REISTERSTOWN, Md. — With a mallet in-hand and an orange crush nearby, Marylanders are ready for crab feast season.
The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, completed in concert with Maryland's Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, found the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay has dropped to the second-lowest level since the survey began in 1990. DNR still described the population as "sustainable."
"Based on the current management framework, the abundance of mature females should be high enough to support a strong juvenile year class given the right environmental conditions," a DNR news release said.
The survey found "decreases in the abundance of adult male and female crabs, as well as a decline in the juvenile population," the organization said. The survey estimated 238 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2025, down from 2024's 317 million.
Allison Colden, Maryland Executive Director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which works to protect the bay, called the survey results 'distressing' and a 'red flag.'
"This year's winter dredge survey results mean it could be more difficult for bay watermen to find blue crabs this year during the summer crab feast season, which means prices could go up, and things could be more scarce for those who want to enjoy crabs at home," Colden told WMAR-2 News.
Mandy Bromilow, DNR’s blue crab program manager, said the high death rate among crabs is likely because of several cold snaps over the winter.
Colden pointed out multiple potential factors, including decreased underwater grass, water pollution, and predation by the invasive blue catfish.
"In response to these distressing survey results, we're hoping managers in Maryland and Virginia will look to reduce crab harvests overall with a particular eye in Virginia toward the increasing harvest of male crabs and in Maryland to the harvest and import of sponge crabs, which are female crabs which have eggs and are ready to spawn," Colden said.
"We prepare all year for the next 3 months," said Hope Otto, owner of Reter's Crab House and Grille in Reisterstown.
As the owner of a crab house, Otto stays informed about factors affecting the crab supply.
"A lot of our watermen and a lot of our crab suppliers keep us abreast of things that are going on. Weather dependencies and things like that. So if they know a bad storm's coming in, we'll be able to get crabs earlier in the week, or things like that," Otto said.
Otto notes that weather and crab size have been the main challenges so far this season.
The Department of Natural Resources notes that blue crab reproduction naturally varies and is known to follow a "boom or bust" cycle. DNR will take a stock assessment next year, and hopes to gain insight on "what could be contributing to the ongoing low juvenile recruitment and what we can do to support the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crabs."
Despite the concerning survey results, crabs are already booming at Reter's and on back decks throughout Maryland as the season gets underway.
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