Governor Timothy M. Kaine has issued the following statement regarding the Department of Commerce’s approval to make up to $10 million available to Virginia in response to the blue crab commercial fishery failure determination issued in September.
 
“This is great news for the Commonwealth, our beloved blue crab fishery and the watermen community that rely upon it for their livelihood.

“I petitioned U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez back in May to issue a commercial fishery failure declaration for the Bay’s blue crab Fishery. Since that time, our fishery experts have been working diligently with staff at the National Marine Fisheries Service to provide the necessary information to justify a declaration.

“In September, our hard work paid off when Secretary Gutierrez notified us that he had determined that a commercial fishery failure had indeed occurred for the soft and peeler crab fisheries.

“While it is certainly not good news that our blue crab fishery is in a state of failure, we do know that the blue crab population can rebound if we reduce harvest pressure. That is why earlier this year, in partnership with Maryland, we adopted regulations to reduce the number of female crabs harvested annually by 34 percent. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to Governor O’Malley and his staff for working closely with us on this matter.

“Virginia is preparing to put dozens of displaced watermen to work, and we are exploring the possibility of transitioning crabbers into other fisheries, training them in shellfish aquaculture techniques, and possibly initiating a buy back program to reduce the number of watermen harvesting crabs. These funds will support those efforts.

“I am grateful to the support and diligence of our Virginia members in Congress who have worked hard to secure this much-needed support.”