ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Well, the results are in! Maryland has enough female crabs to feed us all this summer.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports that female blue crabs have increased in the Chesapeake Bay from 141 million in 2020 to 158 million female crabs this year.
“Protecting spawning age females is a critical component to maintaining a healthy and sustainable blue crab population,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said. “We are pleased to report that the cooperative management efforts of our Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions have continued to conserve female crabs within a healthy range.”
This means that this year’s numbers have crushed the long-term average of 126 million spawning-age female crabs.
So, we're happy to say, that all Marylanders are in good hands and can comfortably break some crab legs alongside family and friends this summer.
But, we'll just have to continue to keep an eye out for the blue crab population in total. According to DNR data, this year the Chesapeake Bay recorded about 282 million crabs. That's a below-average total for the 32 years of survey results. Scientists believe the low juvenile crab numbers are to blame.
“Blue crab fishery managers will need to keep a close eye on juvenile and male abundance over the summer through our monitoring efforts and to exercise caution moving forward into next year, as these crabs recruit to the fishery,” said Mike Luisi, director of Maryland DNR’s Monitoring and Assessment Division of Fishing and Boating Services.
To view detailed results from this year's data, view on the DNR website.