In an effort to hang on to one of their most vital and long-standing sources of income and work, about 150 Bay watermen held a protest near the State House in Annapolis on Tuesday to protest the state’s oyster restoration plan.

Governor Martin O’Malley proposed the controversial measure in early December, calling for a three-step plan to help revive the waning oyster population in the Chesapeake, which is currently a small fraction of what it used to be, according to the Washington Times.

The governor’s plan would put new restrictions on what kind of dredging and oyster-retrieval equipment watermen could use in their work and nearly triple the size of current oyster sanctuaries  in the Bay.

While protesting O’Malley’s proposed legislation, the watermen also voiced their support for another bill which would protect their ability to use certain types of equipment in their work.