A recent dailypress.com article sharply criticizes the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, calling for sweeping changes of the organization.
The article states: “Step back and face these facts. Treating Virginia’s marine resources as strictly commercial assets, and allowing them to be plundered, hasn’t worked well. Not for commercial interests, not for the rest of Virginia.”
At the center of the issue are 2 key Chesapeake Bay inhabitants – crabs and oysters.
The commentary notes that “The VMRC and its predecessor agencies have been regulating oysters for more than 120 years. And the oyster population is at 1 percent of its historic levels.
The VMRC has devoted much to the last decade to trying to manage the blue crab harvest. But the crab population has fallen by more than two-thirds since the early 1990s. An expert panel assembled by the agency cites overfishing as a major reason — overfishing that hasn’t been stopped by regulations that are within the agency’s authority.”
The full article is here: http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_vmrc_edit_0214feb14,0,5645475.story
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