Currently the adult female population is about 97 million crabs, above the management threshold of 72.5 million crabs, meaning the female crab population is not overfished. Managers use female crab population estimates to determine whether fishing effort is sustainable. This year, state fishery managers could tweak some of the crab fishery regulations such as bushel and season limits. However, long-term actions are also needed to address the trend of low crab reproduction, such as loss of crab habitat and increased predation. This will require a reduction in the blue crab harvest.
What can be done? In the short term, we need to protect crabs this year to maximize reproduction. Without a significant rebound in the juvenile population, it's possible the declining overall number of crabs could continue in the future. While this year's juvenile population estimate increased slightly from last year, from 86 million to 101 million, this figure is well below the 219 million average population of juvenile crabs in the survey.Ĭrabs typically have a three-year lifespan, meaning the juveniles counted in this year's survey will become the adults reproducing later this year as well as those harvested for the dinner table. The juvenile numbers are of particular concern. This year marked the third consecutive year when juvenile crab numbers fell below the survey's average and the overall population declined. The total number of blue crabs estimated in the Bay this year-227 million-is the lowest number since Maryland and Virginia began the cooperative crab survey in 1990. The concerning results of the 2022 Chesapeake Bay blue crab dredge survey should be a warning sign to state fishery managers.
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