The crab season is off to a slow and foreboding start around the Chesapeake Bay, with many crabmeat processors crippled by an inability to import seasonal workers and by watermen worried they’ll be unable to sell all they can catch as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. …
Rain has dealt a serious blow to the Chesapeake Bay’s oysters — and to the people who make a living harvesting, cultivating or restoring them. …
Robert T. Brown, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, says the report is positive, but there is reason to be cautious. …
The dredging survey released Monday is the latest sign of a healthy crab population and welcome news for fisherfolk in America’s largest estuary and those who love cracking into bushels of the bay’s iconic crustaceans. Feasts of blue crabs steamed in peppery seasoning or fashioned into succulent crabcakes are a beloved delicacy and one of last viable regional fisheries. …
A decade ago, Maryland politicians rewrote laws that allow True Chesapeake Oyster Co. and other business ventures to use public waterways for private gain — and for the benefit of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem at large. Since then, the number of oysters farmed in Maryland waters has grown more than 20 times over, equaling about one-third the haul of wild oysters watermen dredge up annually. …
© Copyright 2021 | Phoenix Media Network | All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy