BALTIMORE, MD—The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), estimates 323 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2023, an increase from last year’s low of 227 million crabs. The number of spawning age female crabs increased from 97 million crabs […]
BALTIMORE, MD—In response to the lowest abundance of crabs ever counted in the 33-year history of the Chesapeake Bay’s winter blue crab dredge survey, fishery managers at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Marine Resources Commission this week adopted new regulations designed to reduce the crab harvest. The regulations aim to help the overall Chesapeake crab population rebound. […]
BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has announced the results of the 2022 Baywide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), which annually estimates the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. The total abundance of blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay in 2022 was 227 million crabs, the […]
BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday announced the results of the 2020 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which estimates the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay annually. The 2020 results showed that the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population maintains a healthy number of spawning-age female […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD – The annual Blue Crab Advisory Report, released Tuesday by the Chesapeake Bay Program and developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee, finds that the overall Chesapeake Bay blue crab population is not depleted and is not being over-fished. The blue crab population in the bay increased nearly 60 percent from 372 million in 2018 to 594 million in […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan, chairman of the Chesapeake Executive Council, announced that the results of the 2019 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey showed that the Bay-wide blue crab population increased 60% from last year, to an estimated total population of 594 million crabs. “We are proud of our administration’s strong record of skilled environmental stewardship, which begins with safeguarding […]