Crab license buyback unpopular

500 watermen participate in state's 'reverse auction'

By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer

Published 08/10/09

A state program to buy back watermen's crabbing licenses turned out not to be as popular as officials had hoped.

Maryland officials offered to buy thousands of licenses of part-time crabbers, but only about 500 watermen submitted proposals, said Lynn Fegley, a biologist who is the state's point person on blue crab issues.

That's far short of the 2,000 licenses state officials said they had hoped to buy through the program, which is called a "reverse auction."

The final numbers aren't in yet, as the postmark deadline was July 31, and some paperwork is still trickling in, Fegley said. But she said...

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We get it Joe - 2009-08-11 12:11:05

Joe I think we all understand the plight of the watermen. You want to be able to bring in as many crabs as you can to maximize your profits... and OF COURSE we understand that. But what is going to happen if nothing is done to change the way we are harvesting crab. This icon of Maryland culture and the livelihood of all crab fishermen will continue to diminish until there is nothing left to catch. I think the crab fishermen should be just as interested, if not MORE interested in finding a way to maintain the Chesapeake Crab population.

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Mark M - , - Karma: Neutral

R. Black - 2009-08-10 23:33:33

You must be allergic to shell fish or just a moronic person who doesnt like crabs cause they dont like to get there hands dirty my stepfathers commercial watermans license is the primary source of income to my mother and 5 other siblings taking crabbing away is foolish maybe for recreational crabber but not for people who depend upon that source of income to survive just simply MORONIC think of other people and the effects things could have on marylanders before you try to use that pea size brain to comment on things you see only one-side of things on and no hangs on experience

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joe schmoe - , - Karma: Bad