Lobsters vs. Crabs:
Comparing and Contrasting Maine’s Lobster Industry to Maryland’s Crab Industry
Maine and Maryland are two of the biggest seafood industry states on the East Coast, each specialize in different seafood; Maine is lobster while Maryland is crab. Their industries have many similarities including being a large contributor to their states economies, both have many restrictions on the way they fish, and also both are facing problems that could be harmful to the industries. Now while both of the industries have some things in common they also have many differences. The biggest difference is Maine having a more sustainable and prosperous industry then Maryland has, this is due to many differences in the types of restrictions and fishing that are used in both states.
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Maine lobster is extremely popular seafood that is widely wanted around the world, but even with the high demand the lobster population is still populous and doesn’t look even close to diminishing. This is much different in Maryland where restrictions had to be put on the way watermen fish to help fix the shortage of crabs there are. While restrictions have been put on both industries there are many differences between the two. First, recreational licenses for crabbing and lobstering vary largely between the states. In Maine to receive a recreational license you must pass a test, be a Maine resident, and have the proper gear and boat. In Maryland you do not need to take a test and you can be a non-resident and still receive a license. So not only in Maryland due commercial watermen have to share the crabs with other watermen but they also have to share with recreational fishers, that have little regulations on them. Not only are recreational licenses different, but so are commercial. In Maine people who want to be commercial lobstermen must first do an apprenticeship under a more experienced lobsterman, and then they can only get a license after a lobsterman retires and a license spot opens up, so in Maine there are a set number of licenses. This is much different in Maryland where you just buy a license. The large amount of licenses in Maryland is causing a large problem with the current low population of crabs. In Maine this isn’t a problem because with the very limited amount of licenses there is a low possibility of overfishing.
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Also, crabbing by large corporations is a big difference between the two states. In Maryland’s case large corporations are allowed to come in and crab, while in Maine large corporations are not allowed to catch lobsters because of Maine’s rule that only one license holder is allowed to be on a boat at a time. Limiting the amount of corporation lobstering allows for the profits to stay in the coastal towns with the local lobstermen, also it allows for the lobster population to remain high. On the other hand, while the population of lobsters is high Maine is seeing a decline in the herring population, which they use as bait. If the shortage continues then there could be a massive hit to the lobstering industry. Maine has been importing herring in form Canada while they try to resolve their herring shortage.
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Maryland’s crab industry problems are more severe than Maine’s, because instead of just a bait shortage; Maryland’s crabs are at an extremely low rate. Resolution for this problem is proving to be difficult, because there is a dispute between the government and the watermen. The government believes overfishing by the watermen has led to the drastic drop in the crab population. So, because of this belief more restrictions have been put on watermen, which have led them to not be able to bring in the amount of crab that they need to survive. On the other hand, the watermen believe that pollution is the main cause of the population drop. While there is many programs that have been made to regulate the pollution in the Chesapeake the watermen believe that their restrictions should be lifted. It will take some compromising on both sides to resolve the decline in the crabbing population.
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While both states have many similarities, the state of their industries are vastly different, with Maryland’s being far worse than Maine’s. Maryland could learn much from Maine, especially looking at the relationship between the government and the lobstermen, a better relationship between the two sides could drastically improve how restrictions are set up and followed and allow there to be a chance for a revival of the crabbing industry.
Sunday Telegram Herring Shortage Pinching Maine Lobster Industry Comments.