For the first time in about 15 years, Virginia officials voted to lift a prohibition on a winter dredge fishery for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland officials and nonprofit leaders quickly objected to and denounced the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s 5-4 vote on Tuesday. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said in a statement the reason blue crabs have seen a rebounding population since a steep drop in the 2000s can be “directly traced” to collaborative management between Maryland and Virginia.
