According to waterman Jody Tull of Marion Station most of them have been setting their pots farther south in Virginia, where the season started March 17. They plan to start working closer to Crisfield by the end of the month as the water warms up. Tull said that it is difficult to predict how the season will turn out but the winter dredge survey usually shows how healthy the crab population is.
While crabbing is still a way of life in Crisfield — dubbed “the seafood capital of the world” in the late 19th century — the industry has declined in the past few decades. Years ago, Eddie Heath used to have a waiting list for crab pots made at his Main Street business, but not anymore. He told that he has seen a 60 percent decline in his business during the past 20 or 30 years.
The local crab industry continues to be affected by regulations adopted last year by DNR and designed to protect the female crab population. Experts informed that the regulations contain a combination of daily bushel limits for mature female hard crabs — based on license type — and periods of closure for harvest of mature females. They said that the biggest change this year is a new requirement for watermen to report their harvests on a monthly basis.
Maryland Natural Resources Police expect crabbing season is a lot more popular than oyster harvesting. They said that there are 5,887 commercial crab licenses in Maryland, more than 10 times the number of commercial oyster licenses. The Maryland crab harvest makes up more than 50 percent of the annual U.S. catch. DNR is also emphasizing enforcement for both recreational and commercial blue crab fishing, Davis said.
