[SEMCO] "Striper Wars" Author to speak in Wellfleet

[Melissa Lowe]

For Immediate Release:									Contacts:
August 29, 2006			     Melissa Lowe (Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary): 508
349-2615
				       Sarah Gallo (CC Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Assoc.): 508-945-2432


“Striper Wars” Author Dick Russell to Tell True Fish Story

South Wellfleet, MA – A true “fish story”, the book Striper Wars is Dick
Russell's inspiring account of the people and events responsible for the
successful preservation of one of America's favorite fish—the striped
bass—and of what has happened since. Hear about this tale when author Dick
Russell presents on Thursday, September 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Wellfleet Bay
Wildlife Sanctuary in South Wellfleet. The program is FREE and is
co-sponsored by the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association and
Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

When populations of striped bass began plummeting in the early 1980s, author
and fisherman Dick Russell was there to lead an Atlantic coast conservation
campaign that resulted in one of the most remarkable wildlife comebacks in
the history of fisheries. This popular sport and game fish has battled
overfishing by commercial fishing interests, threats to its marine habitat
including pollution and development, and a chronic bacterial disease that
has struck more than seventy percent of the striped bass population in the
primary spawning waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Yet the population of striped
bass has rebounded through management and the constant vigilance by
concerned citizens. Many lessons have been learned from the success of
stripers and Russell emphasizes the need for a whole new ecosystem-based
approach to conserving species.

Join Dick Russell for this special presentation and hear about the struggle
to save the striper. Copies of Striper Wars will also be available for
purchase and signing by the author. While the program is free, registration
is required. For more information or to register please call the Wellfleet
Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615.

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The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the west side of Route 6,
immediately north of the Eastham/Wellfleet town line. Call (508) 349-2615
for information.

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Melissa Lowe
Education Coordinator

Massachusetts Audubon Society
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236, South Wellfleet, MA 02663
508-349-2615 (phone), 508-349-2632 (fax)
mlowe at massaudubon.org

"Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts"
www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay