MIDDLE TOWNSHIP, Del.,– August 5, 2013 — But a state law regulating menhaden approved in June somehow left out the Delaware Bay crab fishermen. Permits, called a landing license, are now needed to harvest menhaden. They were given out to fishermen catching menhaden in the ocean, but the Catch-22 of sorts for Delaware Bay fishermen is that to get a permit, they have to show a history of menhaden catches over the years.
Jimmy Layton fishes 300 crab pots in the Delaware Bay and fills each with about 2 pounds of menhaden that he catches himself.
The bait is fresh and catching it himself saves money, which translates into higher profits and lower prices for the blue crabs that his father, Fred Layton, sells at a crab stand on Route 47 in the township. Frozen menhaden goes for about 30 cents per pound, or $180 for one day of baiting the traps.
But a state law regulating menhaden approved in June somehow left out the Delaware Bay crab fishermen. Permits, called a landing license, are now needed to harvest menhaden. They were given out to fishermen catching menhaden in the ocean, but the Catch-22 of sorts for Delaware Bay fishermen is that to get a permit, they have to show a history of menhaden catches over the years.
The ocean fishermen had to report their catches, so there was no problem showing a history of harvests. Delaware Bay gill-netters, who use a type of net that catches fish by the gills, never had the requirement to report their catches, so they have no catch history to show. Now they are having a hard time getting the new permits to fish.
"It really messes me up if they stop me from getting my own bait. I'll have to spend my own money and burn more fuel to pick it up. I don't know how they missed us. I've had a Delaware Bay gill-net license for years," Layton said.