A New Bounty of Oysters in Maryland, but There Is a Snag - NYTimes.com

A New Bounty of Oysters in Maryland, but There Is a Snag - NYTimes.com:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/us/a-new-bounty-of-oysters-in-maryland-but-there-is-a-snag.html?emc=edit_th_20141107&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=45685287&_r=0

RIDGE, Md. — A diver pulled a large, porous bag of oysters from Calvert Bay and heaved it onto the motorboat, and the sucker fish and baby crabs began to scurry and skid in a vain search for escape along the slippery floor. Another bounty of bivalves, almost ready for market. But not everyone is excited.

Oyster farming, also known as aquaculture, is one of the few growing businesses here on the western shore of Maryland, a sleepy outpost best known for the sunburned watermen who have pulled crabs and fish from bays like Chesapeake and Calvert for generations. Recent changes to state policy and a growing national affection for oysters (sprinkled with lemon juice only, please) have brought back the shellfish, once as much a staple to Maryland as corn is to Iowa. In the past few years, the state has issued 111 oyster farming leases across 2,240 acres of waters; scores more are pending.

The booming oyster business has come into conflict with the watermen of this region, who argue that the cages used to cultivate oysters are a menace to fishing lines and crab pots, and in some cases an eyesore for residents with waterfront homes.

Unlike commercial oyster farmers, watermen can fish, crab and seek wild oysters with a mere license on public waterways. Farmers must get state-issued leases, which some watermen are pressing the state to limit.

“You don’t put one person out of business to start another,” said Robert Brown, the president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association...  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/us/a-new-bounty-of-oysters-in-maryland-but-there-is-a-snag.html?emc=edit_th_20141107&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=45685287&_r=0

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Drowning Boaters with Weighty Fees

Boaters, anglers and working watermen will soon be hit with a more than tripling of boat registration fees.

The House Environmental Matters Committee is hearing an Administration-sponsored bill today that drastically increases the current $24 bi-annual flat fee to $50 -$350, depending on the boat length.

The recreational boating industry has been hit hard in the recession, and boat sales have plummeted.  The DNR says the money in the Waterway Improvement Fund, which is paid for by the boat excise tax, has been depleted. This fund is used for dredging and maintaining channels.

But, O'Malley has pilfered $40 million dollars from the fund over the years to help balance the budget. Some of the funds have been replaced with bonds, but that means the state is using its credit card instead of paying cash for the waterway projects.  

Boaters who fill up their tanks dockside are paying the gas tax on each gallon they pump. That tax goes to mass transit and roads in the state, but should be used for channel improvements.  

There's a misconception that boaters will somehow absorb the fees, but this proposal will result in diminished returns with fewer boat slip rentals, fewer boat sales, and less maintenance and repair work for our working marinas.

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20010719 Crabbers clamor at bake Salisbury Daily Times

Crabbers clamor at bake sdt

Wearing bright shirts, watermen object to new regs at political event

http://www.delmarvaheadlines.com/thedailytimesonline/pages/topnews.html#top%20story%202

The Daily Times, Salisbury, Maryland

By Tess Hughes, Special To The Times

CRISFIELD — Watermen used one of the Lower Shore’s most popular political parties Wednesday to protest new crabbing regulations.

‘‘We’re having the best season we’ve had in 15 or 20 years,’’ said Jay Carman of the Chesapeake, Atlantic and Coastal Bays Watermen’s Coalition. ‘‘Science doesn’t back up the regulations.’’

About 30 coalition watermen wore bright orange shirts at Wednesday’s 25th annual J. Millard Tawes Crab & Clam Bake to protest the state regulations that limit crabbers to working 8-hour days, six days a week.

‘‘I encourage all the watermen to join the coalition,’’ Carman also said. ‘‘We’re going to stand up and fight against these regulations.’’

State officials say the crab population must be protected for future generations.

Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend acknowledged the industry faces some serious challenges.

‘‘I think its a tough situation,’’ she said. ‘‘I feel for those who make their living on the water. We’re doing our best to balance the needs of today with the needs of the future.’’

Organizers said more than 5,100 visitors braved the rain and humidity to attend the event.

‘‘We usually average 4,700 to 4,800 visitors,’’ said Valerie Mason, the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce’s executive director. She also said visitors were still arriving an hour and 20 minutes before closing.

State Del. Rudolph C. Cane, who annually attends the event, said this year’s bake was more organized than in past years.

‘‘It is always exciting for me,’’ he said. ‘‘I get to meet people from all over the state,’’

Maurice Yates, 8, who came from Baton Rouge, La., to visit his father, said he wanted to attend next year, too.

‘‘The crabs are good,’’ he said.

Audrey E. Scott, a candidate for governor in 2002, said the atmosphere at the bake was ‘‘politically charged.’’

‘‘And I am part of the electricity,’’ she said. ‘‘I give (coalition members) a lot of credit. They’ve joined forces to get what they want.’’

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