Virginia’s peeler crab season which officially kick-started on April 15, 2024 is registering high prices because crab numbers remain unknown. The season occurs at the close of the main US crab season, which runs from October to January.

According to the President of Virginia Waterman’s Association, J.C. Hudgins, soft shell peeler crabs are currently quite expensive. They start at $100 a bushel for female specimen and $150 a bushel for male.

Hudgins says it is too early to predict the price direction until fishermen can gauge quantities in Rappahannock and Piankatank rivers.

It is quite likely however that the prices will decrease because the neighboring state of Maryland has also begun its season. 

Virginians are catching soft shell crabs using two trap pots per person, which will climb to 5 pots from June. Each day’s allowance is 1 bushel of hard crabs and a count of 24 soft shell crabs.

Before March 17, when some parts of Virginia allow peeler crab fishing, fishermen can only use pots as traps. After April 15, crab pound nets are also allowed.

A crab pot is a simple but very effective mesh trap that lures the crab inside to a bait box. Most traps usually have a 1-inch wide entry hole underneath, above which is yet another thinner hole towards the bait. The crab has to squeeze through the two entrances into the bait box but it cannot squeeze its way out.

Peeler Crabs and Pot Size

Before placing crab pots into Virginia’s freshwater fisheries, crabbers usually know beforehand the species they are trapping by its size.

Peeler crabs, for instance, need small traps. These tiny crustaceans are actually blue crab species developing soft inner shells and just about to “peel” their outer hard shells.  

Fishermen usually catch them when they have both shells as this insures the tenderness of the inner shell at harvest.  

The very dimensions of a peeler crab determines its trap pot size. Most peeler crabs are 3.5 inches long and 1 inch wide. 

Hard shell crabs that have hardened inner shells usually measure 5 inches for full-grown males or “jimmies.”

For now, the outlook is on a changing pricing landscape but it is unlikely that the price will repeat the 2021 trend when it soared by 50%. There may be various price changes between April 15 and November 30, the duration of Virginia’s peeler crab season.