Virginia officials voted on Tuesday to, essentially, close the door on a winter dredge fishery for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay for the 2024-2025 season.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted on Sept. 24 to advertise a public hearing next month to close the 2024-2025 crab dredge fishery and extend the crab pot season.
The commission can’t then vote on something that is not advertised and discussed during a public hearing, so last night’s vote was effectively one to not allow dredge fishing in the bay this winter. The way the VMRC operates would not allow it to schedule and hold another vote, after this one, in time to approve a winter fishery for the 2024-2025 season, a spokesperson said.
Chris Moore, Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a member of the commonwealth’s crab management advisory committee, said he was “delighted” by the vote. He said it was a “significant step” toward a better future for the Chesapeake.
“This decision allows the scientific stock assessment of the many factors affecting the blue crab population to proceed without significant changes occurring in the fishery at the same time, paving the way for sound evidence-based management decisions of this essential species in the future,” Moore said in a statement.
The reversal should come as welcome news to Maryland officials who criticized Virginia’s decision over the summer to lift a years-old prohibition on winter dredging in the Chesapeake.
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Winter crab dredging primarily targets females, according to the state of Maryland. That leads to population concerns. Dredging involves scraping the bottom of the bay to harvest crabs that are semi-dormant. Blue crab numbers were down slightly this year, according to the latest survey results.
Virginia officials did not entirely reverse course, though. This vote only closes the fishery for the 2024-2025 winter season, and the commission could vote to allow a winter dredge fishery to operate in future seasons.
