Tag Archives: Maryland
Public comment period opens on draft offshore wind areas
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Wednesday announced that a 30-day public comment period has begun on eight draft offshore wind energy areas, including off the North Carolina coast. BOEM said it will hold virtual public meetings to engage the fishing community and environmental organizations to gather more information on the proposed areas and discuss next steps. The proposed areas cover about 1.7 million acres off North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The distances to their closest points range from about 19 to 77 nautical miles offshore. >click to read< 08:10
Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company holds boat docking contest
Boat dockers and bystanders braved cloudy skies and some precipitation to support the Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company boat docking on Sunday, Sept. 11, in Fishing Creek. Derrick Hoy in Crusher won the small boats category, Jake Jacobs in Outlaw secured the medium boats and John Ashton in Miss Julie won the large boats category. For results and 15 photos, >click to read< 08:47
50th Boat Docking Competition makes big splash in Crisfield
“It’s a good ole down home fun Sunday afternoon, end of the summer activity,” Waterman Kevin Marshall said. In Crisfield, that tradition is known as the Boat Docking Competition at the National Hard Crab Derby. It brings out community members of all ages for a day out at the dock. The timer starts once you leave the dock, as boaters head down the waterway quickly and then throw four lassos successful on the piles for a chance at the prize. Yet, competitors we spoke with say it’s not an easy task. “And I only have inches on each side when I go in the slip,” Commercial Fisherman Tommy Eskridge said. Video, >click to read< 07:47
Decline in Chesapeake crab population sparks hunt for answers
Commercial crabbers in Maryland and Virginia aren’t catching their limits, and the harvest in the first few months of the season was so meager that some gave up trying. “Crabs are so scarce that me and my son are still catfishing,” Billy Rice, a Charles County, MD, waterman, said in June. “We’re making more money catfishing than we would be crabbing.” Based on what they see on the water, crabbers have no shortage of theories about why the Bay’s most prized catch is hard to find: Changes in water quality, climate change and an influx of crab-eating fish top the list. Whatever the case, said J. C. Hudgins, president of the Virginia Waterman’s Association. “Mother Nature has throwed a wrench in the barrel.” >click to read< 14:23
Maryland to restrict crabbing, including first-ever limits on harvest of male blue crab
Regulations issued this week, to be in effect from July through December, will limit commercial watermen to at most 15 bushels a day of male crabs in August and September. And the regulations will tighten existing restrictions on how many female crabs watermen can catch. The changes come weeks after an annual survey of Chesapeake blue crabs,,, That state fishery managers moved to limit even the harvest of male crabs demonstrates the gravity of the situation. Limits are typically only imposed on female crabs as a means of ensuring enough of them to survive to spawn, but with a more than 60% decline in the overall estimated blue crab population since 2019, scientists and representatives from the seafood industry are signaling that more protections are needed to help boost crab reproduction. >click to read< 16:02
Chesapeake Bay blue crabs in trouble, tighter harvest restrictions loom
With the Chesapeake Bay’s crab population at its lowest ebb in more than 30 years, Maryland and Virginia are moving to curtail harvests in one of the region’s most valuable fisheries. Fisheries regulators in both states have proposed new catch restrictions, with plans to finalize them by the end of June. In Maryland, tighter limits for both commercial and recreational crabbing would take effect in July and for the first time would limit commercial harvests of male crabs, not just females. New commercial restrictions in Virginia would begin in October and continue until the crabbing season ends Nov. 30. >click to read< 08:17
