NO WINTER DREDGE IN VIRGINIA THIS WINTER

[Harford Crabber]

Earlier this year I heard Virginia was going to start dredging the crabs that are overwintering in the mud at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay this winter like they used to do up until 2008.

The following was seen on a board that non-members do not see.  It is such good news that I hope nobody 
minds that it is posted here.  If it's already been posted I apologize. But anyone that missed it might be as happy to hear this news as I was!
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VMRC closed the fishery in 2008 as part of a bay-wide effort to reduce the blue crab harvest by 34%. That ban on the crab dredge fishery amounted to half of Virginia's required reduction in catch.

Virginia Watermen's Association president and Virginia Crab Management Advisory Committee (CMAC) member James "J. C." Hudgins recommended CMAC request VMRC staff to come up with guidelines for an experimental crab dredge fishery with a limit of "eight to ten boats." The CMAC board voted 10-4 in June in favor of sending the matter to VMRC for consideration.

VMRC is under a court order to consider the reopening of the fishery every year.

On the CMAC proposal, VMRC voted 5-4 later in June to repeal a 16-year ban on winter dredging for blue crabs and to reopen the fishery with a 1.5 million-pound harvest cap.

After a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 28, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 6-1 to close the winter dredge season for blue crabs for the 2024/2025 season.  

[Wallco99]

This is what government gets you. No one has a clue what they're doing. And these a ssholes get paid for it.

[Harford Crabber]

On the CMAC proposal, VMRC voted 5-4 later in June to repeal a 16-year ban on winter dredging for blue crabs and to reopen the fishery with a 1.5 million-pound harvest cap. That's about 30,000 bushels of crab, mostly gravid females! Probably billions of future crabs.   And the bounty? Not sure what they'd sell for but at $100 a bushel that would be $3,000,000.00. To be divided between 10 waterman? Not a bad winter gig!!

After a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 28, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted 6-1 to close the winter dredge season for blue crabs for the 2024/2025 season.


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Looks to me like if nobody (the public) had spoken up, the dredging was a done deal.  VMRC was scratching the backs of a handful of waterman. 

BUT... The PEOPLE did speak and VMRC had to go along with them or would have had to live with a lot of heat!!

This is a simple case of how democracy is supposed to work.   Government doing what the majority of people want.

[Wallco99]

Fortunately, there are NO crabs in Virginia anyway.

[Crabslayer]

Fortunately, there are NO crabs in Virginia anyway.

They're vacationing in Italy!