Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Rebound 46% to 349 Million as Adult Females Drop 25%
Updated
Updated · WJLA · May 18
Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Rebound 46% to 349 Million as Adult Females Drop 25%
16 articles · Updated · WJLA · May 18
349 million blue crabs were estimated in the Chesapeake Bay in the annual winter dredge survey, up from 238 million a year earlier after one of the weakest counts since 1990.
228 million juveniles — up 121% — drove much of the rebound, while adult males also improved, lifting hopes for stronger crabbing this summer.
81 million adult females — down 25% — remained just above the species' overfished threshold, a warning sign because females produce millions of eggs and underpin future stocks.
The total population still sits below the bay's 400 million long-term average, and preliminary findings from a multi-year stock assessment point to a broader decline since 2011.
Maryland and Virginia officials are expected to use the forthcoming stock assessment to weigh future harvest limits and conservation steps, alongside habitat restoration and pollution control.
With juvenile crabs surging, why does a new assessment reveal a mysterious 50% long-term population crash?
A record juvenile crab boom meets a sharp female decline. Will this year's crabbing season be feast or famine?