Featured Stories
Trump's EPA Offers Tips, Not Protections, on PFAS-contaminated Sludge
BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 2 -- Conservation Law Foundation issued the following news release:
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Trump's EPA Offers Tips, Not Protections, on PFAS-contaminated Sludge
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Trump's EPA guidance leaves farmers and families to navigate PFAS risks from sewage sludge without enforceable protections. Photo: Brad Tinker/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
July 2, 2026 (BOSTON, MA) - Trump's Environmental Protection Agency releases disappointing draft guidance on how farmers, wastewater plants, and the public can reduce exposure to PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge spread on farmland or sold as fertilizer. The guidance
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 2 -- Conservation Law Foundation issued the following news release:
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Trump's EPA Offers Tips, Not Protections, on PFAS-contaminated Sludge
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Trump's EPA guidance leaves farmers and families to navigate PFAS risks from sewage sludge without enforceable protections. Photo: Brad Tinker/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
July 2, 2026 (BOSTON, MA) - Trump's Environmental Protection Agency releases disappointing draft guidance on how farmers, wastewater plants, and the public can reduce exposure to PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge spread on farmland or sold as fertilizer. The guidanceoffers only voluntary tips and fails to protect families and farmers from two dangerous types of toxic "forever chemicals."
"Trump's EPA is turning a toxic threat into a burden for farming communities and consumers," said Erica Kyzmir-McKeon, director of communities and toxics at CLF. "The EPA's job is to protect people from harm - not hand them weak tips unsupported by science and walk away."
When PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge is spread on land, the chemicals can move into soil, water, crops, livestock, and people. An earlier EPA draft scientific assessment under the Biden administration found that PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge may pose serious health and environmental risks. Instead of building on that science with strong protections, the Trump administration is shifting the burden onto the people the EPA should protect.
The guidance offers only voluntary steps: asking people to research the source of soil products and fertilizer, advising them to avoid using sludge where children may touch the soil, and encouraging - not requiring - wastewater plants to cut PFAS at the source.
"It is outrageous that the EPA is telling families to keep children away from PFAS-contaminated sludge instead of doing its job and removing these toxic chemicals from sludge in the first place," said Kyzmir-McKeon. "Parents should not have to protect children from pollution the federal government should have prevented."
The public will have 60 days to comment on the draft guidance after it is published in the Federal Register, under Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2026-2509. CLF plans to submit comments urging the EPA to do its job and adopt stronger, enforceable protections.
CLF experts are available for comment.
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Original text here: https://www.clf.org/newsroom/trump-epa-pfas-sewage-sludge-guidance/
Southeastern Legal Foundation Files Title IX Complaint Against Pennsylvania School District for Allowing Biological Male to Use Female Restroom
ROSWELL, Georgia, July 2 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation Files Title IX Complaint Against Pennsylvania School District for Allowing Biological Male to Use Female Restroom
Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights, filed a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education (DOE) against the Upper Perkiomen School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on behalf of a Jan Madeira, Pennsylvania mother whose daughter with special
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ROSWELL, Georgia, July 2 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation Files Title IX Complaint Against Pennsylvania School District for Allowing Biological Male to Use Female Restroom
Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights, filed a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education (DOE) against the Upper Perkiomen School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on behalf of a Jan Madeira, Pennsylvania mother whose daughter with specialneeds was forced to choose between using the girls' bathroom with a biological boy or to not use it at all.
The complaint asks the DOE to investigate the school district which enforces unlawful "gender identity" policies that violate Title IX. It follows an egregious instance where Ms. Madeira's special needs daughter was not able to use the girls' bathroom because a biological male who identified as a "furry" and a female was using it. She, along with other girls from her class, reported their discomfort to school officials. Rather than telling the biological boy to use the boys' bathroom, the school allowed him to use the girls' bathroom, forcing the girls to either use the bathroom with him, wait, or use the nurse's bathroom.
And what is worse, this is not an isolated incident. The school district has even recently installed urinals in the girls' restroom. This is an invasion of privacy no female should have to ensure, especially not children. No girl should have to endure the emotional stress and trauma associated with sharing a private space with a biological male.
