Blue Crab Blues
Andy Thompson
April 14, 2008 7:20 AM
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission sent out a press release last Friday announcing that Governor Kaine and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will attend a joint briefing tomorrow (April 15) in Colonial Beach, Va. on the health of the Chesapeake blue crab. The briefing will be held at the Potomac River Fisheries Commission at 3 p.m.
This is seriously scary stuff for crab lovers and people who make their living harvesting the critters. The press release stated:
The session will include a presentation from Maryland and Virginia fishery regulators on the current state of the Bay’s blue crab population and their collaborative, science-driven recommendations for significant harvest restrictions necessary to revive the species. Biological data show the crab population has plummeted by 70 percent since the early 1990s and remains at serious risk of collapse if harvest levels are not reduced quickly and decisively. The 2007 harvest of blue crabs from both Virginia and Maryland waters was at near record-low levels – slightly more than 19 million pounds in Virginia and just under 22 million pounds in Maryland. “This is a serious warning sign that our blue crab fishery is in peril. To not act would be irresponsible,’’ said Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Preston Bryant. “It is imperative that the governors get this information firsthand as we work in partnership to revive this iconic and economically important species.”
Here’s T-D reporter Lawrence Latane’s article about the meeting. It has some good background.
It will be interesting to see what kind of restrictions are placed on future blue crab harvests and what the economic impact will be. Stay tuned.
Humans and catfish make strange bedfellows
Andy Thompson
April 12, 2008 11:38 AM
You’ve got to see this picture of a British angler who hauled in a 200-pound catfish on the Ebro River in Spain. The thing is huge.
Waiting ‘til Wednesday for beach-access settlement
Andy Thompson
April 12, 2008 7:28 AM
It looks like the groups in OBX beach-access dispute may have come to a settlement, but we won’t know the terms until this Wednesday.
http://www.islandfreepress.org/2008Archives/04.03.2008-ShootingTheBreeze.html
Outer Banks ORV access decision today?
Andy Thompson
April 11, 2008 7:51 AM
We’ll see. That’s the rumor. The judge delayed his ruling on the preliminary injunction last Friday so the two sides could come to a negotiated agreement. That’s supposed to be announced today. There is one wrinkle to this convoluted issue. I spoke with Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, who’s been following the case. He said that the judge granted a request for a group representing ORV drivers to be heard as intervenors in the suit. That means if they don’t like the agreement between the Park Service (the defendant) and the environmental groups (the plaintiffs), they can appeal.
As Tobias said, “They’re entitled to try to have a settlement on terms agreeable to them, and if not, then they can appeal to the 4th Circuit [Court in Richmond].”
He said even if that appeal was expedited on an emergency basis it could take months to be heard.
“Judge Boyle is a really experienced judge,” Tobias said. “My guess is he’ll try to work out something in the interim that will try to protect the ORV folks and also protect the birds. Maybe he’ll close some parts of it but be selective and not shut down the whole seashore.”
Some kind of decision is expected by the end of the day. I’ll post the results as soon as they’re available.
America’s national parks…for sale?
Andy Thompson
April 09, 2008 7:32 AM
The National Parks Conservation Association is sounding the alarm that the integrity of many of our national parks could be compromised by development.
From their Website: “Luxury houses and commercial developments may be built right in the heart of many national parks. While Congress drew the boundaries of those parks, the White House and Congress have yet to provide the funds needed to purchase all of the land within those boundaries.”
Their report, ”America’s Heritage For Sale,” is available here. You can download a .pdf file of the full report on the left side of the page. It makes for a bracing read.
Mossy Creek Fly Fishing
Andy Thompson
April 08, 2008 11:21 AM
The Trow brothers, Brian and Colby, are Richmonders who run a fly fishing shop out in Harrisonburg, where they went to college. This past Saturday they moved their shop, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing, to a new location. If you’re ever in the area to do some fly fishing, go find the Trow brothers. They have as much local knowledge as anyone. They also offer guided trips in the region.
Urban trout stocking in Richmond
Andy Thompson
April 05, 2008 11:01 AM
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DGIF Assistant Fisheries Director Ron Southwick was at Richmond’s Shields Lake yesterday to help stock 600 brown and rainbow trout. The department also stocked Henrico’s Dorey Park Lake with the same number of fish. The two lakes are part of the department’s urban stocking program, but this was a special visit. The DGIF received the 1,200 trout from Virginia State University’s aquaculture program. The school had been studying the cage-raised fish and needed to get rid of them.
Bonus, Richmond anglers!
My friend Geoff Murphy and I took advantage on Friday morning just after the stocking. We were the only ones there. Here he is holding a brown trout.
Beach-access injunction delayed
Andy Thompson
April 05, 2008 7:33 AM
This could be good news for beach drivers on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. The judge’s delay of the preliminary injunction at least suggests that a total ban won’t be coming.
Read here...
OBX beach-access saga continues…
Andy Thompson
April 04, 2008 7:13 AM
My column in today’s Sports section is a perfect example of one of the main limitations of newspapers. It’s about about a dispute over beach access on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands between off-road vehicle users and environmentalists. A judge was supposed to rule on the case today. Now, it looks like that ruling could be delayed. I found this out late last night after the paper had gone to press. Oh, well. That’s what blogs are for, I guess.
Irene Nolan, of the (Hatteras) Island Free press, has been on top of the story since the beginning. She breaks down these new developments here. This video shows Frank Folb explaining the specific areas of beach that will be closed.
Scroll down to find previous posts with background on the issue.
More big blue catfish
Andy Thompson
April 02, 2008 7:43 PM
When Mike Burnette checked this blog and saw the picture of three friends catfishing on the James he decided to send in one of his own from a recent trip. Here’s his email: “My wife Jeanette and I spent the weekend of May 28-30 fishing the James River from Deep Bottom to the Barge Pits and landed two nice fish. One I caught was 65 pounds and 46 inches long, and the other my wife caught was 31 pounds and 37 inches long. These are two of the four citations we have caught recently. We try to fish there about once every month in the fall and winter.”
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