It is good news for the watermen who have been economically hurt by the commercial fishery failure in the soft shell and peeler blue crab fishery in Chesapeake Bay. NOAA’s Fisheries Service pointed out that the states of Maryland and Virginia will each be eligible for up to $10 million to assist these watermen. Blue crabs are harvested in three stages of their life cycle – as hard shell crabs; peeler crabs, just prior to molting; and soft shell crabs, immediately after molting.
Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, informed that watermen and their families have been hard hit by a 41 percent decline in the soft shell and peeler crab fishery since the late 1990s. He also informed that the governors would like to use federal aid to restore important blue crab habitat and to create more diverse economic opportunities for watermen, possibly in aquaculture.
Balsiger explained that it is good to use some aid to employ crab fishermen to retrieve lost or abandoned crab pots that continue to capture fish and crabs, doing long-term damage to the fishery. It is told that the states will now submit plans to NOAA’s Fisheries Service outlining how the funds will be used.
