COLONIAL BEACH -- The governors of Virginia and Maryland yesterday urged strict catch limits on female blue crabs to reverse a decades-long population decline that is threatening the economically important species.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley called on the states to slash the harvest 34 percent this year and establish a long-range plan to rebuild the fishery.

"Science makes it clear the blue crab population is in peril," Kaine said as he and O'Malley stood on the shore of the Potomac River, which marks the states' boundary.

Kaine said the cuts will challenge watermen who are on the front lines of the estimated $125 million-a-year crab fishery, but O'Malley said that to ignore the problem could doom the industry.

"What would happen to our watermen and their livelihood if we failed to take action?" he asked.

The governors' call reinforces preparations in both states to cut the crab harvest, which scientists say is too high for the weakening population to sustain.

At a briefing yesterday in the offices of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, the governors heard that the number of spawning-age crabs in the bay -- 120 million last winter -- has plunged 70 percent since the early 1990s. Last year's baywide catch of 44 million pounds was the lowest since 1945.

Virginia began imposing more catch restrictions in February.

Contact Lawrence Latané III at (804) 333-3461 or llatane@timesdispatch.com.