Chesapeake Blue Crab Population Rebounds After Five-Year Decline

A new study says that Chesapeake Bay crab stocks are healthy and not dwindling. The results come several months after Maryland enacted emergency catch restrictions to protect the crustaceans.

The nine-month study concluded that the crab population has naturally returned to an above-average level after about five years of decline. The research was conducted by a team of federal and state biologists from Massachusetts to South Carolina.

“Generally, we think crab stocks are in very good health, “ said M. Elizabeth Gillelan, Chesapeake Bay program director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which directed the computer-assisted study.

The study also found no evidence of overfishing of the Chesapeake’s most sought commodity. Crab reproduction has been on the rise in recent years, which would not happen if too many crabs were being caught, Gillelan said.