Maryland Marine Notes: September-December 2000 Sidebar - The Role of the Recreational Crabber

Volume 18, Numbers 5-6 • September-December 2000

The Role of the Recreational Crabber

How many of us have scooped up crabs with a dip net or even set a pot or two to catch enough for a mid-summer backyard crab feast? Whether we run trotlines, pull pots or dangle chicken necks, all of us who take crabs from the Chesapeake are harvesters in our own right.

The effects of these often small and casual harvests remain largely unknown. Neither Maryland nor Virginia nor the Potomac River Fisheries Commission has a very good handle on just how many crabs recreational crabbers take from the Bay, or whether their impact is significant when it comes to protecting the health of the crab stock.

According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, we do know that in 1999 some 29,000 Marylanders purchased a recreational crab license. This allows recreational crabbers to use 1,200 feet of trotline, or to set 30 pots to catch crabs for their own consumption. Some watermen have expressed concern over whether or not particularly active recreational crabbers may be taking more than they can eat - perhaps even selling some of their catch.

According to resource economist Doug Lipton, "Being able to catch crabs at the end of your dock or down at a community beach has been a traditional birthright for people living in Bay country. And there really has been no way to record or capture this part of the fishery."

Many watermen and others have pointed out that if the commercial fishery faces tighter restrictions, then recreational crabbers will need to "share the pain" as well. Terry Conway, representing Handy's Seafood, but also speaking for a growing consortium of crab processors, has called for a recreational crabbing license, and better tracking of the recreational catch.

Fisheries scientist Tom Miller and several colleagues now have a grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to conduct a preliminary study on the potential effect of recreational crabbing. To track the project's progress, go to his web site at: www.cbl.umces.edu/~miller/recreati.htm.

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