Crab manager fired

[Big Mike]

I saw that Governor Hogan removed the DNR crab manager after he had a meeting with waterman. Apparently they want to harvest crabs less than 5" and she had been resistant. Unclear if he approves of the smaller size or just removed her for other reasons. I certainly hope that this doesn't influence how the fisheries managers establish size limits and quotas for rockfish and other species for both commercial and recreational fisherman.

[ronaultmtd]

Elections have consequences - coal mining wastes can now be dumped into our rivers...

[Steve6902]

Elections have consequences - coal mining wastes can now be dumped into our rivers...

I'm sorry but you are going to have to explain that comment. I have not heard nor read that anywhere.

[dasher]

I'm sorry but you are going to have to explain that comment. I have not heard nor read that anywhere.

i believe he is referring to trump and essentially the gutting of EPA

[Steve6902]

i believe he is referring to trump and essentially the gutting of EPA

I have not read anything about President Trump, for it is President, gutting the EPA. I have read where if they are going to issue a new regulation then they need get rid of 2 old outdated and overlapping regulations. That was across the board for ALL departments. What's wrong with that??

[Big Mike]

Hopefully we can get back on topic, which is the potential influence of waterman on fisheries decisions. The forum has been very good about being agnostic on politics and we should keep it that way. The only left right discussions should be reel handle preference

[Mark]

Hopefully we can get back on topic, which is the potential influence of waterman on fisheries decisions. The forum has been very good about being agnostic on politics and we should keep it that way. The only left right discussions should be reel handle preference

Plus one on that!

[ronaultmtd]

Yeah, you're right - sorry about the hijack- wrong forum

[DanMarino]

Wasn't Hogan in place well before Trump became president?
Don't get the connection.
I agree that I hope the fishery regs don't change for the worse.

[yakscientist]

I have not read anything about President Trump, for it is President, gutting the EPA. I have read where if they are going to issue a new regulation then they need get rid of 2 old outdated and overlapping regulations. That was across the board for ALL departments. What's wrong with that??

Sent you a pm about the coal mining rule repeal. The EPA issue is a separate matter, and I agree with the others on this forum, politics and snaggedline should remain parallel, on the forum at least.

[silasvirus82]

Between the crabs and oysters it's seems Hogan wants an open free for all. It's a shame to see these poor decisions being made for a profit.

[Steve6902]

Here is a link, http://www.bayjournal.com/article/ma...plain_to_hogan

It seems they want the 5" rule to go away. Just food for thought, why can't we "farm" crabs like we do fish??

[yakscientist]

Between the crabs and oysters it's seems Hogan wants an open free for all. It's a shame to see these poor decisions being made for a profit.

Fisheries are such a vicious cycle. First a resource is fished out, so there's tighter regs put in place, then there's a slight rebound, and IMMEDIATELY the fisherman want to go back to looser regs. Fisherman fought the catch-share management approach implemented on the west coast tooth and nail, saying it would cost jobs, money, time, etc. However, since it's been implemented, market price is up, which hurts the consumer a bit, but it means better livelihoods for fisherman, and a more sustainable fishery. I'm sure people fought the moratorium tooth and nail as well, and now they probably take for granted actually catching their limit of rockfish daily. I know a charter fisherman who didn't catch a rockfish for the first 7 years he ran his boat, he caught blues and croaker mostly. Tighter regs might suck for a couple years, but if it means long term sustainability, so be it. If Hogan really wanted to make a difference, he'd up the penalties for poaching, across the board. I bet people lobby for those to remain relatively lax as well. Best thing to do is obey all the rules, and always report those that don't.

[yakscientist]

Fisheries are such a vicious cycle. First a resource is fished out, so there's tighter regs put in place, then there's a slight rebound, and IMMEDIATELY the fisherman want to go back to looser regs. Fisherman fought the catch-share management approach implemented on the west coast tooth and nail, saying it would cost jobs, money, time, etc. However, since it's been implemented, market price is up, which hurts the consumer a bit, but it means better livelihoods for fisherman, and a more sustainable fishery. I'm sure people fought the moratorium tooth and nail as well, and now they probably take for granted actually catching their limit of rockfish daily. I know a charter fisherman who didn't catch a rockfish for the first 7 years he ran his boat, he caught blues and croaker mostly. Tighter regs might suck for a couple years, but if it means long term sustainability, so be it. If Hogan really wanted to make a difference, he'd up the penalties for poaching, across the board. I bet people lobby for those to remain relatively lax as well. Best thing to do is obey all the rules, and always report those that don't.

I got too political. I'm sorry. I just finished washing and waxing 2 cars and I'm tired. I'm excusing myself from this thread, at least until tomorrow.

[Crotalus]

I don't even understand how this is a political issue. This is exactly why science is important. The concerns of special interest groups should be listened to, without a doubt, but management and regulation should be based on hard data, not emotion. If the waterman want the size limit reduced, population models should be run to determine if it would be sustainable in the long term, otherwise it would hurt the very people arguing for the change.