38 
propagation of the crab and in other lines relating to the sea- 
food supplies of the State. It therefore recommends that 
proper provision should be made by the Legislature for such 
work. 
If, however, the State is to deal effectively with the general 
oyster situation it must have an adequate police ferce, with 
vessels adapted to present-day conditions. Until the State is 
ready to give more effective protection to the small lessee 
than it has so far afforded him, oyster culture, unless upon a 
sufficient scale to justify the lessee in protecting his own 
property or in a community where no protection is needed, is, 
in the opinion of this Commission, impracticable. 
The Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland of 1906, 
which created the Shell Fish Commission, prescribed special 
duties for this Commission in connection with the “oyster in- 
dustry.” ‘The Commission was given no supervision over the 
important crab industry, although Section 96 of this Act in- 
structed the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners to mark off 
and chart all bottoms where grass grows and where it is profit- 
able to scrape for soft-shell or shedder crabs. 
This Commission has, however, permitted its Engineer to 
make investigations, from time to time during the past five 
years, relative to the supply of crabs and the waste in handling 
them. Extracts from his report are given in Exhibit E. 
The Commission believes that it is expedient to call the at- 
tention of the General Assembly of Maryland to the impor- 
‘tance of passing protective measures for this valuable marine 
product, and therefore recommends the passage of the follow- 
ing measures: 
1. Prohibiting the taking, having in possession or offering 
for sale by any person or persons within the State of Mary- 
land of any hard-shell crabs under five (5) inches from tip of 
spike to tip of spike. 
2. Prohibiting the taking, having in possession or offering 
for sale of any female egg-bearing (sponge) crabs by any 
person or persons within the State of Maryland at any time. 
3. Prohibiting the taking of the female soft crabs (known 
as doublers) by trot-line crabbers during the months of August 
and September. 
