Virginia regulators have placed a ban on dredging blue crabs during the winter months.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission approved the ban on Tuesday in an effort to help rebuild the Chesapeake Bay's crab population.
The century-old winter harvest involves the dragging of steel-toothed dredges that scoop up hibernating crabs. It primarily targets female crabs.
Scientists say that ending the winter dredge fishery has helped improve crab stocks the past few years
The ban was instituted over the objection of commercial crabbers and others in the seafood industry. They contend there are plenty of crabs in the bay and that limiting when crabs can be caught damages the local and state economies.
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I have never understood the logic behind dredging the females in the first place. Glad the ban is continuing. I guess I'm old enough to remember when the females were thrown back and only males of a certain size were eaten.
ReplyDeleteThere are watermen out there who would catch the last crab in the bay, if they could.
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