![]() ![]() Those juveniles grew through 2017 and endured this year’s cold winter to become the 2018 class of spawning adults.” “Last year we had very few young crabs entering the bay. “Although the number of spawning-age females is down from last year, we are pleased to see that their abundance is well above the minimum safe number even with the winter weather and lackluster reproduction last year,” Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee Chair Glenn Davis said. The juvenile crab population increased 34 percent over last year, reaching 167 million. Adult male crab abundance declined 23 percent from 76 to 59 million. This year’s adult female abundance remains among the 10 highest of the nearly three decade old survey. In 2018, the spawning female stock decreased 42 percent from 254 to 147 million, dropping below the target level of 215 million, but remaining well above safe levels. ![]() The survey indicates a bay-wide crab population of 371 million, a decrease from last year’s estimate of 455 million, driven largely by a decrease in the number of adult crabs. “Even with the erratic weather, which included snow in April, the blue crab population remains well within parameters, showing that the state and our partners are managing the species well.” ![]() “Despite the cold, hard winter, which extended well into the spring, the blue crab population remains healthy, resilient and sustainable,” Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. Blue crabs spend the first part of their lives in the Atlantic Ocean before returning to the bay to grow and mature. While this year’s cold weather and ice cover took a toll on the adult crab population, causing an estimated 35 percent mortality of adult females wintering in state waters, the number of young crabs that returned to Chesapeake Bay this year increased 34 percent. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today released the results of the 2018 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, which shows that the population of blue crabs remains healthy and sustainable. ![]()
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