RICHMOND (AP) -- Watermen who crowded a legislative hearing persuaded members to kill a bill that would have allowed regulators to ban the winter dredge of crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in three-year installments.
The Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee dispatched a bill Monday that breezed through the House.
The Virginia Marina Resources Commission has acted in each of the past three years to ban the winter dredge, part of an overall strategy to restore the bay's blue crabs. The bill would have allowed the commission to ban the winter dredge for three years, subject to annual review.
The dredging of the lower Chesapeake Bay during the winter months has been criticized by some because it scoops up hibernating pregnant females.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
