New Crab restrictions out this week. Rumor has it

[Charlie1]

Mandatory 2 days off. And cutting the season short one month.
If this is true I know allot of guys going to cash it in !!!! The crabbing industry will never be the same. So get rid of those TFL's and LCC's you won't be able to give them away in a year or two!!

[rdbeard]

If thats true,i hope they cut the rec's down to 3 days off. i still would not give up my comm. lic it's not about the$. SS

[tattoo]

guess we will all have to wait and see it in writting.

[ChrisS]

....I do not think that will have any effect of the sale of crab licenses. Another day off will just drive up demand, heck they can cut it 4 days if they'd like....just mans any crabs caught will go even faster as the boat comes to port.

[mike2u]

Curious about where he heard that... Have neard nothing from the meeting and DNR... Probably someone just trying to start something...

[tattoo]

isn't that most of the time the case, 

[rivercrab]

Curious about where he heard that... Have neard nothing from the meeting and DNR... Probably someone just trying to start something...

That was the proposal for VA..Not MD

[madcrabber1113]

What if any are they proposing for MD?

[tattoo]

Does it really matter, we can't DO NOTHING ABOUT IT , BUT MONE AND COMPLAINE.

[southswell]

As a rec, I am more than willing to cut the days back as well as catch limits. I just love to be on the h20 and crab. [Sam Hill], I can keep a bushel of the biggest crabs and gladly throw the rest back. We shall see. L8ER

[madcrabber1113]

Does it really matter, we can't DO NOTHING ABOUT IT , BUT MONE AND COMPLAINE.

Yea I want to know so I don't do something that was legal and now isn't.

[tattoo]

you are ok. 

[Summertop]

Does it really matter, we can't DO NOTHING ABOUT IT , BUT MONE AND COMPLAINE.

Sure it matters, you can contact your local legislator and express to him/her your opinion on the subject...  Oh wait... NJ...   You have no say!!      So you are correct, YOU can't do squat about it, but the people of my state can, and should be heard.

[crabbygramps]

I crab three states... Do I get three "says" 11

[Pinchy]

If that's true, I hope they cut the rec's down to 3 days off. i still would not give up my comm. lic it's not about the$. SS

Please explain exactly why you think that the natural resources of the Chesapeake "belong" to commercial fishermen, and not equally to the taxpaying, license-buying public at-large.

[rdbeard]

Pinchy,please don't assume. first the resourses belong to everyone in the state werethe resourses are.I think that recs. crabbing 5-6 days a week must be selling so restricting 3 days,say mon. thru wen. would slow it down. Ithink everyone knows there's a problom, but no one wants to take the hit. On the comm. side i think there are way to many sooks taken in the late fall when prices are down anyway. we also may want to consider pulling back on out of state lic , both comm. and recs. i really don't know what the ansewer is but if somthing don't change soon and each side can't work it out there won'tbe enough crab to make money on or to sit around and enjoy on the week ends. SS

[rdbeard]

  PS when charlie 1 posted i believe he was just baiting.sorry for taking the bait  SS

[jack1747]

i really don't know what the ansewer is

I do!  Nobody but water front property owners can use the bay. 

[Crab A Lot]

   Come on we all know there is a problem with the crab population for the last couple years,restriction will have to be put on commercial and rec crabbers, catch limits,less traps,pot,trotline


I don't have the answers to the problem but you sure know there is one

[ILLSWIMHOME]

Crab farm?

[crabbygramps]

 And I thought this was finally going to be the one time everyone makes a consorted effort to do their part.. Give and take etc. etc. is the only way to help us, the crabs, and the bay!!!

[Pinchy]

I think that recs. crabbing 5-6 days a week must be selling so restricting 3 days,say mon. thru wen. would slow it down.

If recs are indeed selling, that is already illegal and should be dealt with on its own terms. Blanket restriction days hurts everyone. Don't buy the "overharvesting of sooks" argument because each female lays so many eggs over-and-above the number of individuals that could potentially survive that it is not the ecologically limiting factor. Why not restrict recs to a weekly bag limit of, say, three bushels? It would be difficult to enforce, but it seems to me that three bushels per person per week is more than enough even for fanatics. With this limit, each rec could still find a convenient day on which to crab, could still enjoy one-two bushels per boat, but it would put the greedy hoarders and illegal sellers out of business.

[wildturkey101]

Crab farm?

Sure, let's get a Gov't grant and spend some time raising and releasing crabs, lots of them. Will it help??? After the millions of dollars spent on think tanks and research, this might be well spent money, ours!

This was done once, why didn't it continue?

[jack1747]

Your not going to hear anything until the VMRC meets 2/26/08. 

[joecrabbr]

Pinchy,please don't assume. first the resourses belong to everyone in the state werethe resourses are.I think that recs. crabbing 5-6 days a week must be selling so restricting 3 days,say mon. thru wen. would slow it down. Ithink everyone knows there's a problom, but no one wants to take the hit. On the comm. side i think there are way to many sooks taken in the late fall when prices are down anyway. we also may want to consider pulling back on out of state lic , both comm. and recs. i really don't know what the ansewer is but if somthing don't change soon and each side can't work it out there won'tbe enough crab to make money on or to sit around and enjoy on the week ends. SS

Please name me one person on this board that crabs 5- 6 days a week....... i guess the one day a week that guy works pays for all  of the cost associated with crabbing.Oh ...you said they were selling them.... well i guess the rec guy crabbing supposedly knows where the crabs are an you dont... cause you say hes too blame.... maybe you ,yourself need to follow that guy around an find out how to crab since hes catching them all.I have no problem taking a day off, but i dont think thats the answer. I think they should raise the size to 6", stop the taking of sooks period. Another thing is the licenses... you say pull back on out of state licenses?  yeah now the out of state crabbers commercial an rec are too blame... cmon bro thats pretty lame..... Oh yeah, they catch all the crabs that you cant an they sell them.... again the way you come off is that you, yourself are 100% entitled to the bays resources, an others shouldnt be allowed or should have heavy restrictions....but not YOU. i have no problem with commercial guys, i respect what they do.... i just cant stand stupid comments like everyones to blame other then YOU...Lemme ask you this , whats the difference with a rec going crabbing 5 days a week if he could afford it.. regardless of how much he caught whether it be a dozen or a bushel each day, or him buying your crabs every day.... NOTHING, hes entitled to the crabs just as much as you... you just feel he should buy them from you right..... WRONG... thats why we buy boats, licenses, gear....this post isnt intended towards any group... rec or comm... just red beard  i await your response rdbeard