Maryland moved Monday to reduce the commercial harvest of female blue crabs in the aftermath of a survey finding that the Chesapeake Bay's crab population hit a five-year low last winter.Remember, we reported on the decrease in crab numbers previously. At the time, the state seemed to be pointing to increased predation by fish, in particular Redfish (also known as Red Drum or Channel Bass), usually relatively rare in Maryland but abundant in 2012, for the decline.
The Department of Natural Resources announced that it was lowering the daily allowable catch of female crabs, effective Thursday. The move comes nearly a month after Maryland and Virginia officials announced the results of their annual winter dredge survey, which found that the bay's crab population had declined by nearly two-thirds over the previous year, to around 300 million, with juvenile crabs plummeting 80 percent.
The usual suspects were quick to denounce the move to preserve the fishery for the future...
Leaders of the state's commercial fishing groups voiced displeasure with the cutbacks, saying they didn't understand why catch limits had to be reduced so much. "We all want a sustainable fishery," said Gibby Dean, president of the Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fishermen's Association. "It's just very complicated."
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