05.13.08
The Real Deadliest Catch
 Sig Hansen is a hero of mine… |
The show on the Discovery Channel about crab fishermen in the Bering Sea, The Deadliest Catch, is a wonderful reality drama, and brings some perspective to what some people have to endure just so we can have whatever food we want whenever we want it. But being a resident of the DC area, there is another type of crab that we focus on around here - the Maryland Blue Crab.
And simply put, they are not doing so well.
 Click for larger image. |
The harvest numbers have been declining year after year in the Chesapeake Bay as they are over-fished year after year for crab cakes, crab bisque, crab boils, crab dip and so many other wonderful crab creations. As a child growing up here, I remember the days when a bushel of these crabs were plentiful and cost only about $20. This year, I have seen the cost as high as $220 for a single bushel. But these incredible costs - like our addiction to gasoline - do not seem to be deterring customers. Simply put, we are running this resource into the ground and fishing them out until there is nothing left.
Sure, over-harvesting is not the only factor effecting these crabs. Water pollution - namely agricultural run-off - is killing lots of these crabs as well. But pulling crabs out as soon as they are able to reproduce surely keeps the population down as there is no chance for the current generation to create a next one.
In response, the governors of Maryland and Virginia have listened to this crisis and made the difficult, but correct, decision this year to cut the female blue crab harvest by 34%. Drastic situations have gotten us to the point where we need drastic measures. Yes, some fishermen will lose their jobs. But simply put, having some crab fishermen lose their jobs is better than having ALL the crab fishermen lose their jobs, (and all the crabs lose their lives…) which is the direction we are headed if we keep full steam ahead with our harvesting. Just ask any North Atlantic Cod fishermen what happened up there…
 We want a future for these beauties, so let’s control our present… |
But as consumers, we have to take some action as well. We have to cut down our consumption of blue crabs as well. Make no mistake, the fuel on this fire is the fact that we eat these crabs in huge numbers, and thus sustain this $125 billion industry. Cut down the demand, and the harvest will decrease as well. The crabs will have a chance to recover, and then hopefully we can re-establish a more sustainable fishery for the animals. And this will of course only happen with the fishermen themselves understand and cooperate with the regulations that make the fishery sustainable. We have a long way to go here, but it will all be well-worth the effort.
And if you think that’s just wishful thinking, I ask you to take a look at what happened with Maine lobsters.
Stumble it!
Eize said,
May 13, 2008 at 10:54 pm
You’re a good man, Matt. Good man!
But there are so many snooty bastards out there who will get their blue crabs on the sly.
Ken Smith said,
May 14, 2008 at 3:36 am
Sorry, but they are not overfished.
The reason they are so few is because of water quality and loss of habitat.
All due to pollution.
That is a fact. Overfishing is a myth created by the departments of natural resources to protect their butts.
The governors of Virginia and Maryland recently asked the Secretary of Commerce to declare the blue crab industry a disaster due to the above mentioned problems, NOT OVERFISHING.
Chef Matt said,
May 14, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Eize - Yes, I am a good man. I know. Thanks.
Ken - Sigh. First off, I had to remove your link. I don’t allow propaganda spreading on my site. But here’s exactly the problem. Fisherman, as I mentioned above will blame everything but themselves as being the problem. And until you become part of the solution, you will continue to be part of the problem.
For example, I went to the site you mentioned, and on the site it is propositioned that rockfish are killing all the crabs, not fishermen. So let’s review: Chesapeake Bay before fishing pressures - rockfish and crabs in abundance. Now that there are people fishing and polluting, and crab stocks are in decline, it is suddenly the fault of rockfish. Wow - you all should become farmers if you’re that adept at shoveling bullshit around…
Simply put, I have seen this in my long environmental career over and over and over. The second anyone tries to tell a fisherman that the have to fish less because they are depleting the stocks, they flip out and blame everything in creation but themselves. Your reaction is neither unexpected nor revolutionary. It’s just par for the course.
Pollution is a major issue in the Bay. I don’t fertilize my lawn, I recycle my used motor oil, and I make sure my neighbors treat their lawns well too. It is all part of the problem. But if you agree that the stocks of crabs are declining at huge levels - why would you be against pulling out less so as to let the population recover?… Oh right, because it’s not your fault… it must be the rockfish… So let me guess, we need to fish more of them?
Again, I reiterate: Sigh…
Vome said,
May 15, 2008 at 12:34 am
Amen, brother. There are reasons we don’t eat as many dodo eggs anymore. (Mmmmm… dodo eggs). Excellent points in favor of proper resource management. If you spend all your cash, you may still have a credit card. When you eat all your blue crabs, you may be left with dungeness, snow, king, stone, mangrove, spider, fiddler, hermit… a lot of other crabs really, but blue crabs taste better with Old Bay.
Lyra said,
May 19, 2008 at 9:50 am
Both pollution and a huge consumer demand for these crabs are driving their populations into a precipitious decline. Even if the gentleman above is correct, and overfishing is not an issue, the fact that environmental factors (factors that continue to grow as a problem despite great efforts on the part of many organizations and some communities along the bay) are decimating the population would stilll be a good reason not to fish as many of them. Either way you slice it, there are a lot less crabs. So even if it isn’t the crab fishers’ faults, continuing to fish for crabs at the same level as previously is only going to hasten their demise.
I agree strongly with you Matt, that we the consumer have a very important role to play here. I have only had one crab cake in the past few years, and I don’t use crab meat at all in my cooking. And I love crab. I love it. But I agree that as long as the population is so precipitiously declining, we have to take a stand. And at the same time, all those of you with lawns and cars can help out our favorite local crab by following Matt’s excellent example. There IS a connection between what we spray on our lawns and the health of the Chesapeake bay (and also our personal health but that is another story).
Good post Matt.