Nearly 100 watermen attended a meeting in Annapolis last night to hear state officials' proposals for restricting Maryland's blue crab harvest in hopes of protecting the increasingly struggling crustacean.
The options on the table include bushel limits for crabs, restrictions on the soft-crab fishery and a maximum size limit on females.
Lynn Fegley, the Department of Natural Resources' blue crab expert, said the department is hoping to have a draft proposal ready in two weeks and will introduce the regulations in mid-April. The department is also considering restrictions on recreational crabbers.
"We're really doing this because we believe this could be the Chesapeake Bay's greatest fishery," Fegley said. "We would like to give it back to you. In a way, we feel we have failed you."
Last night's meeting came after several months of dire news about the Chesapeake Bay's blue crab population.
The recent winter dredge survey, which counts crabs burrowed in the mud during cold months, found the second-lowest number of juvenile crabs in the bay since the state began counting in 1989. The survey is regarded as one of the most accurate predictors of the coming season, as the juvenile crabs will be full-grown a few months later.
This month, state scientists announced that last year's blue crab harvest was the second-lowest in three decades. Watermen caught only 22 million pounds of crabs last year, and many got out of the business because they couldn't make much money. Scientists say the small harvest makes clear the bay's crab population has fallen sharply.
Maryland officials have been talking to regulators in Virginia about working together to impose more restrictions to boost the population. Most of the catch in Virginia is female; most of Maryland's catch is male. Virginia also allows the harvesting of pregnant females, known as sponges, while Maryland bans the practice.
This week, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which regulates commercial crabbing in that state, voted to impose several restrictions. Virginia regulators raised the minimum size limit for soft crabs and capped the number of watermen who can dredge for crabs in the winter at 55 licensees. Maryland doesn't have a winter dredge fishery.
Seven years ago, the crab harvest in both states dipped to the lowest level in decades, prompting both states to take action. Maryland limited the watermen's workweek while Virginia expanded its sanctuaries. Scientists say the restrictions helped to stabilize the population, but did not result in the hoped-for rebound.
rona.kobell@baltsun.com