TILGHMAN ISLAND, MD - The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is revisiting discussions on blue crabs, this time focusing on the containers. A public hearing is scheduled later this week to clarify regulations before any formal proposals are considered. The primary topic of discussion revolves around the use of plastic lugs, which have the capacity to hold significantly more crabs than traditional wooden bushel baskets.
These plastic lugs boast a weight capacity of about 60 pounds, a notable increase of 20 pounds compared to the typical wooden bushel basket commonly used in commercial crabbing for generations. But those generations of using bushel baskets could slowly come to an end because bushel baskets are breaking faster than they can be made. It's also largely in part that there is only one more distributor that makes them.
Incorporating both containers on a boat is also cause for discussion and possible reevaluation of existing regulations, as acknowledged by the DNR.
Michael Luisi, the Department of Natural Resources' Assistant Director of Fishing and Boating Services, emphasized the challenges posed by differing volumes between lugs and bushel baskets. "When a lug or a barrel is not equivalent to a bushel, as far as volume, we then have challenges as to what those conversions look like. If we establish a bushel limit and fishermen are using lugs, we have to have some conversions," explained Luisi.
One significant factor contributing to the complexity is that one lug is equivalent to 1.5 bushels, prompting the need for a comprehensive discussion on potential conversions. Additionally, the DNR is exploring the possibility of allowing watermen to use a combination of containers, meaning they could have both lugs and bushels aboard their vessels.
Jeff Harrison, a commercial crabber and president of the Talbot Watermen Association, expressed satisfaction that these discussions are taking place with the involvement of industry stakeholders. "You still can't mix them like in the same container, but you can put all your females in lugs and you can have all your males in bushel baskets. We're glad they kind of got on top of this," stated Harrison.
While watermen have expressed confidence going into the meeting, concerns may arise between crabbers and buyers. Harrison highlighted the difficulty of precisely packing 60 pounds of male crabs into lugs, because the male crabs are much bigger. So, they're anticipating discussions about how full the lugs really need to be for buyers to get their money's worth.
