Protecting Maryland’s Blue Crabs

I say, “Maryland.”

You say, “Crabs.”

Few things dial up an instant connection to our home state like a pile of steamed crabs, hot to the touch and dusted with Old Bay, spread across a table covered with brown paper. Surrounded by friends and family with the Orioles game providing the soundtrack—you could be somewhere else, but why would you want to be?

We often take for granted our next bushel of crabs and the one after that, just as our parents and grandparents did.

We shouldn’t. Harsh winter weather, coastal currents and natural predators can threaten the health of the blue crab population. To be sure, conditions can change as quickly as the striped bass bite in early fall. Good crab harvest years, such as 2012, are sometimes followed by poor seasons marked by scarcity and high prices.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police have launched a campaign – Don’t Get Pinched – to target crabbers who don’t play by the rules. The enforcement effort is being embraced by our partners at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, as we stand together to protect and manage these resources using the best available science.

NRP’s game plan follows the one established last year to protect another Bay keystone species – oysters. Surveillance, undercover operations, night vision equipment, saturation patrols and the Maritime Law Enforcement Information Network (MLEIN) are all being employed. Officers will be on the lookout for undersized crabs, overharvesting, recreational crabbers keeping female crabs, and crab pots that are not registered.

Rest assured we are not looking to ruin anyone’s outing or dinner plans. We are working to ensure the health of our fishery, the livelihoods of honest, law-abiding watermen and the enjoyment of our citizens.

Despite harvest being within the safe range for the last six years, the 2014 spawning age female crab abundance was just below the minimum safe level and the last two juvenile population surveys were not as robust as we would have liked. With this, awareness and enforcement efforts such as Don’t Get Pinchedare necessary now more than ever.

The signature species of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries will keep its treasured place in our heritage only if we protect it. So, enjoy Maryland’s delicious blue crab and the rest of your summer… but don’t get pinched.

Joe Gill, Secretary
Maryland Department of Natural Resources