Md. plans stricter crab regulations

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources proposed this week recreational and commercial blue crab harvest rules for the 2009 season. 

The proposed regulations would require all recreational crabbers to register for a free license from DNR online or at one of DNR's seven service centers across the state, including a Southern Maryland center in Prince Frederick on Hallowing Lane.

Recreational crabbers next year would also continue to be prohibited from harvesting any female crabs, except soft crabs, as established in 2008.

The rules would include waterfront property owners, who are allowed to place two crab pots off their property or pier, as well as anyone "chicken-necking" from a pier who could previously keep up to two dozen crabs a day without a license.

"Any resident, anyone visiting Maryland wishing to take even a single crab out of the bay, we're asking them to register with us," said DNR spokeswoman Olivia Campbell.

Based on phone surveys and other research, Campbell said the state believes about 8 percent of crabs harvested are from recreational crabbers. But to effectively manage the fishery, she said, "We need to know how many crabs are being taken out of the bay," and the best way to figure that out is to get a better grasp on the number of recreational crabbers.

"We need more precise, annual baywide recreational blue crab harvest information in order to better manage this fishery," Tom O'Connell, Maryland Fisheries Service director, said in a statement. "By requiring that all recreational crabbers are either licensed or registered, we can increase the accuracy of our survey and more reliably obtain the information our biologists need."

State officials hope that the stiffer regulations will help rebuild the struggling blue crab population in the bay. The goal is to reduce female crab harvests by 34 percent to ensure that no more than 46 percent of the entire blue crab population is harvested annually from the Chesapeake Bay.

The proposed regulations for the 2009 Chesapeake Bay commercial blue crab fishery include daily bushel limits for mature female hard crabs and seasonal closures similar to those imposed during this year's season.

The proposed regulations close the commercial season for harvesting mature female hard crabs during three periods: from June 1 through June 15, Sept. 26 through Oct. 4, and Nov. 11 to Dec. 15.

Also, any waterman holding a limited commercial crabbing license who did not harvest crabs between 2004 and 2008 will be designated inactive until the blue crab population recovers.

The female daily catch limits for commercial crabbers will be set based on the April results of the winter dredge survey and will be based on a waterman's license type.

If results from the 2009 blue crab winter dredge survey indicate a significant improvement in the bay's blue crab population, DNR may consider increasing commercial bushel limits and season dates. However, if the survey indicates a continued decline in the population, further harvest restrictions would be necessary.

In September the U.S. Department of Commerce supported a request made by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) for a disaster declaration for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab.

The declaration made Maryland's watermen eligible for emergency disaster funding. Congress approved $10 million in an emergency funding bill in November to provide alternative economic opportunities for watermen and the processing industry while state regulators work with the industry to rebuild stocks and restructure the fishery.

These federal funds are in addition to the $3 million in capital funds set aside by the state of Maryland to pay for restoration work.

Watermen were hired by the state this fall to help supplement any income that may have been lost by the stricter regulations put in place earlier this year. They worked to clear silt off of 1,000 acres of oyster bars in Tangier Sound and the Patuxent and Severn rivers in order to prepare them for a natural spat set and/or hatchery seed planting.

"This work really helped keep us in business and boost the local economy," said Calvert County Waterman's Association President Tommy Zinn, who led crews working in the Patuxent River this week.

"This is a good program that's helping the heart of crabbers. The work that we are doing will hopefully help strengthen the industry down the road by improving our local oyster bars."

There are currently estimated to be 120 million reproducing-age blue crabs in the Chesapeake. That's 70 percent lower than 1990 levels and well below the conservation target of 200 million crabs.

jyeatman@somdnews.com