The slow start of the blue crab season in Maryland is mainly due to low demand but it seems that the catch will get better as it goes. But it is said that even if the catch improves as the weather warms, economic conditions are likely to slow sales. Seafood sellers opined that the sales are down 20 percent because many people consider pricey crabs and crabmeat as luxury items.
They fear that it is mainly due to bad economic conditions and expect that if the economy doesn’t get better, we’ll see this trend continue throughout the season. The local crab industry is also affected by new regulations. The Department of Natural Resources has adopted the new regulations that are designed to protect the female crab population. Although the regulations are similar to emergency measures put in place for the 2008 season, this year’s regulations have a three-week extension in October, which will allow Somerset County watermen to harvest female crabs, also known as sooks, during the fall migration from north to south.
It is told that DNR also plans to hold a series of open houses this month to address unused blue crab licenses that are held, but not used, and fishermen that are fishing below licensed capacity. In December, DNR proposed regulations for the blue crab fishery that included a proposal to freeze all Limited Crab Harvester commercial licenses that had not reported any crab harvest from 2004-2008.