Maryland’s oyster harvest largest in 35 years
Bill Sieling, executive vice president of Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association, attributes the excellent haul to both Mother Nature and the canniness of the Maryland oyster industry in putting available resources to their best use. “The combination of having the good substrate there for the young oysters to set upon and then having the oysters available in the area to produce the spawn which is what produces the spat set and therefore had a place to set and grow – and it’s as simple as that,” It takes three years for an oyster to grow to legal market size. This year’s harvest was the culmination of years of investment in the Bay’s oyster growing conditions, Sieling said. >click to read< 13:04
Hurricane Hazel: The 84-year-old World Champion crab picker from Crisfield, Maryland
If you live in the Crisfield area, you’ve heard the name Hazel Cropper, better known as Hurricane Hazel. She’s a world champion crab picker, and a famous figure in the town, or as she says, everywhere. “All over, I’m worldwide,” Hazel said. Her story starts in 1938 when she was born in the coastal town. “My parents raised me very well, and my grandmother, who taught me at the age of nine, to pick crabs, because I always followed her,” she said. She caught on quick and now, 75 years later, she’s a worldwide champion crab picker. “I’m in the Guinness Book of World Records, I’m a 16-time world champion,” Video, >click to read< 18:40
Skipjack Museum Restores Famed Captain’s City of Crisfield
The skipjack City of Crisfield is being given new life as the Skipjack Heritage Museum on Deal Island is currently involved in a complete restoration of the vessel at Scott’s Cove Marina in Chance, Md. “We also plan to work her in (Maryland’s) oyster dredge fishery and to carry passengers for charter to help offset the cost of maintenance and upkeep,” said Bob Shores. The City of Crisfield was built in 1949 by C. H. Rice and his son Ed at Reedville, Va. She was owned for many years by the legendary captain, Art Daniels Jr. who purchased the vessel in 1951 and owned it until his death in 2017. After his death, his son Bob Daniels gifted the vessel to Skipjack Heritage, Inc. >click to read< 11:02
Offshore wind farm company, Ocean City fishermen at odds again
At question now is whether US Wind went back on its agreement with conch fishermen. “We told US Wind in January that we needed their ‘Area D’ (survey area) to be able to go conching in April. Ben Cooper from US Wind assured us that it would be available the whole month of April for us,” said Ocean City fisherman Jimmy Hahn. “I spent $60,000 in conch bait to go conching this spring. On March 25, they sent us an email that says, ‘Oh, by the way we’re going to start a brand new survey (there). “They’ve got 24 square miles of bottom they could be surveying and I’ve got a little teeny tiny area where my pots are. They still wiped out six of the pots that I found,,, >click to read< 07:17
Ocean City Fishermen Say US Wind is to Blame For Their Damaged Gear
One fisherman is claiming more than a hundred thousand dollars worth of lost equipment. Jimmy Hahn has been in the business for 30 years. He said multiple pots have been damaged and towed by US Wind, who denies those allegations. “Ever since I’ve set my gear, they’ve been in my pots every single day,” he said. “They were in it on Friday, they were in it a little bit on Sunday, and then we had the whole incident on Monday.” US Wind is Maryland’s offshore developer. >click to read< 10:30
Maryland reps exploring shrimp fishery
A new shrimp fishery could be coming to Maryland, which would have direct benefits along the lower Eastern Shore. Last year, the state’s General Assembly approved legislation that allows the Department of Natural Resources to establish parameters for a shrimp fishery “pilot program” for certain commercial licenses. During the ensuing year, there has been some confusion about just how DNR could and should extend such authority, leading to twin bills in the Senate and House this year intending to clarify DNR’s roles and powers to adopt regulations. “A lot of people don’t realize there’s even a shrimp industry in Maryland,” >click to read< 10:36
A message for Del. Jay Jacobs – This will not go unanswered.
