The sad saga of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab

[Mr. Breeze]

Has anyone seen this?  Good read.

https://www.bayjournal.com/opinion/forum/the-sad-saga-of-the-chesapeake-bay-blue-crab/article_93a2ae70-4413-11ed-a986-4f3e961247c8.html

[Redbone]

Another "the sky is falling " article by some liberal politician who is mad because he didn't catch any crabs in his two pots

[U812OHNO]

I'll bet he forgot to bait those two pots       He is right though, shouldn't keep sponge crabs.


"Recreational crabbing, which accounts for only 4% of the annual take, has already been cut in half, so here are my suggestions for the commercial harvest: 

Enforce both long-standing and new regulations.
Stop importation into Maryland of sponge crabs. Maryland bans their harvest, so why support crabbers who harvest them in Virginia?
Stop licensed Maryland crabbers from taking sponge crabs in Virginia as a condition of their licenses. This is a growing threat to crab populations.
Stop harvesting of sponge crabs in Virginia (as Maryland has done for decades) for at least three years, pending recovery, or at least reduce sponge crab harvest by 50%.
Adopt stricter daily bushel limits for males for the entire crabbing season and greatly decrease the bushel limits for females. This should be done to allow more harvest on weekends and holidays, when demand spikes, and less on other days. Bushel limits are simply the best way to enforce regulations.
Close the fishery two days a week.
Greatly reduce the number of crab pots permitted in Maryland, as Virginia has done.
Shorten the crabbing season at both ends.
Adopt a quota system for each commercial crabber, as with rockfish.
Adopt a harvester compensation fund to aid commercial crabbers based on average catch reported over the last 3 years, as was done during the rockfish moratorium in Maryland."

[Mr. Ray III]

We've all seen articles like this...seems like there is a new one every other year.  What can be said that hasn't been said a million times already?  We can all make suggestions and offer our opinions but at the end of the day its all just talk.  I've given up hoping for a positive change in the industry, there isn't one solution that will work, it must be a collaberative effort from A LOT of different areas, all of which have their excuses: lack of funding, lack of organization from governments and groups, mismanagement, different states don't give a [dang], and politicians.  Sorry to be so negative but lets be real - pollution will never get under control, it will get worse.  Recreational crabbers will probably never be fully accounted for (I refuse to believe that 4% number).  Commercial guys will keep taking the brunt of the responsibility until they are forced out of the industry, or it is shut down.  Its a sorry situation we are in. 

[jack1747]

Stop importation into Maryland of sponge crabs. Maryland bans their harvest, so why support crabbers who harvest them in Virginia?
Stop licensed Maryland crabbers from taking sponge crabs in Virginia as a condition of their licenses. This is a growing threat to crab populations.
Stop harvesting of sponge crabs in Virginia (as Maryland has done for decades) for at least three years, pending recovery, or at least reduce sponge crab harvest by 50%.

In VA. From March 17 through June 15, you can only keep bright orange sponge crabs (1-5 above). All brown to black sponge crabs must be returned to the water (6-15 above).

From June 16 through March 16, you can keep any sponge crabs [ 4VAC20-370-20 ].

Why? Bright orange crabs are less likely to survive if thrown back. The darker crabs will release their eggs sooner than the lighter crabs (the color darkens as the eggs develop), so they're hardier. Many people choose to return all sponge crabs to the water as a conservation measure.

[Mikie]

Very well presented Ray, very eloquent.

[Crabslayer]

Save the crabs catch more Rockfish!