No reprieve on crabbing restrictions
Maryland natural resources officials declined to grant an appeal from watermen to lift for two weeks the ban on catching female crabs.
The ban, which took effect last week, has drastically reduced the catch of watermen, especially those in Tangier Sound, who earn a significant portion of their annual income harvesting the annual fall migration of mostly female crabs to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where they spend the winter.
Watermen on the lower Eastern Shore asked for a two-week reprieve, arguing that they have few alternative means of earning a living. DNR Secretary John Griffin, who met with them last Friday in Cambridge, said he'd consider the request, but decided Monday on "staying the course."
Griffin said state biologists couldn't justify easing the just-imposed ban on catching females if the state hoped to achieve a 34 percent reduction in the harvest of females this year. Sharp cutbacks on the commercial harvest of females were imposed this year in Maryland and Virginia in a bid to rebuild what scientists said was a badly depleted population of female crabs mature enough to spawn.
Griffin said state officials "empathize" with watermen facing a lean winter, and DNR has offered $3 million in economic relief to watermen and crabmeat processing businesses affected by the cutback. Watermen have been urged to apply by Friday for work next month rebuilding oyster reefs, with other jobs planned early next year on pilot oyster aquaculture projects. Maryland and Virginia also are seeking $15 million each in federal disaster relief for affected crabbers.
In Virginia, meanwhile, watermen will not be able to catch female crabs after Tuesday. A lawsuit challenging the legal authority of the Virginia Marine Resource Commission to halt the state's winter fishery dredging female crabs has yet to be heard, officials say.
in crabs
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I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
Comments
My opinion !!! to many stupid scientist maybe we should have limits on the amount of bull crap they spit out. Or better yet put a limit on how many enviromental scientist we have. Iv'e got a better idea, let's take 40% of there income away and see how they feel!!!! Maybe the Gov of Md should give back his income,since he's the one who thinks he's gonna save us all !!!! . Oh by the way i am a child of a proud waterman !!!!!!
Posted by: Missy Evans | October 31, 2008 6:28 PM
I grew up in millers island and moved to Florida 18 years ago. The reason I moved was because my father was a waterman and the amount of money he was making was not enough. I always thought the reason they were not making money was they were taking females without any thought about the population. Also at that time the dredging was going on. That did not help either but the fact that the waterman still after almost 20 years still don't understand that if you leave the females alone the population will increase amazes me. I think you should think about no crabbing for a year or two and see what happens. We ship truckloads of crabs to your area every year and have no shortages.
Posted by: JFRAZ | November 2, 2008 5:05 PM