SLF President Kim Hermann said, "The school should be absolutely ashamed of its actions. No child should be put in this situation, let alone a student with special needs. Insteadokay so of protecting the privacy and dignity of its female students, the district chose to force the girls to wait outside the restroom and then offered to segregate them from their peers rather than enforce sex-separated facilities. That turns Title IX on its head. Schools have a legal obligation to protect every student's rights, not sacrifice the rights of girls to avoid making difficult decisions. Parents across America should be outraged."
Pennsylvania mother Jan Madeira said, "As a mom of seven, I can say with assurance that my children are my life and I will do anything to protect them. That is exactly why I am standing up for my daughter who was put in a situation she should never have faced, and to make matters worse, her own school allowed it to happen. Our school district has created a dangerous environment, where it will choose to protect a biological male's ability to use the girls' bathroom over actual female students safety and comfort. Any parent in my shoes would rightly be outraged."
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Southeastern Legal Foundation is a national, nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending liberty and Rebuilding the American Republic(R). Since 1976, SLF has been going to court for the American people when the government overreaches and violates your constitutional rights.
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Original text here: https://slfliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260701-SLF-Press-Release-re.-Title-IX-PA-Complaint-1.pdf
Royal Society of Edinburgh: Fighting Unhealthy Eating Habits - Investigating the Protective Role of Environment on Juvenile Obesity
EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 2 (TNSxrep) -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news:
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Fighting unhealthy eating habits: Investigating the protective role of environment on juvenile obesity
Dr Fabien Naneix, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Dr Kate Peters, University of Sussex
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Obesity is a major health issue of our times. Exacerbated by the overconsumption of unhealthy foods and excessive food-craving, obesity--and associated diseases such as diabetes--are increasing in our population, particularly among children and teenagers.
Supported by an RSE Small Research
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EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 2 (TNSxrep) -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news:
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Fighting unhealthy eating habits: Investigating the protective role of environment on juvenile obesity
Dr Fabien Naneix, University of Aberdeen, with collaborator Dr Kate Peters, University of Sussex
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Obesity is a major health issue of our times. Exacerbated by the overconsumption of unhealthy foods and excessive food-craving, obesity--and associated diseases such as diabetes--are increasing in our population, particularly among children and teenagers.
Supported by an RSE Small ResearchGrant, neuroscientists Dr Fabien Naneix and Dr Kate Peters, carried out their project, Fighting unhealthy eating habits: The protective role of environment on juvenile obesity to better understand how environmental factors affect the adolescent brain, and whether environmental enrichment can protect the adolescent brain from the harmful effects of high fat, high sugar diets, which can disrupt the development of brain circuits involved in self control and food seeking.
To conduct the research, Dr Naneix and Dr Peters studied mice at the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen. Rodents are good models for developmental studies, including adolescence, because scientists can observe the same changes in the body, physiology, brain, and behaviour as in humans.
The researchers compared mice that had a healthy diet during early life with mice that had access to a bottle of sugar solution (at a concentration similar to that in fizzy drinks), in addition to their standard healthy diet. Once the mice reached adulthood, they examined their behaviour and cognition after they were all back on a healthy diet to assess any long-term effects. The scientists observed food choices or responses to food cues to test the theory that access to an enriched environment--such as physical and sensory stimulation, provided by bigger cages with toys, wheels, and tunnels--can reverse some of the deficits resulting from sugar exposure in adolescence.
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"Environmental enrichment represents a promising, non-pharmacological, translational therapeutic approach to tackling obesity in both humans and animals. In our preliminary study, we worked with mice to observe food-seeking behaviour and to carry out brain tissue analysis to determine how environmental enrichment influences the endocannabinoid system--a key regulator of appetite and reward that undergoes major changes during adolescence. Our findings showed that environmental enrichment at adulthood can reverse motivational deficits observed after exposure to unhealthy diets during adolescence."
