The head of Maryland’s Watermen’s Association says the over-reporting of the female crab harvest by watermen was caused by confusion over how to fill out the forms. Larry Simns, president of the association, said watermen did not intend to deceive the state, but his group told watermen to also record crabs they had thrown back. Due to discrepancies in the harvest reports from watermen and the Department of Natural Resources, DNR used independent surveys for its estimate. The department said watermen appeared to have over-reported the harvest after the state tied allowable catches to harvest history.