Recent actions that you have taken, makes me put this letter together to address the situations at hand. First of all, your contact with an individual in Cecil County and the information that you gave him concerning Delmarva Fisheries Association is of great concern to all of us at DFA and our local affiliates,,, DFA was referred to as nothing but a scam just like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and it was said that DFA receives large sums of money directly from the sale of fishing licenses in the state. These two comments stated at a public meeting in Cecil County are outright lies and misinformation. The gentleman who spoke said he got this information from you and you alone! This will not go unanswered. >click to read< 09:11
Maryland Crab Industry Says Labor Shortage Looms Again – Call for change to H2B Visa Program
Ask Jack Brooks, president of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association, how the Maryland crab-picking season ahead looks right now, and he simply said, “Ugly.” The problem has nothing to do with the supply of crabs expected to be caught and processed in the crab houses of the Chesapeake Bay. The problem is labor. Every year, a total of 66,000 H-2B temporary work visas are up for grabs in a nationwide lottery. >click to read<
Hooper’s Island crab houses call for change to H2B Visa Program after 1 house out of 10 recieves workers – Phillips believes it’s not just the 
crab houses that will close if this continues, the entire seafood infrastructure including watermen and wholesalers on Hooper’s island could be wiped out. “They could survive if there were one or two houses that miss out on visas but with nine out of ten [businesses] they are going to go out of business too,” he said. Video, >click to read< 12:37
Veteran Waterman Kenley “Sonny” Tilghman Hampton, Jr. has passed away
Kenley “Sonny” Tilghman Hampton, Jr. of Centreville, MD passed away on January 11, 2022. Locally known as “Sonny Boy”. He was 89. After his father’s passing at a young age, Sonny gave up his education to help care for his mother and siblings. Well known as a Veteran waterman, first starting in our own backyard, him and his brother, Abby, were the first waterman to introduce diesel engines on their work boats. Whether it be advice or lending a helping hand he was always willing and ready to help within his community. A community in which he will be deeply missed. >click to read< 09:58
Wind reps, Ocean City fishermen still far apart – “We’re going to be pushed out,,,
Last week, representatives from US Wind, Director of External Affairs Nancy Sopko, Director of Marine Affairs Ben Cooper and Fisheries Liaison Ron Larsen, briefed the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council on their progress in the area and their discussions with fishermen. “They’re trying to say they’re going to work with us said Roger Wooleyhan. When asked if the meeting signaled significant progress, Wooleyhan replied, “No, I don’t. We’re going to be pushed out and all these guys who are making a living are going to be put out. >click to read< 08:43
US Wind extends moratorium, Ocean City fishermen remain skeptical – Their fishery liaisons are working directly with local fisherman to ensure strong coordination between the industries. However, longtime Ocean City fisherman Jimmy Hahn wasn’t too thrilled by the supposed good news from US Wind. >click to read< 08:43
Watermen tackle offshore wind farm development concerns, company pushes (subsidized) economic benefit
“I just want to be able to go fishing.” Those were fisherman Jimmy Hahn’s words as he is one of many who are concerned about U.S. Wind offshore wind developments. Now with political leaders on their side, watermen hope to see some change moving forward. “Those guys have really stepped up to the plate. “People who buy electricity in the state are paying an extra amount in order to subsidize the windmills. That means that someone should stand up for these taxpayers. If we’re going to spend taxpayer dollars to build these windmills and subsidize them there should be proper oversight,” Representative Harris said. Another concern that came up Wednesday by waterman and Congressman Harris was the possibility of U.S. Wind not being an actual U.S. based company. >click to read< 09:03
Fishermen feel “railroaded” – Standoff at sea sours fishermen, US Wind relations
After an on the water standoff between commercial fisherman Jimmy Hahn and a US Wind survey boat, Rep. Andy Harris met with area fisherman to discuss encroachment into fishing areas. The closed meeting Wednesday, also attended by state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, included more than 12 fishermen primarily from Ocean City,, “If these wind mills are allowed to be placed out here, we’re out of business. You’ll no longer see any fresh seafood coming into Ocean City,” Hahn said.,, “It means a great deal having Rep. Harris listen,” he said. “You have to have someone to speak up. We’re just getting railroaded and we don’t have any say at all.” >click to read< 14:50
