Chesapeake watermen fear blue crab not coming back

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press Writer

Published 07/16/08

RIDGE, Md. — Chesapeake Bay crabber Paul Kellam has advice for the teenage boys who help tend his traps every summer: You better have a backup plan.

Jacquelyn Martin — Associated Press Randy Plummer, left, sorts crabs with Joey Garcia near Ridge, Md. on June 23. Plummer, 19, hopes to work as a waterman, but is doubtful about the future viability of crabbing.

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It's an anxious summer for watermen harvesting the Chesapeake's best-loved seafood, the blue crab. The way some see it, the crabbing business here isn't just dying. It's already dead.

Crabs have thrived in the bottom muck of the Chesapeake and its tributaries even as centuries of overfishing harmed oysters, fish and other species in the nation's largest estuary. Now blue crabs are in trouble, too, and when they go, a way of life is sure to go with...

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Hydraulic Dredgeing Bad. - 2008-07-25 14:31:12

I have talked to many waterman who say hydraulic dredgeing is good for the seaweed. They do this clam and oyster. Same as tilling the ground for those who may not know. Obviously this kills all the seagrass where the crabs live. Yea I think some waterman need to be taught conservation techniques. Some just don't care. It's a free for all. Who ever gets the most wins. This takes county and state taxes to impliment laws and enforce them. My point is ban hydraulic dredgeing and ban females. Yes they do reproduce up to 7 times. Enforce the laws and help the waterman get into other bussinesses like teaching or the Riverkeeper job. Retrain it's the only way. We all have to. Myself. Sincerely

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B. White - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Neutral

Crab Crisis - 2008-07-17 10:27:38

"The bay's blue crab stock is down 70 percent since 1990..." most Watermen have been crabbing for generations - they would have to be really stupid to overfish and knowingly deplete their supply. I don't think they're stupid. As a matter of fact, I think they're probably more respectful of the Bay and its resources than most people. When I was growing up, there were plenty of crabs available - you could buy them at less than $10 a dozen. But you also didn't find a lot of crab meat in containers that are now sold in grocery stores everywhere. That crab meat as stated in previous articles comes from female crabs. Virginia has continually allowed the harvesting of "sponge" crabs (pregnant females) even though Maryland stopped this years ago. How many baby crabs can a female crab spawn? Looks like a lot to me. So would it be safe to say that greedy fisheries and the Virginia government are a big part of the problem? Once they realized they could make a lot of money selling crab meat, I have no doubt these companies increased their product output. I'm sure they make plenty of money selling other types of seafood that are not depleting at such a rate, so who is regulating how much crab meat they sell especially in this crab crisis? Is anyone? Not enough females in the Bay means not enough baby crabs. Look at all the factors involved; stop blaming just the Watermen; and stop the harvesting of female crabs until the Bay can repopulate. They don't allow it in Alaska and there seem to be plenty of crabs there. Duh.

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Susie M. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Waterman are thieves... - 2008-07-16 23:11:56

Waterman are stealing the common assets of Maryland in order to fill their own pockets. They will harvest every last crab in the bay in order to reap a profit. The end result is the waterman have money in the bank and citizens of Maryland won't be able to eat crabs any more. I think that the legislators should tax the harvest so that Marylanders can recoup what has been stolen from them.

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IM Freeman - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Paul Billingsley - Bowie, - 2008-07-16 22:14:53

You must be a politician....

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Liz G. - Pasadena, MD - Karma: Neutral

who to blame? - 2008-07-16 14:42:13

Mr. Courtney states,"You've got a cornfield, 20 acres, you put 80 or 90 houses on it, hook 'em up to sewer pipes, put roads and ditches down. That's what's destroyed the bay. It ain't us. They let development take over and then, that's it, we're done."

What Mr. Courtney doesn't realize is that 20 acres of corn the farmer has been working throughout the years, has been subjected to tilling and exposing the soil to storm events, not controlling run-off from that field, stockpiling unprotected piles of manure for fertilizer, over application of fertilizer, farming right up to the banks of small creeks and streams to maximize production and land use, and not complying with "voluntary" land conservation regulations. The developement community on the other hand has been subject to governmental regulations for erosion and sediment control during construction and storm water management requirements post construction. The developement community has been well regulated throughout the years while the agricultural community has been held to a lower "voluntary" standard.

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Paul Billingsley - Bowie, MD - Karma: Neutral

Sad News! - 2008-07-16 11:44:21

This is very sad ..... just more proof that our bay is sprialing out of control! I have been saying for years that there needs to be a mouritorium on crabbing to give the polpulation time to recover. I love eating crabs, however I rather give up eating them for a while then see them harvested into extintion. There needs to be a grant, and have the watermen help with bay restoration efforts to preserve their way of life! This is a spieces & a way of life, a huge part of our history bing pushed to the brink of extintion here!

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Kristina P. - Easton, MD - Karma: Neutral