Water Characteristics

     We are going to teach you about water characteristics!  One important water characteristic of the Northeast is the bays and harbors. A harbor is a place where boats can dock.  A bay is a place where the water cuts deeply into the land.  The Chesapeake Bay is 200 miles long from north to south. It's also the largest bay on the Atlantic Coast. Fishing is very important for a fishing industry in the Northeast!  It is also used for transporting goods and trading.  Vermont is the only Northeast state that can't reach the Atlantic Coast easily.  The Great Lakes are important because they make transportation of goods easier and are good for fishing.The St. Lawrence River is very important. It makes it possible for barges and ships to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.  The Seaway helps many things to be shipped to many places.  Shipping products by large boats is cheaper than other kinds of transportation.   

Fishing

   These are some facts about fishing in the Northeast. Whatever fish you want to catch depends on the season. December through March they are fishing for striped bass. In warm weather they are fishing for clams and crabs. In the fall oyster season begins. Half of our nations lobsters come from the coast of Maine. In Maryland they catch twenty-three million tons of blue crab a year. Aquaculture is very popular in the Northeast.  Aquaculture is when people raise fish on a farm in a building or on a large farm.  Then they ship them to restaurants and stores.  Maryland has two hundred aquaculture farms. Oysters, scallops, catfish, and trout, are raised on these farms.  In Maine the main aquaculture crop is salmon. Chesapeake bay is a very important body of water for fishing in the Northeast. Watermen is what they call people who fish for a living. Delaware Bay and Massachusetts Bay are two more bays in the Northeast. There are many other bays and harbors in the Northeast.      By: Mya and Wyatt :)