Crabbers get their say on freezing licenses

More than 150 crabbers filed into a Severna Park fire hall yesterday to weigh in on the state's plans to reduce the number of inactive watermen.

About 4,000 people are licensed to catch crabs professionally but don't regularly go crabbing - a number that makes natural resources officials nervous. They're concerned that if the crab population rebounds, those crabbers might return to the water in large numbers, undermining management efforts.

Late last year, state Department of Natural Resources officials proposed freezing the licenses of about 1,000 inactive crabbers who hold a type of commercial license that allows...