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Division recommends protecting mature female blue crabs; fishermen and advisory committees urge caution
Summary
Division staff recommended a protective option for blue crab that would prohibit harvesting mature females January–May and set a 10-bushel mature-female limit June–December, estimated to reduce harvest 21.7% and rebuild the stock; advisory committees and many industry commenters urged more data and expressed concern about economic impacts.
The Division of Marine Fisheries presented a new set of adaptive-management options for the state blue crab fishery and recommended measures aimed at protecting mature female crabs, which staff said are vital to recruitment and spawning.
McLean Seward, one of the division’s blue-crab leads, told the Marine Fisheries Commission the division’s preliminary recommendation — described as option 8A — would prohibit harvest of mature females from January through May and implement a 10-bushel mature-female limit from June through December. “To rebuild spawner abundance and promote recruitment, the division’s preliminary recommendation focuses on implementing protective measures for mature female crabs during biologically important times of the year,” Seward said.
Why it matters: division analysts said independent trawl surveys and commercial landings show long-term declines in recruitment and spawning females since about 2016. The division concluded the 2023 stock-assessment update could not be used to set harvest reductions because peer reviewers identified model issues; nevertheless, staff said multiple independent data sources point toward declines that justify precautionary action.
The numeric case: the division estimated option 8A would reduce harvest by about 21.7%, which staff project would rebuild the spawning stock to target with a nearly 100% probability of success. The benchmark assessment used in management projections showed smaller required reductions earlier, but staff said recent data and declining indices make stronger measures plausible.
Industry response and advisory committees: public commenters and advisory committee members said economic impacts and regional inequities must be weighed. Several commercial crabbers and committee members argued declines in landings reflect fewer participants and market problems rather than fewer crabs in the water. “If you follow the graphs, participation and trips went down and landings followed,” one commercial fisherman said at the table, arguing closures and bushel limits would be more damaging than helpful.
Advisory committees recommended delaying final action and provided mixed advice: committees largely urged the commission to remain status quo through the immediate adaptive-management window and requested more time for discussion. The division said it would re-evaluate its preliminary recommendation after the advisory committee input and come back with updated recommendations to the commission at a future meeting.
Next steps: division staff told commissioners they will prioritize updating the blue crab stock assessment and continue refining management options; staff said they will return to the commission with updated recommendations and timelines. Commissioners did not take final action at the meeting.
The commission will consider any division recommendation after further data review and additional public outreach on how measures could be implemented and enforced.
