The annual Blue Crab Advisory Report, released 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 being overfished and is not depleted. The blue crab population in the Bay—which varies naturally from year to year—decreased from 594 million in 2019 to 405 million in 2020.
The report includes expert analysis of data from the annual bay-wide winter dredge survey (released earlier this year by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science) and harvest estimates from recent years to provide an in-depth picture of the Chesapeake’s blue crab population and to make suggestions for any needed changes to regulations.
The report is developed by the…
