6/10/2023 0 Comments Ever forward owner![]() ![]() To make matters worse, 2022 was already a year with a very low blue crab population when crabs seemed to prefer the northern bay, the survey said. That could impact local harvesters, as the site next to the Craighill Canal is known to be a productive area for crabs, according to the spring survey when the crabs emerge from the mud. But grounding could disperse crabs to other locations for their “wintering.” Given that the average bay-wide harvest of blue crab is 1.3 million bushels a year, the impact of the stranding on the crab population is “very small,” according to the survey. The landing and subsequent efforts to free the Ever Forward impacted an estimated 423 crabs, or about 5 bushels, according to the DNR survey. The Ever Forward grounding and dredging affected 14 acres of bay bottom, including 11.5 acres within the boundaries of a natural oyster bar, the Maryland Department of Environmental Protection said in a news release.Īccording to a Department of Natural Resources survey, the affected bar was initially not very populated, so there were “no discernible effects” on oysters, aside from the “deep vessel footprint and dredging.”īut the area was a favorite blue crab habitat during the winter months, when the creatures burrow into the muddy bottom to protect themselves from the cold. They can be cultivated and then planted by humans on estuary reefs to boost their population. Oysters are an important bay species because they are filter feeders, meaning they remove algae and harmful nutrients from the water while they live and grow. The ship’s Taiwanese owner, Evergreen Marine Corp., did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the payment Tuesday afternoon. ![]() Wednesday’s vote by the Maryland Board of Directors - which includes the governor, auditor and state treasurer - calls for a $676,200 payment for that license, which will be used to improve and replant 41 acres of oyster bars to complete the grounding to mitigate Because the landfall occurred in Anne Arundel County, oyster bars there are being prioritized by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. After several attempts – and the removal of about 500 cargo containers – Ever Forward was freed on April 17. Īfter the beaching, Maryland issued an emergency wetland license that allowed the flat ground around the ship to be dredged to get her afloat again. The owner of the container ship Ever Forward, which ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay in March, will pay Maryland more than half a million dollars to improve local oyster bars as punishment for the accident, according to a vote Wednesday morning by the Maryland Board of Public Works. ![]()
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