As if the dwindling population of oysters, one of the last natural filters of the water in the Chesapeake Bay, needed another challenge to their survival, they’ve got one.

Maryland’s Capital News Service reported this week that the state government is trying to take strong action to prevent the rise of oyster poaching among fishermen in the bay.

Poaching, the illegal trapping and keeping of wild animals or plants against state or federal regulations, came to light in Maryland again a few weeks ago when two fishers, Zachary Seamen and Edward Lowery, were both charged with multiple counts regarding illegal oyster trapping activity. It wasn’t the first offense for either of them.

The report also says that the number of poaching violations in Maryland has risen each year since 2006, seeing a spike between 2008 and 2009, when the number of poaching charged more than doubled.

There are a lot of things regarding the health of wildlife in the bay (and the bay itself) that will continue to take years to fix. Cleaning up the water, reducing storm water runoff and managing the bustling chicken processing industry aren’t things that can be quickly rectified.

However, poaching seems to be, thanks to the efforts of citizens and politicians alike. Responsible fishermen are looking out after their own and reporting violators to authorities. The number of poaching incidents may have skyrocketed, but so have the number of people caught doing it, which in turn removes them from the water entirely.