Watermen Meet Elected Reps Over Conflict – Conch Pots Destroyed By Offshore Wind Farm Survey Vessel
Last week, a US Wind vessel surveying offshore was outside the designated lease area and ran through a setup of conch pots and destroyed some of the commercial vessel’s equipment. Captain Jimmy Hahn, whose conch pots were destroyed, briefly confronted the survey boat Emma McCall,,, US Wind representatives explained how the survey vessel was out of the lease area and ran over the pots accidentally. For his part, Hahn believes the incident was a symptom of a much larger issue that is only going to get worse. Last week’s incident has captured the attention of the area’s elected officials. On Wednesday, U.S. Congressman Andy Harris and Senator Mary Beth Carozza held a closed-door meeting with local watermen.>click to read< 12:30
Preserve The Heritage Of Maryland’s Seafood Industry
A newspaper article published last month reported that Maryland comptroller and announced candidate for governor Peter Franchot promised, if elected governor, to phase out the centuries-old wild commercial oystering industry, likely starting with a moratorium. The article also quoted Franchot saying he would rather “properly compensate” watermen for losing their jobs than find a bipartisan solution. I can guarantee that if this happens, you will eventually destroy the entire seafood industry as we know it. I find this to be a knee-jerk reaction by someone who has spent little time trying to help the industry over his many years in politics but has obviously spent a great deal of time counting votes promised by environmental groups. >click to read< By Ron H. Fithian 08:52
Photo’s! Hoopers Island boat docking competition to benefit Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company
The Hoopers Island Boat Docking went off without hitch, and with a lot of hitches as boat captains competed in the annual fundraising competition. The competition to benefit the Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company was held on Sunday, Sept. 12, at the P.L. Jones Boatyard in Fishing Creek. Ryan Kastel in Kastel Bros. came in first in the small boats category, Will Watkins took first in medium boats in No Smoke and John Ashton placed first in large boat in Miss Julie. Derrick Hoy and his crew on Crusher took the teams category, and Ashton and Hoy won the shootouts for over 36 foot and under 36 foot boats respectively. 8 photos, >Click to read< 13:26
Charter Boat Operator Arrested for Violating Captain of the Port Order and Endangering Passengers
Terrance Dale Roy was arrested by Coast Guard Investigative Service special agents on July 21 and stands accused of violating a Coast Guard Captain of the Port Order issued pursuant to the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, as well as failing to properly report a hazardous condition and operating his boat in a grossly negligent manner. The Coast Guard issued Roy a Captain of the Port Order back in May after his vessel, the Fishing Lady, sank at a 
pier in Kent Narrows, Maryland. The order prohibited the vessel from operating commercially until the vessel’s seaworthiness was determined by Coast Guard. Without making the repairs necessary to have the order removed, Roy took on 34 paying passengers out over Father’s Day weekend. >click to read< , >more here<16:43
Community mourns passing of ‘a great American’, Capt. Warren Butler
Lifelong waterman, Captain Warren Butler, 92, died unexpectedly, Friday, July 2, of apparent heart failure. Upon learning of his death, Jerry Harris, founding family member of Harris Seafood, and Harris Crab House at Kent Narrows, said, “My whole family knew Captain Warren. He was a great man, a great American. He sold oysters to my father. I looked up to Captain Warren all my life. Black or white, he was a role model, someone to model your own life by. I wish there were many more people in the world like Captain Warren!” Butler had a lifetime passion working as a waterman, first, working alongside his father and brothers to help support their family. From 1954 to 1983, Butler worked in the oyster and crab industry in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Throughout his life, he owned and operated 17 commercial boats, carrying may fishing parties out of the Chesapeake Bay, also oystering and sightseeing. photos, >click to read< 08:10
Maryland oyster industry may be forever altered by Coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic-impacted oyster season has been difficult for the industry in Maryland, causing farmers and watermen to rethink how they sell their product and changing how programs conduct oyster restoration. Robert Brown, waterman and oyster grower, has bottom oyster leases on the tributaries of the Potomac River. Brown, president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, said he sells the majority of his oysters to oyster packaging houses, which aren’t working at capacity because they can’t sell the oysters once they shuck them. Watermen are being hit hard in the pandemic, and it might be a few years before we get back to normal,,, >click to read< 08:36
