{"id":20429,"date":"2024-05-30T09:48:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T09:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=20429"},"modified":"2024-05-30T09:52:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T09:52:45","slug":"chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maryland\u2019s and\u00a0Virginia<\/u><\/a>\u2019s blue crab numbers on Chesapeake Bay in winter 2024 were at stable albeit lower levels than 2023\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were an estimated winter 2024 population of\u00a0317 million blue crabs<\/u><\/a>, according to a May 22, 2024 survey report. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) alongside Virginia Institute of Marine Science have been conducting the Winter Dredge Survey since 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though a yearly drop of 6 million crabs, the survey’s 2024 estimate is way above 2022\u2019s record low of\u00a0229 million<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 133 million, less than 2023\u2019s 152 million, the reproductive age female population still surpasses the management minimum of 72.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, young crabs in the bay, which have averaged below management levels<\/u><\/a> since 2019, rose in 2024 to 138 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, the male population has only dropped by 6 million crabs, from 52 million in 2023 to winter 2024\u2019s 46 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the DNR team is focusing on further assessment to determine what influences blue crab increase or decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mandy Bromilow who manages the blue crab program at DNR, \u201c…there are new analytical methods<\/u><\/a>\u201d that could still apply. Such methods could feature in the upcoming summer 2024 dredging survey in readiness for the March 2026 full assessment report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dredging is a method where biologists use high tech equipment to record hibernating blue crabs under the ocean floor\u2019s mud. Surveyors in the winter survey of December through March visit 1,500 ocean sites in Chesapeake Bay to conduct the measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past surveys have found that the biggest natural blue crab threat are predator blue catfish. These blue catfish prey on juvenile blue crabs that use the saline environment of Chesapeake Bay as their nursery<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pricing\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fishing is the one man made threat, particularly because these crustaceans bring higher rates than some shellfish. The average retail prices hover between $40 and 64 per pound versus dock prices of\u00a0$12.5<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to 34 per pound.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most blue crabs sell by the dozen in the average size range of between 5 ounces and 16 ounces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, blue crabs look their premium price with their showy bright blue claws and attractive olive green or brown domed shells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, as Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers dip by just 2% in winter 2024, there is hope that assessment will bring sustainable solutions. Some of this assessment could include statistics such as the ones below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Blue Crab <\/strong>Statistics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blue crabs\u2019 scientific name,\u00a0Callinectes sapidus<\/em>\u00a0literary means \u201cbeautiful savory swimmer.\u201d Though blue crabs generally weigh\u00a01\/3<\/sup>\u00a0pound, the largest ever recorded in American waters was 1.1 pounds. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NASA), blue crabs are the most\u00a0valuable seafood in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.<\/u><\/a>\u00a0Outside the U.S., they live at the Gulf of Mexico, Nova Scotia in Canada, Tunisia and Argentina\u2019s Atlantic coastline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2000, Maryland’s blue crab numbers have been lowest in 2001 at\u00a0254 million crabs\u00a0<\/u><\/a>and 2021 at 227 million. Maryland has been averaging $45 million in commercial revenue from blue crab fisheries between 2010 and 2020. Virginia, on the other hand, recorded earnings from blue crab fisheries worth $28 million in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maryland\u2019s and\u00a0Virginia\u2019s blue crab numbers on Chesapeake Bay in winter 2024 were at stable albeit lower levels than 2023\u2019s. There were an estimated winter 2024 population of\u00a0317 million blue crabs, according to a May 22, 2024 survey report. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) alongside Virginia Institute of Marine Science have been conducting the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nChesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maryland\u2019s and\u00a0Virginia\u2019s blue crab numbers on Chesapeake Bay in winter 2024 were at stable albeit lower levels than 2023\u2019s. There were an estimated winter 2024 population of\u00a0317 million blue crabs, according to a May 22, 2024 survey report. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) alongside Virginia Institute of Marine Science have been conducting the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-30T09:48:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-30T09:52:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/640px-Callinectes_sapidus_MNHN-IU-2014-22964_003-e1717062306600.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/\",\"name\":\"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-30T09:48:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-30T09:52:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"description\":\"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\",\"name\":\"Timothy Wahome\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Timothy Wahome\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","og_description":"Maryland\u2019s and\u00a0Virginia\u2019s blue crab numbers on Chesapeake Bay in winter 2024 were at stable albeit lower levels than 2023\u2019s. There were an estimated winter 2024 population of\u00a0317 million blue crabs, according to a May 22, 2024 survey report. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) alongside Virginia Institute of Marine Science have been conducting the...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/","og_site_name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","article_published_time":"2024-05-30T09:48:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-30T09:52:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":601,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/640px-Callinectes_sapidus_MNHN-IU-2014-22964_003-e1717062306600.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Timothy Wahome","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Timothy Wahome","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/","name":"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-30T09:48:09+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-30T09:52:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/05\/30\/chesapeake-bays-blue-crab-numbers-at-manageable-levels\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chesapeake Bay\u2019s blue crab numbers at manageable levels"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/","name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","description":"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8","name":"Timothy Wahome","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Timothy Wahome"},"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20429"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20439,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429\/revisions\/20439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}