BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland Natural Resources Police are reminding recreational crabbers of the state’s conservation laws as the blue crab season opens on April 1 in the Chesapeake Bay. The DNR says that while many are looking forward to the opening of blue crab season, it’s important to remember that laws and regulations are still in effect. The DNR says that officers […]
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 […]
ESSEX, MD—Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski visited the Essex waterfront on Tuesday morning to spotlight the second year of a program to remove derelict crab pots and fishing gear from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, and announced a collection site for oyster shell recycling. In conjunction with Maryland non-profit Oyster Recovery Partnership, the County program has mapped thousands of […]
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 […]
TOWSON, MD—County Executive Johnny Olszewski on Thursday highlighted a short-duration Baltimore County project engaging local watermen to remove between 1,500 and 2,500 derelict crab pots and fishing gear from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, at the mouth of the Patapsco River off the North Point Peninsula. “Bringing together the environmental science community and county government to work alongside our […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan this week urged members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation to take immediate action in raising the cap on H-2B guest worker visas. The letter comes in response to a newly released study that shows the impact that these workers have on Maryland’s iconic seafood industry and the state’s economy. “Maryland’s seafood industry is part of what […]
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 […]