- Dr Fabien Naneix
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The researchers explained that work is still ongoing to determine the neurobiological substrates of these alterations and the full impact of environmental enrichment on them. Dr Peters commented that, "This is brand-new research, and as a result, it presented risk because we were not entirely sure we would see a clear result and in which direction it would go. Our findings are on an animal model, so we have to be careful about our interpretation; however, in the future, we would like to link this with clinical and epidemiological studies, which could help shape future public health policies, not only about food recommendations but also about lifestyle and environment."
Speaking about the impact of the RSE award, the academics highlighted the importance of seed grants, which enable initial studies like theirs to test 'risky hypotheses' and gather preliminary data to leverage larger projects
Dr Naneix and Dr Peters have been long-term collaborators since they worked together at the University of Leicester. They said that the RSE grant allowed them to build upon their partnership and establish new links between research groups at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Sussex, where Dr Peters is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow. During the award, Dr Peters visited Aberdeen to share her expertise with Dr Naneix's group, and together they built new networks with the local neuroscience and nutrition research community.
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Dr Naneix said,
"The RSE award gave us the opportunity to bring together our different interests--adolescence, unhealthy diets, the role of environmental enrichment--and explore something totally new. That is the really exciting part of science!"
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Both Dr Naneix and Dr Peters see this project as a first step into this exciting and novel area of neuroscience research. The analysis of brain tissues from their study continues, and they will attend the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies forum in Barcelona this summer to disseminate their findings to colleagues in their field internationally.
The researchers are also developing grant proposals for submission to bodies such as Diabetes UK and UKRI to further their work. They are particularly interested in determining whether environmental enrichment can mitigate the effects of excessive sugar consumption on mental health, brain function, and metabolism.
For more information on this research, please visit: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/fabien.naneix
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Original text here: https://rse.org.uk/fighting-unhealthy-eating-habits-investigating-the-protective-role-of-environment-on-juvenile-obesity/
Reason Foundation Issues Commentary: Webinar - Public Pension Systems Investing in Crypto
LOS ANGELES, California, July 2 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following commentary by Leonard Gilroy, vice president of government reform, and Mariana Trujillo, managing director of government finance:
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Webinar: Public pension systems investing in crypto
A recent Reason Foundation webinar explored how public pension systems should evaluate the risks, rewards and transparency of cryptocurrency investments.
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As digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies become increasingly integrated into financial markets, public pension systems face important questions
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LOS ANGELES, California, July 2 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following commentary by Leonard Gilroy, vice president of government reform, and Mariana Trujillo, managing director of government finance:
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Webinar: Public pension systems investing in crypto
A recent Reason Foundation webinar explored how public pension systems should evaluate the risks, rewards and transparency of cryptocurrency investments.
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As digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies become increasingly integrated into financial markets, public pension systems face important questionsabout whether and how to incorporate them into investment portfolios.
On June 23, a Reason Foundation webinar with leading experts explored how public pension systems should evaluate cryptocurrency investments; how to assess and manage the risk and volatility for public workers, retirees, and taxpayers; and how to provide the public with transparency into these investments.
You can watch the webinar here: https://reasontv-video.s3.amazonaws.com/crypto-and-public-pensions-risks-rewards-and-fiduciary-duties.mp4
The panelists and moderator of this webinar:
Brad Briner
Brad Briner is the treasurer of North Carolina. Before taking office, he served as co-chief investment officer for Willett Advisors, which manages the philanthropic and personal investment assets of Mike Bloomberg. His prior experience includes roles at Morgan Creek Capital, UNC Management Company, ArcLight Capital, and Goldman Sachs. Briner graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar with a degree in economics with distinction and earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
Todd D. Kanaster
Todd D. Kanaster is a director at S&P Global Ratings specializing in municipal pensions and retiree medical benefits. His work includes analyzing issuers, training analysts, and serving as a nationwide specialist on public pension and retiree health care issues within S&P's local government credit analysis. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.
Mariana Trujillo
Mariana Trujillo is managing director of government finance at Reason Foundation. Her research focuses on the fiscal health of federal, state, and local governments, with particular attention to the impact of pension liabilities on government finances and the effect of retirement benefits on public-employee recruitment and retention.
