The number of adult male blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay has hit its lowest total since a formal dredging survey began in 1990.
The 2022 Baywide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported Thursday the total abundance of blue crab in 2022 was 227 million crabs. The number of juvenile crabs in 2022 was 101 million crabs, a slight increase from 86 million juvenile crabs in 2021, but the third consecutive year of below average recruitment.
“Despite meeting these management objectives, adult blue crab abundance has steadily declined,” the department said in a statement. “DNR will be working with partners in Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission on a coordinated approach to set management measures for the 2022 crabbing season that address conservation needs.”
The department noted Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions have maintained harvest of blue crabs at safe levels established in the last stock assessment since 2008.
Behind the data
The number of spawning age female crabs has been above the management amount of 72.5 million crabs for eight consecutive years and at a level capable of producing a strong year class.
“The causes of some of these issues are outside our control as managers. There are environmental conditions and the changing climate among the number of factors,” Michael Luisi, acting director of Fishing and Boating Services for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Nonetheless, results showed there were 28 million adult male crabs, which is the lowest adult male abundance on record.
Among the often overlooked factors to a healthy yield of blue crab is healthy Bay grass for juvenile crabs that has seen a decline over the past three years.
“There are possible changes for the industry coming. They might be limited to their harvest and we may adjust the season, but that has yet to be determined,” Luisi said.
Chris Moore, senior regional ecosystem scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, decried the trend as sign that not enough is being done to improve the bay’s ecosystem.
More on Bay cleanup efforts:$238 million earmarked to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Here’s how $40 million will be spent
More on rising prices for crabs:Here’s why your Chesapeake Bay blue crab feast may be more expensive this summer
“The results of this year’s survey continue a worrying trend for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay region,” Moore said. “The continued low abundance of juveniles and adult males indicates the urgent need for action to protect these segments of the population.”
He also said that although juvenile population estimates can vary greatly from year to year, the 2022 results are the third year of below-average numbers in this segment of the population.
These reduced abundances highlight the need to continue to protect adult females in order help ensure better numbers in the future, he said.
“This year’s survey follows two consecutive years of declines in the coverage of underwater grasses, one of the most important habitats for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay It is like,” Moore said.
According to the environmental organization, water quality issues are also being exacerbated by invasive species like the blue catfish.
More on invasive species:Shrimp are migrating to Maryland waters. Will they find balance in blue crab domain?
The Winter Dredge Survey has been conducted cooperatively by the department and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science since 1990, and the results are reviewed annually in an effort to have consistent management efforts across the jurisdictions.
“We have a very good relationship with our management partners in the Chesapeake Bay. We’re usually on the same page with our counterparts at the Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission,” Luisi said.
Throughout the survey, biologists use dredge equipment to capture, measure, record and release blue crabs at 1,500 sites throughout the Chesapeake Bay from December through March.
