[MDOsprey] Horseshore Crabs: DE regulations & VA "Loophole" (long)
birder6@juno.com
Wed, 26 May 1999 08:56:56 -0400
Hi everyone!
I received permission from Kim Healey to share the
attached information with our networks. If anyone would
like additional information on the DE regulations, she
suggests that you contact Charlie Lesser at the DE
Division of Fish and Wildlife.
We would also appreciate you sending many letters
to Gov. Gilmore in VA to express your concern for the
Horseshoe Crabs and your outrage over VA's lack of
regulations to reduce the landings of crabs in Virginia.
Honorable James S. Gilmore, III
Governor of Virginia
Office of the Governor
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
FAX: (804) 371-6351
On behalf of the National Audubon Society, VSO, WWF, and
birders everywhere, thank you for your support !!! Larry
Larry Lynch, VP
VA Society of Ornithology
Chesterfield Co, VA
birder6@juno.com
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Kim Healey <Kim.Healey@WWFUS.ORG>
Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 13:34:52 -0400
Subject: Horseshore Crabs
Larry-
According to the ASMFC Management Plan, Delaware's regulations for
HSC collection are as follows:
1) Anyone collecting HSC must possess a HSC collection permit or an eel
license. Cost (of HSC permit) is $100/yr for DE residents and $1000 a
year for non residents. Permittees must have had HSC collection permits
in two previous years. (This was an attempt to keep the # of permits
from increasing further).
2) No collection is allowed on state or federal lands between May 1 and
June 30th except Tuesday and Thursdays on state owned lands east of
State Road No. 89. Collectors must possess either a valid HSC collection
permit or an American eel license.
3) No collection is allowed on private lands between May 1 and June 30th
except permittees on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
4) All permittees (including eel fishermen) must report their catch
monthly.
Eel collectors can only hand collect HSC for personal (non-commercial)
use.
5) No dredging is allowed on leased shellfish grounds (unless you own
the grounds or have the permission of the owner)
6) Harvest by vessels are limited to 1500 HSC/24 hours. (Eg. a daily trip
limit for vessel collectors).
7) No harvest by scraping, trawling, dredging is allowed from May 1 to
June 30th.
**8) HSC cannot be transported or contained in vehicles with more than
300 cubic feet of space (this is an attempt to prevent tractor trailers
from
filling up with crabs. Now, it appears that pickup trucks have replaced
the tractor trailers. I think pick up trucks are small enough to
transport
HSC without violating this portion of the law).
As you can probably tell from this list, USFWS is not tasked with
counting
the number of HSC which are removed from area beaches. It is left to the
collectors to report their catch on a monthly basis (to the DE Division
of
Fish and Wildlife, I believe), and there is NO limit to the number they
can
hand collect daily. The limits, rather, have been placed on the # of
days
they can legally collect, the locations in which they can legally
collect,
and on the size of the vehicle which can be used to transport caught
crabs.
DE's approach to the HSC fishery is relatively similar to NJs (NJ
prohibits
trawling and dredging and allows hand harvest two days a week in back
bays only.), but is different from that of Maryland. MD "bit the bullet"
and
placed an overall landings cap on its HSC fishery.
I have heard rumors that DE's strategy has not worked as well as they
had hoped -- overall harvest have not declined that much -- though I have
not seen the 1998 numbers to confirm this. Virginia's ballooning
landings
suggest that whatever efforts MD, DE, and NJ are making to conserve
crabs are having some deterrent effect since VA landed 740,000 crabs
last year (as compared with 26,000 crabs the year before). Fishermen
seem inclined to take their crabs to VA rather than to deal with the less
permissive regulatory environment in MD, DE, and NJ.
Hope this helps.
(P.S. I do not know of any DE regulations about non-harassment of birds.
Perhaps the (federal) Endangered Species Act would cover this situation
IF and only if the birds are listed as endangered or threatened.)
Kim Healey
World Wildlife Fund