Leonard Gilroy (moderator)
Leonard Gilroy is vice president of government reform at Reason Foundation and senior managing director of Reason's Pension Integrity Project. Under his leadership, the Pension Integrity Project assists policymakers and other stakeholders in designing, analyzing and implementing public sector pension reforms.
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Leonard Gilroy is vice president of government reform at Reason Foundation and senior managing director of Reason's Pension Integrity Project.
Mariana Trujillo is managing director of government finance at Reason Foundation.
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Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/webinar-public-pension-systems-investing-in-crypto/
National Scleroderma Foundation Welcomes New Leaders to Board of Directors
DANVERS, Massachusetts, July 2 -- The National Scleroderma Foundation issued the following news on July 1, 2026:
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Foundation Welcomes New Leaders to Board of Directors
The National Scleroderma Foundation today announced new leadership for its Board of Directors, naming Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick as Chair, alongside a newly appointed slate of executive officers and the addition of three new Board members.
Carol Feghali-Bostwick has been named Chair of the Board of Directors, with Amanda Lippincott serving as Vice Chair, Blake Embree as Treasurer, and Marcia Walker as Secretary. Kevin Boyanowski
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DANVERS, Massachusetts, July 2 -- The National Scleroderma Foundation issued the following news on July 1, 2026:
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Foundation Welcomes New Leaders to Board of Directors
The National Scleroderma Foundation today announced new leadership for its Board of Directors, naming Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick as Chair, alongside a newly appointed slate of executive officers and the addition of three new Board members.
Carol Feghali-Bostwick has been named Chair of the Board of Directors, with Amanda Lippincott serving as Vice Chair, Blake Embree as Treasurer, and Marcia Walker as Secretary. Kevin Boyanowskiwill transition to Immediate Past Chair, continuing to serve on the Executive Committee.
"We are proud to welcome this exceptional group of leaders into their new roles," said Mary Wheatley, CEO of the National Scleroderma Foundation. "Carol brings a deep understanding of scleroderma research and community needs, and will help guide our important work at this pivotal time. Alongside Amanda, Blake, Marcia and Kevin, this leadership team strengthens our ability to advance medical research, promote disease awareness, and provide support and education to people living with scleroderma."
Dr. Bostwick is the SmartState and Kitty Trask Holt Endowed Chair and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina. There, she leads a team of scientists whose goal is to identify novel targets for therapy for scleroderma and other fibrosing conditions. Dr. Feghali-Bostwick is a dedicated mentor, advisor and coach to a cadre of young physician and academic scientists. Carol and her husband Chris have two children and live in Charleston, South Carolina.
Amanda Lippincott was elected to Vice Chair this year. She also serves as a Support Group Facilitator and previously served on the Patient Advisory Board. Amanda became involved with the Foundation in 2022, three years after her diagnosis. As someone living with scleroderma, Amanda deeply understands the challenges and uncertainties faced by patients and their families and is passionate about advocating for others, ensuring every voice in our community is heard and supported. She and her husband Ed live in New Jersey with their young daughter.
Blake Embree continues as Treasurer for the Foundation. He is COO for Strategic Programs and Process Improvement with Wells Fargo and possesses a unique blend of experience in strategic planning, performance improvement, business development and consulting. Blake serves in honor of a family member who is living with scleroderma, and hopes to lend his experience and skills to make a greater impact. He and his wife Jeanna live in Charlotte with their family.
Marcia Walker begins her second term as Secretary. Her expertise in nonprofit governance and philanthropy has been an asset to the Foundation since her early days of volunteer leadership. Marcia and her husband Frank live in Tucson, Arizona with their beloved dogs. Prior to their retirement, they ran an Executive Search firm, partnering with nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the country for more than 30 years.
Kevin Boyanowski rounds out the executive committee, serving as Immediate Past Chair. Kevin has served on the Board since 2018. In addition to his board service, he served as Chair of the Foundation's Strategic Planning Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee. His career focus has been on global trade, corporate strategy, analytics, and operational improvement. Kevin and his wife Mariann have two adult children and one grandchild, and live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In addition to its executive leadership, the Board also welcomes four new board members this summer, including Melinda Black, Brittany Cabuno, Maureen Collins and Meghan Howard.
