• Local Produce
  • Buy Local
  • Local Seafood
  • Local Food
  • Local Music
  • Local Art
  • Local Churches

CAPE CHARLES MIRROR

Reflections on Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore

  • Local Services
  • Local Rentals
  • Local Employment
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
  • Pets
  • Contact Us
  • Rant and Rave
  • Asses&Villains

Ways to help Blue Crab Population

June 12, 2022 by 4 Comments

Results from the annual Baywide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey showed that the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay hit a record low, marking the lowest count in more than three decades of tracking. The survey comes up with an estimate of the blue crab population, and this year tallied 227 million crabs, the “lowest abundance observed since the survey began in 1990,” said the authors of the count. Officials saythe survey by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is key to knowing how to manage the number of blue crabs that can be harvested each year by commercial and recreational fishing operations.

“It provides the guardrails of how we manage the crab harvest,” said Michael Luisi, acting director of Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating.

But, how can we reverse this?

Local waterman Scott Wivell has some ideas, “change the red drum slot size to 16-30″… get rid of the maximum size limit for blue catfish… reduced bushel limits in the spring to allow our spawning age females to shed their eggs but enact a trigger that raises that limit back up if the winter dredge survey show a certain abundance… get rid of the sanctuary in the bay or reduce it down in size because all it does is force crabbers up into our estuaries… and instead create sanctuaries up our estuaries to allow these juvenile crabs to shed off and harden up… eliminate agents or make them medical transfer only… put a pause on crab license transfers and make it so you must hold a license for 5 years before you can transfer it.”

Officials at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which helped with the survey, said in a statement that adult female crabs are “the key to conservation.” Each female can spawn an average of 3 million eggs per brood and in one year can average up to three broods. Female crabs observed in the survey are predicted to spawn in late May to midsummer, so that contributes to next year’s juvenile population, officials said.

Filed Under: Bottom, News

Comments

  1. Jay Sherin says

    June 14, 2022 at 12:50 pm

    Sounds like some sound ideas. Are there enough functioning brains to implement some or all of them?

    Question, how is the red rum slot size a significant factor in how to gain a significant increase in the crab population?

    Reply
  2. Will says

    June 16, 2022 at 10:08 pm

    They eat their weight in crab a day and rock fish …. that is how

    Reply
    • Jay Sherin says

      June 19, 2022 at 12:06 pm

      My point is, how is a slot size that is different than the current regulation going to change the population of the crabs, not that they aren’t crab eaters.

      Reply
  3. Chicken Little says

    June 28, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    Eat more Chicken…

    The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscribe to the Mirror

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,392 other subscribers

Join the Conversation!

Send letters, opinion, goings on or photos to capecharlesmirror@gmail.com

Mirrors

Recent Comments

  • Greg Parks on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Stuart Bell on Kiggans Votes to Empower Parents, Children in the Classroom
  • KT on Cape Charles will start towing away boats and big Rec vehicles on May 1st
  • D. Luther on Details on the Kings Creek Dredging Project
  • Rosezina on Kiggans Votes to Empower Parents, Children in the Classroom
  • Stuart Bell on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Hims Din Do Nuffins on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Stuart Bell on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Paul Plante on Asses&Villains: Buddy Bailout Edition
  • Paul Plante on Asses&Villains: Buddy Bailout Edition
  • Paul Plante on One Act Play Festival March 24-26
  • Paul Plante on Biden depletes Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  • Paul Plante on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Paul Plante on Asses&Villains: Buddy Bailout Edition
  • David Boyd on Details on the Kings Creek Dredging Project
  • Paul Plante on Asses&Villains: Buddy Bailout Edition
  • Yo Daddy on The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Paul Plante on One Act Play Festival March 24-26
  • Paul Plante on Details on the Kings Creek Dredging Project
  • Chuck on Cape Charles will start towing away boats and big Rec vehicles on May 1st

Trending Now

  • The Town Cannot Amend the Annexation Agreement
  • Kiptopeke Studio Apartments Now Open
  • Re-visiting Cape Charles Assets
  • Maryland takes aim at Invasive Fish Species
  • Kiggans Votes to Empower Parents, Children in the Classroom
  • The Rich Continue to Destroy the Working Class
  • Bay Creek offers New Home Plan Book
  • Details on the Kings Creek Dredging Project
  • VDOT Begins Sweeping Mason Ave March 27
  • Cape Charles will start towing away boats and big Rec vehicles on May 1st

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...