APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
blue crab producing States may be as large as the commercial 
catch. 
On the gulf coast, conflicts between commercial and 
recreational fishermen are minor and of a local nature. They 
receive little or no publicity, and casual crabbers usually 
stop operations during a conflict. 
Although there is recreational fishing for crab in the 
Pacific, the annual’ catch is very small when compared to 
the commercial harvest. Recreational catch estimates range 
from 30,000 pounds in Oregon to 500,000 pounds in Alaska 
annually. 
Management controls 
Control and regulation of the blue crab fisheries along 
the Atlantic coast is administered by the Coastal States from 
New Jersey to Florida and the Potomac River Fisheries 
Commission. The Commission's authority originated from the 
Potomac River Compact of 1958, an expression of Virginia's 
and Maryland's common interest in the conservation and im- 
provement of fishery resources they share in the tidewater 
section of the Potomac River. There are considerable differ- 
ences among the States in terms of rules and regulations 
limiting the use of gear. 
There is no overall management for the blue crab fishery 
in the Gulf of Mexico. Each of the Gulf States regulates the 
fishery through various catch and gear restrictions. As 
shown on the next page, there is no type of restriction which 
exists for all States. 
Mississippi and Alabama do not prohibit the taking 
of egg-bearing females. Mississippi repealed a 10-year old 
prohibition in 1975 because a relationship between the number 
of eggs produced and the population level had not been dem- 
onstrated. Texas and Louisiana prohibit the taking of 
egg-bearing females, not to protect the resource, but be- 
cause crab buyers do not want them landed as they yield 
less meat than other blue crabs. The prohibition, while not 
biologically sound, does not harm the resource. An NMFS 
zoologist stated that State regulations probably have a 
minimum effect on the size of the resource. Louisiana 
officials also feel this way about regulations concerning 
resource management. 
Tne four Pacific Coast States exercise management 
controls over the Pacific coast crab fishery. All four 
States are involved in regulating the dungeness crab. In 
addition, Alaska regulates the taking of king and tanner 
crab. 
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