The new members joining the board will fill vacancies created as other board terms come to an end. Mary Blades, Courtney Caliendo and Peggy Collins will each be rotating off the board after years of service.
Mary Blades is a committed historian and has been a leader in the scleroderma community for more than 25 years.
Courtney Caliendo has been a leader of the Foundation's awareness, advocacy and branding efforts for the last six years.
Peggy Collins has been instrumental in elevating the profile of our thirteen chapters. In addition to chairing the Chapter Leadership Council and our Upper Great Lakes Chapter, Peggy also serves as a Support Group Facilitator.
"The entire community extends its deepest gratitude to those board members whose terms end this summer," Mary Wheatley said. "They have each been beacons for our community, shining a light on the path forward for the scleroderma community."
The Board of Directors plays a critical role in ensuring the Foundation remains an efficient, transparent charitable organization that can continue to advance its mission in service of the scleroderma community. You can learn more about these all members of the board at https://scleroderma.org/board-of-directors/.
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Original text here: https://scleroderma.org/foundation-welcomes-new-leaders-to-board-of-directors/
Foundation for Economic Education Posts Commentary: Bosman Case Made European Football a Free Market
DETROIT, Michigan, July 2 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Claudia Ascensao Nunes, president of Ladies of Liberty Alliance-Portugal:
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When Athletes Are the Commodity
The Bosman case made European football a free market.
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In 1990, Belgian footballer Jean Marc Bosman saw his contract expire and discovered something he did not expect: although he was no longer under contract, RC Liege still controlled his future. He had found a team in France willing to sign him, but Liege demanded a transfer fee the French club could not afford. Bosman had no
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, July 2 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary by Claudia Ascensao Nunes, president of Ladies of Liberty Alliance-Portugal:
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When Athletes Are the Commodity
The Bosman case made European football a free market.
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In 1990, Belgian footballer Jean Marc Bosman saw his contract expire and discovered something he did not expect: although he was no longer under contract, RC Liege still controlled his future. He had found a team in France willing to sign him, but Liege demanded a transfer fee the French club could not afford. Bosman had nocontract, no salary, and no real way out. In practice, he remained tied to the club. His case would go on to change the football market and European sport forever.
Across European football, a transfer system allowed clubs to retain control over players even after their contracts had ended. A player could be prevented from joining a new employer unless a transfer fee was paid, even when no contractual obligation remained. If no club was willing to pay, a player's career could be effectively blocked.
This led to artificially suppressed wages, restricted mobility, and a misallocation of talent. The labor market in football was heavily distorted.
Additional restrictions also existed, such as limits on the number of European Union foreign players in domestic leagues, despite the EU being founded on the principle of free movement of workers. These rules were not created by a single decision maker, but by a set of institutions, UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), national federations, and clubs, whose incentives were aligned: to limit mobility in order to preserve competitive stability and protect established interests.
Bosman challenged this system in court, and in 1995, the European Court of Justice ruled in his favor. Although the case arose in football, the decision applied the principle of free movement of workers to professional sport across the European Union, abolishing transfer fees at the end of contracts and removing EU player quotas.
Mobility increased, and the football market began to function more like a competitive market. Players gained greater bargaining power, and wages were no longer shaped by institutional constraints, but by competition between clubs.
When movement is free, prices tend to reflect true value more accurately. When it is restricted, the market stops acting as a discovery mechanism and becomes a system of control.
Clubs began offering higher wages earlier in order to retain players, leading to a sharp increase in salaries. Between 1995 and 2012, total wage spending in the English Premier League increased by more than 1,000%.
By contrast, in the United States, in major leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, the system does not operate as an open labor market between clubs. It functions as a closed system, with rules that restrict player mobility.
In the NFL, for example, a player only becomes an unrestricted free agent after four years of service. Before that, he is tied to the team that drafted him, meaning the team that was given the right to select him when he entered the league. Even after reaching free agency, mobility can still be limited through mechanisms such as the franchise tag, which allows a team to retain a player for an additional season at a salary determined by league rules rather than open negotiation.
