Police Seek Person Who Illegally Dumped Crabs

ELKRIDGE, MD — Maryland Natural Resources Police are seeking the public's help in discovering who dumped approximately four bushels of male and female crabs, none of them undersized. Not only is the dumping illegal, but it's outraged Marylanders.

"I was just driving by this morning when I spotted this," Jon Merryman told WMAR. "I've seen this kind of behavior throughout Patapsco Valley for the past 10 years. I could name five or
six places where this is a regular occurrence, but I've never seen this much. I can't imagine a civilian crabber pulling up this many. If it was a commercial crabber, shame on him."

Maryland Department of Natural Resources officers responded to the dump site the morning of July 31. Captain Melissa Scarborough with the Maryland Natural Resources Police told Patch that officers are actively investigating the case and staff from Patapsco Valley State Park were cleaning up the mess Aug. 1.

"We do not know who dumped the crabs. An officer has spoken with a dealer from out of state that is affiliated with the crabs, but clearly, he could not dump them if he isn't in the area," Scarborough told Patch. "Without knowing for sure, my experience is that when we have crabs dumped like this, they likely died before being cooked and were dumped rather than being disposed of in a legal trash receptacle."

Merryman had found a piece of paper mixed in the pile of crabs that contained the name of a Virginia seafood company. The owner of that company told WMAR that two businesses in the area receive crab deliveries from his business, but that his company did not dump the crabs. Either way, the sight and the smell of the pile of rotting crabs is too much for some to stomach.

"Just disgust. There's plenty of options for dealing with this," Merryman told WMAR. "There's a regular way to dispose of this, not in a state park on the side of the road where it's gonna cause more problems."

Scarborough asked that anyone with information about the person who dumped the crabs would contact the Maryland Wildlife Crimestoppers at 443-433-4112 or by emailing mwc.dnr@maryland.gov.