Recreational crabbing in Maryland can be done a variety of ways, with or without a license depending on the equipment and location. Fishery managers in Maryland, Virginia, and the Potomac River hinted at possible season changes in response to the crab decline. “The Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions have maintained harvest of blue crabs at safe levels set forth in the last benchmark stock assessment since 2008,” the Department of Natural Resources said. The recreational crabbing season in Maryland officially opens April 1 for the Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributaries as well as in the Atlantic Ocean, coastal bays and their tributaries. More information on the latest laws is available here. Recreational crabbers cannot sell or possess any hard female crab, egg-bearing crab known as a sponge or female peeler crab that’s about to molt its shell. Officials said crabbers are largely following all the current regulations.Ĭommercial crabbers are allowed to catch up to five mature female hard crabs per bushel of male crabs or 13 mature female hard crabs per barrel of male crabs. In 2017 an update to the blue crab stock assessment recommended a female-specific target of 196 million spawning age female crabs and a threshold of 72.5 million spawning age female crabs that were adopted by Maryland, Virginia, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.
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The Department of Natural Resources will then work with the Blue Crab Industry Advisory Committee to give guidance on how to sustain the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population. The group will offer its scientific advice for management during its May meeting. Knowing where to chart currents and tides, along with blue crab migrations ensure crab feasts from December to March. With crab levels declining, the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee will host a workshop to explore potential ways to increase the number of juveniles that become adults. Recruitment Down but Spawning Stock Remains at Above Average Levels The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the results of the 2021 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which annually estimates the number of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.
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