Here, too, as in Europe before Bosman, leagues aim to preserve competitive balance between teams, but at the cost of individual freedom.
The difference between the two models also appears in how players enter the system. In Europe, clubs compete with each other to recruit and develop talent. In the United States, however, the draft assigns players to teams based on previous performance. Athletes do not choose where they begin their careers; entry is administratively allocated.
Smaller European clubs adapted quickly, investing heavily in youth development and selling talent before contracts expire.
This model emerged naturally once restrictions were removed and incentives changed.
With free movement, European football became the most globalized sports market in the world. The English Premier League is broadcast in more than 180 countries, and Europe's top leagues generate tens of billions of euros in revenue each year. The world's best players converge on Europe because that is where the market is most open and competitive.
When individuals are free to choose their employers, talent tends to move to where it is most valued.
Labor markets do not need to be designed to function well. They need to be left unblocked.
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Claudia Ascensao Nunes is a Portuguese writer and political commentator. She is the President of Ladies of Liberty Alliance - Portugal and a columnist featured in both national and international publications. Claudia collaborates with Young Voices and focuses on economic freedom, European policy, and transatlantic cooperation. She has over 20,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), where she shares insights on politics, liberalism, and cultural issues.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/when-athletes-are-the-commodity/
Final Blue Crab Stock Assessment Shows Concerning Long-Term Decline
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, July 2 -- The Chesapeake Bay Foundation posted the following news release:
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Final Blue Crab Stock Assessment Shows Concerning Long-Term Decline
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The long-awaited Chesapeake Bay blue crab stock assessment was officially released in June by the Chesapeake Bay Program. The final report, which looked at over 20 years of blue crab data, provides fisheries managers a better understanding of the Bay's blue crab population.
Unfortunately, the assessment showed a concerning trend. There were roughly 50 percent fewer blue crabs in the Bay in 2023 than there were in 2011.
... Show Full Article
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, July 2 -- The Chesapeake Bay Foundation posted the following news release:
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Final Blue Crab Stock Assessment Shows Concerning Long-Term Decline
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The long-awaited Chesapeake Bay blue crab stock assessment was officially released in June by the Chesapeake Bay Program. The final report, which looked at over 20 years of blue crab data, provides fisheries managers a better understanding of the Bay's blue crab population.
Unfortunately, the assessment showed a concerning trend. There were roughly 50 percent fewer blue crabs in the Bay in 2023 than there were in 2011.Overall, the Bay is experiencing long-term declines in female, male, and juvenile crab populations.
The assessment looked at potential causes for the decline, including blue catfish predation, low-oxygen dead zones, and habitat loss. While no single culprit was determined, it's clear the Bay's most iconic species is under immense stress.
Each year, Maryland and Virginia publish results from their annual winter dredge survey, which estimates blue crab abundance in both states. It's normal to see these results vary from year to year, because blue crabs have a short lifespan of only a few years.
For example, the 2026 survey released earlier this summer showed a slight bump in blue crab abundance. This was just one year after crab numbers hit a record low in 2025. While this year's bump was encouraging, the declining long-term trends are concerning.
To support a strong blue crab population, focus needs to remain on three fronts: preventing pollution (including wastewater, stormwater, and agricultural runoff), restoring important blue crab habitats such as underwater grasses, marshes, and oyster reefs, and tackling the growing threat of blue catfish.
No new harvest limits are expected in the near-term. Maryland and Virginia will take the next year to determine how to incorporate results from the stock assessment into their blue crab fisheries management plans.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Executive Director Chris Moore issued the following statement:
"Blue crabs need our help. And to support a strong blue crab population, we must first support a healthy Bay. That includes reducing pollution, restoring important habitats such as underwater grasses and oyster reefs, and tackling the growing threat of blue catfish.
"Blue crabs are sending us warning signs. The bigger picture trends are bleak, and there's still great uncertainty as to why blue crabs continue to struggle.
"We'll be working with fisheries managers and leaders across the Bay to chart a brighter course for blue crabs. It's not too late to reverse course."
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Original text here: https://www.cbf.org/news/final-blue-crab-stock-assessment-shows-concerning-long-term-decline/