Oyster Prices Plummet As Diners Stay Home Amid Pandemic
With several hours of daylight to spare, Ronnie Robbins and his son, Jason, had already docked their 36-foot deadrise workboat on Hooper’s Island and started unloading their briny cargo.,,, It isn’t a supply problem. Watermen in Maryland and Virginia alike say they are having no trouble landing their daily wild oyster quotas.,,, “We got lots of oysters, and they’re excellent quality,” said Bill Sieling,,, The problem is decreased demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. >click to read< 09:31
Elected Officials Hear Concerns From Watermen
Elected officials assured commercial watermen they heard their concerns at a meeting last week. On Oct. 16, Congressman Andy Harris joined Sen. Mary Beth Carozza and Delegate Wayne Hartman to meet with commercial fishermen at the West Ocean City Commercial Harbor. Harris offered support as they pursue changes to ensure local watermen can continue to earn a living. “You just tell us when and to whom we have to make the case,” Harris said. Harris joined Carozza and Hartman at Sea Born Seafood last Friday to talk about issues facing local fishermen. Sonny Gwin, who operates the Skilligallee, stressed the importance of maintaining local boats’ ability to fish for black sea bass. Watermen also asked Harris to work toward increasing limits on red crabs. >click to read< 12:20
“Kicking Lightly” Arthur Jones celebrates 101st birthday
Longtime Queen Anne’s County resident Arthur “Kicking Lightly” Jones of Grasonville celebrated his 101st birthday,, Arthur would also begin working in the seafood industry, mostly at the Kent Narrows — where he was employed for at least 53 years — serving as a foreman at several packing houses that once existed there, managing oyster and clam harvests from the Chesapeake Bay. He met many waterman, and other people, who always asked, “How are you doing?” He’d respond, “Just kickin’, lightly.” From that expression, he earned the nickname “Kickin’ Lightly,” which he is still known by today. He also has been known as Captain Arthur, although he was not a waterman.>click to read< 12:11
Hot Air And The Offshore Wind Industry – Claims it will invigorate these state economies are thin gruel
Seven Atlantic Coast states—Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have enacted mandates to subsidize the development of thousands of megawatts of offshore wind turbines. In addition to making bold claims about environmental benefits, proponents promise the mandates will create new offshore wind manufacturing and service industries that will create jobs, and lots of them, along the eastern seaboard.,, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority claims that developing 2,400 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind will create 5,000 new jobs and $6.3 billion in infrastructure spending. Similar claims of economic grandeur have been made in New Jersey and Virginia. Not to be outdone, the American Wind Energy Association claims the offshore wind industry will create between 45,000 and 83,000 new jobs by 2030. >click to read< 12:05
As Wind Farm Proceeds, So Does Pushback – Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy, which are developing the proposed South Fork Wind farm, filed a joint proposal with the New York State Public Service Commission,, Commercial fishermen are almost universally opposed to the wind farm, fearing an impact on their livelihood, >click to read< 13:47
Maryland’s wild oyster harvest doubles from last year
Despite having fewer days to work, Maryland watermen harvested nearly twice as many wild oysters last season as they did the previous year, state officials report. Even so, a new study finds the state’s population of bivalves is in much better shape now than it was two years ago, with abundance up and overfishing down. As a result, state fisheries managers say they’re weighing whether to maintain catch restrictions put in place last season or relax them for the next wild harvest season, which normally begins Oct. 1. Data presented Monday night to the Department of Natural Resources’ Oyster Advisory Commission indicates that the overall abundance of adult, market-size oysters in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay has rebounded considerably since 2018 and is now at the fifth highest level since 1999. >click to read< 17:01
Female Blue Crab Population Up In Chesapeake Bay, Juvenile Numbers Low
Chesapeake Bay blue crab population appears to have a healthy number of spawning-age female crabs, according to the 2020 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey. Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission aims to conserve more than 70 million adult female crabs annually to ensure enough young crabs can be produced to sustain the population, a task that has now been achieved for the sixth consecutive year. This year’s survey estimates 141 million adult female crabs were conserved, which is above the long-term average of 126 million. The total amount of blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay in 2020 was 405 million crabs,,, >click to read< 14:56
