THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 1, 1995 TAG: 9509010492
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Maryland announced emergency limits Thursday on catching blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, but Virginia did not follow suit, saying conservation measures adopted last fall appear to be sufficient for now.
Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop did not rule out refining crabbing rules in the lower half of the Bay, however, if new scientific data recommends such action.
That data will be released Sept. 21 in Richmond at a joint meeting of Virginia and Maryland officials studying an ominous 34 percent decline in crab stocks in the Bay over the past five years.
At a news conference in Annapolis, Gov. Parris N. Glendening said he was shortening the harvest season for commercial and recreational crabbers by 45 days, ending Nov. 15 instead of Dec. 31. The move, he said, would reduce the annual catch by about 20 percent.
In addition, Glendening said Maryland would eliminate crabbing one day a week for the whole season next year and cut another 15 days from the 1996 season. The goal is to reduce the taking of female crabs by 40 to 45 percent.
While applauding Thursday's announcement, Joseph H. Maroon, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Virginia, expressed concern that without complementary action in the lower Bay, female crabs saved in Maryland would simply be caught once they swim south to Virginia.
``Then, obviously, you haven't done anything for a species that really is Bay-wide,'' Maroon said. ``So we're hoping both states will work together on this.''
Maryland and Virginia have long blamed each other for taking too many crabs, especially females. Maryland has argued that Virginia should ban the capture of egg-bearing females, called sponge crabs, which are mostly gathered with bottom-scraping dredges in the winter.
Virginia, meanwhile, has countered that Maryland should curtail its huge harvest of females during the fall, when crabs are migrating through the upper Bay.
But with mounting evidence that the Bay is experiencing a steady, systemwide drop of one of its most treasured and renowned seafood sources, the two states have tried to better cooperate research and policy-making.
Both passed conservation packages last year. In Virginia, measures included crab sanctuaries, gear limits and a cap on the number of traps each work boat can haul. But the Virginia Marine Resources Commission stopped short of a ban on sponge crabs, as conservationists had hoped would be passed.
Both states undertook comprehensive studies of the crab population decline this summer, and the federal government has assisted in one of the most detailed surveys in history. Results are expected soon.
Few argue that crabs are declining, a fact that has caused the price of crabs to skyrocket at the market. At Bubba's Marina in Virginia Beach, for example, the going rate for a bushel of large male crabs is between $45 and $90. Last year, during another stressed season, a bushel cost about $35.
``I've never seen prices higher than this, ever,'' said Connie Barbour, manager of the tackle shop at Bubba's.
The debate has instead been over the severity of the population slide. Crab stocks have fluctuated for decades, sometimes without reason or explanation. But conservationists are convinced that this latest downturn is a consistent, long-term decline related to overfishing and poor management. Stocks have fallen by 61 percent in the past two decades, they say.
But Jack Travelstead, director of fisheries in Virginia, said that new, preliminary data shows that while stocks are indeed low, they are ``not beyond replenishing themselves, and certainly not to the point of collapse.''
``We feel the regulations in place are doing the job,'' he said. ``But as we've said all along, we'll wait for all the scientific evidence to come in before we rule anything out. Everything's still on the table.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
What Maryland did yesterday to protect crabs in Chesapeake Bay:
Beginning Sept. 15, recreational and commercial crabbing will be
prohibited on Wednesdays and Sundays.
The 1995 crabbing season will be reduced by 45 days, ending Nov.
15.
Next year, the crabbing season will be shortened by 15 more days,
ending Oct. 31.
Next year, crabbing will be prohibited one day a week.
What Virginia did last fall to protect crabs:
Established two no-crabbing sanctuaries, on Eastern Shore and
Hampton Roads.
Limited the size of dredges that harvest winter crabs.
Required two cull rings, or escape hatches, in crab pots
Set a shorter season for hard crab and peelers pots, from April 2
through Nov. 30.
Set a 400-pot limit per boat and maximum of two peeler-pot
fishermen per boat.
by CNB