Honestly, are you serious?

This may take the cake as the most idiotic thing to ever come out of the Sun paper.

Dan,

The way I see it, the poison from farms and land projects edging the Bay and Creeks has been killing unwanted grass and insects on the grounds of those same sites for years, and those same pestisides ultimately run into the water and kill the grass etc. that houses the ecosystem the crabs, oysters, els and other bay organisms thrive on. Have you ever looked to conect the high increase in Cancer patients in the state of Maryland versus those not boardering the Chesapeake and possibly seen the conection to what we Marylanders have been eating out of the Bay( it is killing us too, not just crabs). Look closer at the root of the Crab shortage, look to where the dredging has been done over the years by DNR, and look yet again at the money that backs pestiside companies and pharmaceutical companies that have a big hand in what is being dumped into the Cheasapeake, and "not dumped".

Dan,
Your comment about watermen belly-aching seems a little glib. This is these folks livelihood after all. While I understand the need for a moratorium so as not to completely deplete the bay's resources, the practical effect on watermen is pretty rough. Imagine if the state gov't were to say 'We're putting a moratorium on newspaper column writing for the next year' and left you without a paycheck. I don't know if you'd appreciate someone telling you to go plant some trees instead.

DR: As long as I was compensated fairly for the tree planting, I'd be fine with it. In fact, more of us newsprint wretches should plant more trees. (By the way, I don't see the comparison between writing a newspaper column and scraping female blue crabs from their winter habitat.)

Drew from Greektown,

Do you have a better idea on how to prevent stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake?

Hm, Dan, this new "deal" you are proposing. I think we should take all the out of work crabbers and have them build our bridges and roads. Maybe take our public resources and get all of our unemployed, particularly those who we force out of a market on overregulation, to work public service jobs funded by the government! Yes, I like the sound of this! Maybe a Tennessee Valley Authority....yes...a New Deal...

This is pretty offensive, Dan. Why not put a moratorium on farming for a year and make the farmers plant trees? Or a moratorium on development and make all of the developers plant trees? Or, dare I say, a moratorium on newspapers because of the waste and pollution they generate both in their production and recycling, and the landfill space they take up when not recycled? We are ALL killing the bay, and blaming the watermen is passing the buck. Sure, a Civilian Conservation Corps could improve a lot of America's ailments, but putting the burden on the watermen isn't getting us anywhere.

DR: Lighten up, pal. The idea is to give watermen work while they take a year off from crabbing. What's offensive?
Waterman aren't polluting; I didn't say they were. They just need to give the crabs a break. I've written this in my column several times over the last few years: We should try a moratorium.

A moratorium sounds like a great idea to actually save the crabbing industry. As long as they have a job that fairly compensates them. I would gladly plant trees for a year and get paid the same as I do now.