Governor Timothy M. Kaine petitioned the federal government to declare Virginia’s blue crab population a Fishery Resource Disaster, allowing Congress to appropriate economic assistance for hard-hit watermen Friday.

The federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act provides for federal economic assistance to states facing a fishery disaster.

“The blue crab fishery is in dire straits and our watermen are enduring serious hardship,” says Kaine. “Today I sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez requesting a disaster declaration, so that we can provide our watermen with the economic assistance they need. I look forward to working with Congressman Wittman, Senators Warner and Webb, and the entire congressional delegation to secure federal aid for our watermen.”

In the past 15 years, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population plummeted 70 percent. In the early 1990s, there were approximately 400 million crabs of harvestable size in the Bay. Currently, there are fewer than 120 million.

Virginia’s blue crab harvest was at near record low levels of slightly more than 19 million last year. Fishery experts worry that a single severe storm could initiate a complete collapse of the Bay-wide blue crab fishery.

Last month, fishery regulators enacted regulations to reduce the harvest of female crabs by 34 percent to ease stress on the crab population. The blue crab fishery is estimated to be at least a $125 million Bay-wide industry. The economic impact to Virginia waterman as result of the new crab restrictions is estimated to be $11 million to $15 million over the next three years.

Virginia and Maryland have been working closely together to support each other’s efforts to revive the Bay blue crab fishery. Governor Martin O’Malley also petitioned the U.S. Secretary of Commerce today for financial assistance.

“Governor O’Malley and I have worked closely together to try to stabilize our crab fisheries and the industries they support,” says Kaine. “We will continue to work together to support our watermen, restore the health of the blue crab fishery, and ensure the long-term health of the Bay.”

In addition to crab management measures, Virginia has undertaken additional aggressive regulatory and funding initiatives to significantly reduce pollutant loads from point sources, agricultural lands and urban storm water, which are negatively impacting the Bay’s crab population.

Since 2006, Virginia has invested about $660 million in cleaning up Virginia’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. These restoration efforts will produce results in the future, but have yet to yield near-term improvements in water quality and habitat sufficient to support a significantly improved blue crab population.