Robust Blue Crab Season Predicted as Bay Numbers Climb

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Get the melted butter and the Old Bay spice ready, Maryland should have a great blue crab harvest this summer, state officials said Tuesday, with crab numbers up significantly.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released its 2016 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, which show another year of growth in the stock of the Chesapeake Bay crab population and bodes well for a better harvest this year.

The survey shows a bay-wide crab population of 553 million, a 35-percent increase over last year. This is the fourth highest level in two decades, and builds on last year’s 38-percent boost in crab numbers.

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“Due to a milder winter, favorable currents and tides, and wise bay-wide management measures, the Maryland crab population continues to rebound and strengthen,” Fisheries Service Director Dave Blazer said in the release. “With an increase in abundance and steady recruitment, we fully anticipate a robust crab season this year.”

Improvements were seen in all age groups of male and female crabs. The spawning female stock nearly doubled from 101 to 194 million and the adult male stock more than doubled from 44 to 91 million – the second highest levels since 1995.

State officials said they must be cautious in considering any management adjustments to crab regulations.

The 2015 bay-wide crab harvest increased by 42 percent over 2014 to 50 million pounds and remained at sustainable levels for the eighth consecutive year, the survey said. Combined with increased abundance, a slight liberalization of harvest limits for female crabs may be warranted this summer, officials said.

“Our experts will now discuss the survey results with our internal and external stakeholders,” Blazer said. “Any modest adjustment to the current regulations, be it season length or bushel limit, will be considered only after the department receives input from all parties.”

The dredge survey is the primary assessment of the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population. Biologists use dredge equipment to capture, measure, record and release blue crabs at 1,500 sites throughout the bay from December through March. Crabs tend to bury in the mud over the cold winter months, which makes it possible for scientists to develop accurate estimates of the number of crabs.

»Photo of crab harvest by Maryland Department of Natural Resources