Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994 TAG: 9406260072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Crab prices, which are a good indicator of the health of the harvest, have come down recently. Large crabs are selling for between $80 and $100 a bushel. In the last two weeks, some vendors slashed their large crab prices by as much as $30 a bushel.
Crabs are normally less plentiful early in the summer but this year was even worse than usual, probably because of a cold winter and below-normal bay water temperatures, say watermen and state officials.
Crabber George Klein said he lost up to $200 a day in the past few months because he couldn't catch enough crabs to pay for bait and fuel and the wages of his workers.
But things began looking up last week.
"They're starting to pick up the last couple days," said Klein, 37, of Chesapeake Beach, Md. "Monday was the first day I made a profit this season. We went from catching 4 or 5 bushels to 14."
Crab harvests in Maryland have been irregular in recent years. The catch fell to 31 million pounds in 1992 and rebounded last year to 57 million pounds, the most since 1985.
"There are crabs out there, and we expect it to be a somewhat normal season for crabbing," said W. Peter Jensen, director of the fishery division at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "We expect between 40 to 55 million pounds this season."
Jensen blamed the season's slow start on cold bay water that kept crabs burrowed on the bay's floor, where they resisted the temptation to chase the fish and oysters that crabbers use to bait their traps.
Some environmentalists contend the small harvests might be an indication of over-harvesting. William Goldsborough, a fishery specialist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, warned, "The blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay is over-exploited."
But waterman Bob Evans, 40, who crabs near the West River, south of Annapolis, remains optimistic, insisting fears of a catastrophic harvest are premature.
There's been an influx of baby crabs, which could lead to a bountiful catch later this season and next year, he and state officials said.
"We've seen millions of these small crabs - more than normal," Evans said.
by CNB