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According to an annual winter dredge survey by marine officials released Thursday, the number of spawning-age female crabs dropped below the minimum safe level of 70 million and are in a depleted state. While the number of juvenile crabs increased and last year's harvest remained at a safe level for the sixth consecutive year, officials say the total number of crabs remains comparatively low at about 297 million.
"This is disappointing news," Virginia Marine Resources Commissioner John Bull said in a news release. "We are now faced with two challenges: Conserving adult females ... and conserving this new generation of crabs in order to increase their chances of reproducing in even larger numbers next year."
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If I'm not mistaken , Virginia is allowed to dredge for females and have ruined the sponges that they hold , millions of egg mass.
ReplyDeleteAnother political game with the Natural Resource.
This report is pure hogwash. Female crabs are fertilized in the upper Bay then they move to the lower Bay where the fertilized eggs become attached to the underbody of the female. It looks like and is called the sponge. They are very easy to recognize. Catch a "sponge crab" and you are basically preventing the female from hatching her eggs. Virginia has historically harvested these because that is basically what is plentifull in their part of the Bay. Reading this report and you don't even see "sponge" mentioned but money and politics rules.
ReplyDeletefat boys was selling them by the half bushel last week.
ReplyDeleteCatching the sponges and rock-fish eating the little crabs!
ReplyDelete