Well, to put it mildly, we had a very good trade show, and from talking to exhibitors, they had a very good show, too. I want to sincerely thank each and every one of them, especially the dozen first-timers for having faith in our show. In this tough economy no one can predict what will happen at a trade show.
We know that many of the recreational boat shows are suffering, so every year we put as much worrying into our effort as we can afford! I also want to deeply thank the watermen and their families who came to the show, bought gear and supplies and more. This is what the show is for, and I’m just thrilled that so many came this year to buy what they need. We had a lot of press at the show, TV, radio and print, and we appreciate the coverage they gave us. We even had a film director from New York, who interviewed watermen and took a lot of footage of the show.
Finally, I want to thank the members of the Blue Crab Management Design Team, who came down to Ocean City and sat in the Team booth to explain what we were doing for the management of our blue crabs. They educated a lot of watermen who haven’t been involved in the process, and this was good. So thanks to everyone who had the slightest part in making everything work out, and we’ll see you next January for an even better show!
Speaking of the Blue Crab Design Team, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, working with Ken Smith and others at the Virginia Watermen’s Association, are putting forth an effort down there to do a similar effort. We, and EDF, will give them all the help we can to get their “design team” off the ground, and we are happy to see this happening. If, at the end of the day, Maryland and Virginia have watermen co-managing the fishery with the states, this will be a win-win for watermen, the crabs and the Bay.
Members of the MWA board met with Gibby Dean and members of the Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association board a couple of weeks ago to discuss issues that are coming up either with DNR or in the legislature and how we can work together and speak with a unified voice. The main topic that evening was the potential cost of licenses going up, and I’ve been working closely with Gibby, and we have been working with Secretary Griffin on it. We are confident that there won’t be any license fee increases this year. With this in mind, our board has another joint meeting with CBCFA, ORP, DNR and a representative of each county’s shell committee on January 26th with Lagenfelder to talk about a shell program effort using monies each county gets for shell.
Unfortunately, Mick has to go to press with this issue of the Gazette so we can’t give you a report of what happened, but you can call the office at 410-216-6610 or call Gibby at 410-943-1707 or me at 410-456-8065, and we can fill you in. What we are trying to do here is have watermen begin to put together effective oyster management efforts, because it appears that DNR doesn’t want to be in the oyster business.
I want to emphasize to all watermen, not just our members, but all watermen that MWA and CBCFA are moving forward in a strong relationship and are working on some very big issues that impact all of us. I know our members know watermen who are not joiners or who have a problem with associations; please talk to them and educate them on the issues so that they know where their future is headed, too.
And, speaking of our futures, the General Assembly is back in session…which is always scary. We’ve been in close touch with Secretary Griffin, and I don’t think we will have any major battles this session. The Department is watching what we are doing with all the fisheries and, I think, the Secretary is confident we are making progress on crabs, fish and oyster issues…and we are working closely with him and his staff.
Senator Colburn has introduced SB 101, which is a bill that supports watermen. In short, it prohibits putting a tracking device on a vessel without a court order. This is a good attempt to solve the problems of 2011 with the marine police in this regard. And, we are making good progress with accountability in our blue crab design team. And, Del. Jay Jacobs will be introducing legislation for watermen as well. The politicians came to Annapolis the first part of January, so things are moving slowly at this writing. We will keep you up to speed.
From reports I’m getting the crabbing and fishing seasons were good, and this is good news in a tight economy. Fish prices have stayed up so everyone is moving into February feeling pretty confident. All we can do is what we do, and do the best we can at it. The MWA tries its best to ‘have your back’ so that you can make a living working the water. If you have issues or concerns, or even something good to say, let us know it so that we can act accordingly.
Larry Simns : President Maryland Watermen’s Association : Hailing From Rock Hall, Maryland
FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR ROCK HALL WAVE INTERVIEW WITH LARRY SIMNS
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO VISIT MARYLAND WATERMEN’S ASSOCIATION