington, Indiana, has banned artificial superintelligence. The city council voted 7–0 to bar superintelligent AI within city limits, including through apps and browsers. Violators face fines and possible prosecution. Lifting the ban would take approval from more than 95% of registered voters." Readers added context they thought people might want to know "Bloomington's ordinance bans only hypothetical future superintelligent AI systems that vastly exceed human cognition across nearly all domains with recursive self-improvement and autonomy, not current AI technologies." Open Source Intel @Osint613, "Israel's Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Askal, head of the PMO's National AI Directorate: "We are on the threshold of a different sovereign reality. Within a few years, national infrastructure will run on artificial intelligence. Whoever controls it will control the switch of nations.""
New Jersey's notorious "Tan Mom" claims federal immigration agents nearly slapped her in handcuffs after questioning her American citizenship, allegedly because of the famously deep tan that made her a tabloid sensation.
Patricia Krentcil recounted the bizarre encounter during an appearance on the "Light. Tan. Up." podcast alongside actor Tom Arnold, claiming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stopped her as she left a restaurant with girlfriends.
"As we're walking out, the ICE people stopped me, and they asked me, 'Am I an American citizen?'" Krentcil recalled. "And I'm like, 'Yes.' You know, like it blew my mind."
