Maryland, My Maryland

 Yes, sea level is rising, gently, and women and illegal aliens hurt worst according to this very pretty (but extremely deceptive) article in the Guardian, In Maryland, female migrant laborers face an uncertain future as sea levels rise – photo essay "For the women who pick and prepare Maryland’s famous crab, the once profitable work is far more uncertain – and the climate crisis has had a damaging impact."

For more than 20 years, Malagón has been coming to work in crab processing plants on Hoopers Island, one of the many island communities in the Chesapeake Bay.

Hoopers Island, a chain of small islands linked by causeways, has been the center of the state’s seafood industry since the early 1900s. Due to its low-lying nature, the region has faced erosion and destructive storms over the years.

But rising sea levels are increasing the frequency of flooding, creating uncertainty for the village’s watermen and their families, who have long depended on the seafood industry for their livelihoods. The situation is especially worrying for female migrants such as Malagón, who have limited job prospects back home in Mexico and wonder how long they will be able to work on the island.

Historically, a cadre of largely black women living on the Eastern Shore picked crab. However, in recent years (meaning the last 20 or so), the black women have been largely replaced by illegal immigrants who come to the region for crab season, and leave when it is over. What happened to the black women who used to pick the crab? Well, in particular cases it's anybody's guess, but in a general sense, rising welfare payments (along with the aspects of welfare that discourage marriage) has probably encouraged them to move elsewhere, Hoopers Island not having an exactly riveting night life. I suspect many have moved to Baltimore and PG County in search of better paying, and less messy jobs.

There's certainly no evidence that rising sea level has had any effect on the crab population or fishery in Maryland. I would also take the opportunity to point out that the sea level rise in the Chesapeake Bay region is a relatively modest and constant 3 mm per year (and much of that is natural, and man made subsidence, and not the result of glacial ice melt). Yes, at those rates, low lying islands like Hoopers experience continued erosion, and flooding, particularly in developed areas, which unlike the ubiquitous salt marsh, in unable to build upward.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Super Extra Double-Scoop Post-Tax Day Leather Edition and FMJRA 2.0: Home For Tax Day up for your digital amusement at The Other McCain.