Efforts to protect blue crabs from too much commercial harvest are making progress. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has proposed a rule designed to manage the number of participants. The rule would limit the number of commercial blue crab trap fishermen, and allow them to use an equal number of traps.

Key elements of the plan, which still requires legislative approval would:

>Establish hard and soft blue crab (permit) endorsements for either individuals or vessels.

>Establish qualifying and re-qualifying critieria.

>Require trap tags with an annual fee of 50 cents per tag, and establish ordering criteria and a replacement tag program.

>Establish an appeals board and criteria by which non-qualifying blue crab fishers could be allocated traps.

>Establish the Blue Crab Advisory Board by rule, and set criteria for appointment to the board.

>Prohibit the leasing or renting of endorsements, tags or traps.

FS