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Bay group urges more protection for crabs CLEANING THE BAY

EPA, state governments need to do more to cut Bay pollution to protect imperiled blue crab

Date published: 12/30/2008

By RUSTY DENNEN

The Environmental Protection Agency and Chesapeake Bay states need to do more to cut pollution to protect critically low blue crab stocks.

That's one of the key recommendations in a report on the crustacean's plight released yesterday by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Noting that the U.S. Department of Commerce has declared the crab fishery an economic disaster, CBF President William C. Baker said, "It is now well past time for the [EPA] to do its job.

"They should bring forward a plan to enforce the Clean Water Act and reduce Bay pollution to levels that will restore water quality," he added.

Baker was referring to a mandate by the agency to remove the Bay from its dirty waters list by 2010--a deadline that will not be met.

The report, "Bad Water and the Decline of Blue Crabs in the Chesapeake Bay," says pollution and over-harvesting threaten the viability of a resource and industry that, until now, has sustained generations of watermen.

Crabbing has historically been a thriving business on the lower Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, but has declined in recent years.

The Bay's blue crab population plummeted from an estimated 791 million in 1990 to about 260 million in 2007, according to the report. Last year's harvest was the worst since record-keeping began in 1945.

Preliminary indications are that 2008 harvest was down even more in Virginia, but official numbers are not yet available.

Researchers found that dead zones kill an estimated 75,000 tons of bottom-dwelling clams and worms each year--enough to feed 60 million crabs annually.

Dead zones are created during summer months when nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus flow into the Bay, creating algae blooms. The algae then die off, consuming oxygen in the water, creating vast areas where marine life cannot survive.

Those dead zones also damage underwater grass beds which provide key nursery areas for crabs and fish.

According to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, crabbing jobs fell 40 percent between 1998 and 2006, the latest year for which economic data are available. The institute estimates that the impact on restaurants, crab processors and wholesalers cost Virginia and Maryland about $640 million during the period.

While the number of crabs declines, the report says, unsustainable harvest efforts continue.

"For the last 10 years, management policies have allowed more crabs to be harvested than science dictates," said Bill Goldsborough, CBF senior fisheries scientist. "However, even with the current better management, we still need to reduce pollution if we want to see a healthy, robust crab population."

Earlier this year, Maryland and Virginia moved to further restrict crab harvests to prevent a collapse of the industry. The harvest of female crabs from October through April was banned, and female crabs can no longer be dredged from the southern end of the Bay.

Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says federal and state governments could improve Bay water quality by: Creating an enforceable cap on pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Enforcing clean-water rules and regulations already on the books and creating new ones. Shifting water-quality program funds to projects with the biggest potential to reduce pollution. Including Bay water-quality programs in any forthcoming economic-stimulus package. Expanding incentives to reduce pollution through tax credits and funds for innovative approaches. ON THE NET For more on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, cbf.org

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Date published: 12/30/2008

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