Md., Va. to cut female crab harvest by one-third

Virginia and Maryland will cut their female blue crab harvests a third this year to protect the hallmark seafood of the Chesapeake Bay .

[triump75]

I just don't get it. I don't eat as many crabs as I would like but I never see females when I order. Who's eating them.

[omalleys a lying joke]

his concern is minimal female crabs only lay eggs once in their life , i hate to say it but crabbing has to stop all together for a time for them to grow back and peoples livly hoods what r they going to do when they r no more crabs and people of maryland dont believe omalleys bullshit he doesnt care

[jht]

When will the watermen get it? charters for rockfishing are stronger than ever, goose hunting has returned to the Shore. Where is their sense of responsibility and conservation? Instead, many of them are slapped on the wrist for using gill nets to catch illlegal rock, and shoot over limits. There should NEVER be a harvest of any female crabs. If consumers refused to buy them, and stop offering "shecrab" soup in restaurants, maybe then the watermen would get it. Their behavior is as irresponsible as letting chicken farmers allowing their manure to pollute the tributaries leading to the bay. And just as shortsighted. the politicians should do what's right for the bay now, and not listen to the whiney voices of those who dress like bums when they protest in Annapolis, and then get in brand new pick ups as they return home.

[Tom - Middle River]

This is great but it is only the tip of what needs to be done to save this soon-to-be mud hole. All home fertilizer and pesticides for your lawn are deadly to all crustations! Why is it still legal for any Tom, Dick, and Hairy to poison the bay so they can impress the neighbors!! When will we stop fining large companies so little for violations that they choose to pay fines every year instead of upgrading equipment or putting anti pollutions equipment in place? I would not do it either; if it is cheaper to pay the fines!!! Why are we still harvesting oysters when there are less then one percent left in the bay compared to when the pilgrims arrived? Yes, I said less then one percent! The oyster is the natural reef system for the Chesapeake and its filter system where the crabs live. Everything in the bay depends on the oyster for survival and none of the so-called successes stories that we have now will last with out them. Did you know that a Chesapeake bay Oyster should be 18-22” long at maturity. If you don’t save the Bay (the whole Bay)– You won’t save the Crabs!

[ejn]

I like the idea of putting the watermen to work doing state projects like oyster stocking. good move. I do wonder if the watermen who were against the idea have been out too long in the hot sun. Idiot rednecks. Do they want to see the complete destruction of Bay crabs? However, I still think the states didn't go far enough in reducing female crab hauls. Make them completely illegal. Makes things easier to enforce and is sensible management.

[ejn]

triump75 wrote:

I just don't get it. I don't eat as many crabs as I would like but I never see females when I order. Who's eating them.

Look more closely, most crab places sell them. It is usually the cheaper ones on the menu. However, if you are in B-more like me, those crabs you buy aren't Maryland crabs. Most crabs you get in the city come from South America.

[Bill Reamy]

I feel sorry for the watermen, but "harvesting" (sounds more like wheat than crabs) female crabs, especially pregnant crabs hiding in the mud, cannot be a smart or good thing. It's about time the two states woke up at the same time.

[Kathy Wright]

This won't be nearly enough protection for the crab. Last year it was the non-commercial crabbers that cleaned out the northern rivers like the Elk and Bohemia. Rarely was DNR around to check that the catch was the legal size or bushel limit. Do these government clowns think that DNR will be able to check if females are taken? They should have eliminated the non-commercial license this year-at least that's easily noticed at a distance and easier to enforce. And not effecting anyone's livelihood.

[relocateus]

Time to just ban crabbing for several years. Buy out of state crabs and be happy.
Maybe they need to ban the pesticides and fertilizer as well.

[Shaneymike]

ejn wrote:

I like the idea of putting the watermen to work doing state projects like oyster stocking. good move. I do wonder if the watermen who were against the idea have been out too long in the hot sun. Idiot rednecks. Do they want to see the complete destruction of Bay crabs? However, I still think the states didn't go far enough in reducing female crab hauls. Make them completely illegal. Makes things easier to enforce and is sensible management.

Of course they don't want to see the complete destruction of Bay crabs. That's their livelihood, you idiot.