Crab totals in bay show an uptick

Most recent dredge survey estimates number at 323M

Don’t pop the bubbly just yet, though we’ll take what we can get at this point.

After three years of dismal population estimates of the Chesapeake’s venerable blue crab, fishery managers announced an encouraging uptick in numbers revealed by the annual winter dredge survey, conducted cooperatively by Maryland and Virginia since 1990.

This is cautiously good news, a muchneeded jolt after crab numbers suffered through two of the worst recruitment metrics in the survey’s history.

Biologists with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimate there are 323 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2023, a considerable bump from last year’s low of 227 million crabs.

The number of spawning-age female crabs also increased, from 97 million crabs in 2022 to 152 million crabs in 2023; adult males nearly doubled from 28 million last year to 55 million this year.

“We are encouraged by the increases in adult crab abundance, but we need to be vigilant given the ongoing low recruitment numbers,” said Lynn Fegley, Maryland’s DNR acting director of Fishing and Boating Services. “We haven’t seen a strong year class since 2019 despite maintaining the spawning stock at a level capable of producing one.”

Last fall, it was all hands on deck as managers and scientists scrambled to figure out root causes of the poor recruitment and come up with viable solutions to buoy the stock of one of the bay’s most valuable and popular fisheries.

One thing fishery managers did was tighten regulations to reduce harvest pressure. Another key decision was to initiate a plan for a new stock assessment, which will kick off later this year with a workshop coordinated by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Experts say taking a deep dive into the ecology of this species, how it is modeled, and whether to revise reference points used for management is imperative to turning the tide. The continued scourge of poor water quality combined with habitat loss, especially seagrasses, a critical nursery for juvenile blue crabs, drives down abundance.

Factor in the spread of voracious blue catfish, especially in the upper bay’s prime crabbing grounds, and problems are exacerbated.

Rockfish regulations

By now you’ve heard that rockfish managers took emergency action to set new size limits on the striped bass fishery. This was to curb a worrisome uptick in catches that’s driven by the efficacy of the recreational fishery but is also influenced by other factors.

Earlier this month, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission capped the maximum size limit for most striped bass fisheries at 31 inches. Commissioners also voted to initiate the process to adopt Addendum II to the striper fishery management plan.

The goal is to reduce mortality in both the recreational and commercial fisheries, most likely through changes to recreational size limits, season closures, and maximum size limits.

Those of us on the bay with gray hair

call them “rockfish;” almost everyone younger or north of Cape Charles refers to them as stripers. By whatever name, they are one of the nation’s most popular and important fish and are estimated to generate $7.8 billion annually in economic output throughout their East Coast range.

It’s impossible, however, to put a dollar value on this fish’s cultural importance to Chesapeake and coastal communities. But they face stiff headwinds. Chief among them is poor spawning. 2015 was arguably the last solid class of new fish, and those are the ones the new size limit is designed to protect. Habitat, poor water quality and forage availability (menhaden, herring, shad) are some others.

Reducing the size to protect the spawners, especially the 2015 yearclass, is a necessary good step that needs to extend to the commercial fishery, especially Virginia’s spring gill net fishery at staging areas like the mouth of the Potomac. Maryland also should look hard at the rule allowing anglers on charter trips to keep two rockfish per person per day, if a captain is enrolled in DNR’s FACTS electronic reporting system.

For years I’ve argued that we’re already experiencing a paradigm shift, and as such we need to manage our expectations about this iconoclastic fish and fishery. The halcyon days of the early 2000s are unlikely to return. However, if we share the pain now, we may benefit from a more stable and predictable fishery in future years.

So, we’ve reached yet another historic point in rockfish management. Anyone who fishes for them, sells gear to catch them, or loves to eat them at a restaurant needs to step up and let decision-makers know protecting and rebuilding the fishery is paramount. Become part of the solution, not just gripe and whine on social media.

Speak up at the public hearings via webinar. Register at asmfc.org. Hearings are 5-7 p.m. Tuesday and 6-8 p.m. May 31.