Lowering the cost of illegal crabbing
A horseshoe crab 2 weeks ago in Sandy Hook. Photo by Jennifer Weiss.
State lawmakers today advanced a proposal by Sen. Jeff Van Drew that would significantly reduce fines for illegal horseshoe crab harvesting.
Van Drew’s bill would allow environmental regulators to drop the fine for unlawful crabbing from $10,000 to $2,500. The Cape May senator reportedly proposed it because fishermen earn modest salaries, according to the Courier-Post. Van Drew told the Asbury Park Press the fines as they stand now are “cruel and harsh and in my opinion inappropriate.”
Fisherman had apparently been worried they’d lose money if they caught crabs accidentally. The New Jersey Audubon Society worries changing the statewide crab-harvesting moratorium might undermine it.
Van Drew’s bill still needs approval by the Senate and Assembly.
A statewide moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting went into effect in March.
More:
Proposed law would amend fines for illegal crab harvest (Asbury Park Press)
The best-laid plans (Asbury Park Press)
Tallying a toll on an elder of the sea (New York Times)
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