Chesapeake Bay News

While the overall crab population in the Chesapeake Bay rebounded significantly last year, the number of juvenile crabs remained well below the historical average, according to a report published by the NOAA-chaired Fisheries Steering Committee.

“New regulations implemented by the various bay jurisdictions in 2008 seem to be working,” said Peyton Robertson, director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. “The continued improvements in science and their application to management appear to be resulting in a
positive direction for the blue crab in the Chesapeake.”

The 2009 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report, developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee, is based primarily on data collected in the 2008-09 bay-wide winter dredge survey, the most comprehensive and statistically robust annual blue crab survey
conducted in the bay.

The data shows:

Abundance of blue crabs over the age of one was 223 million, a 70 percent increase from the 2007-08 survey numbers. This was primarily due to an increase in abundance of spawning-age females. Since the winter dredge survey began in 1990, the average blue crab population in the bay has been 186 million.

Bay-wide, numbers of juvenile crabs entering the population did not increase appreciably. There were an estimated 179 million juvenile crabs in the bay—well below the survey’s long-term average of 258 million.

The estimated 2008 harvest of blue crabs from the bay and tributaries was 48.6 million pounds—11 percent higher than the record-low 43.5 million pounds in 2007, but well below the long-term average of 74 million pounds.

Based on these statistics, an estimated 48 percent of crabs were harvested from the bay by commercial and recreational fishers in 2008. That is below the overfishing threshold of 53 percent, but slightly above the target of 46 percent.

“While it is heartening to see numbers rebound, resource managers need to maintain conservation measures until their full effects are known,” Robertson said. “We won’t know the full effectiveness of the new regulations implemented in 2008 until we study results from the next two winter dredge surveys.”

The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee includes fisheries scientists from the University of Maryland, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, NOAA’s Fisheries Service and the states of Maryland and Virginia. The Fisheries Steering Committee works with the various bay management jurisdictions and is a forum where fisheries management agencies communicate and coordinate decisions across management boundaries.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Hydrographic Operations crew has broken ice aboard the A.V. Sandusky along the coastline of Kent Narrows.

“Our work of deicing Maryland’s waterways allows accessibility to a variety of people,” said Captain Shawn Orr. “If we let the ice build up on some of these areas for too long, it can inhibit the daily lives of many that rely on our State’s iconic aquatic resources.”

Deicing allows law enforcement units, such as the Maryland Natural Resources Police, commercial watermen using pound nets and public service vessels, such as fuel barges, to operate during winter conditions. The Smith Island community of Maryland relies heavily upon this service to allow boats to transport students to school, the U.S. mail to be delivered and commerce on the island to occur.

The diesel-powered A.V. Sandusky has 700 horsepower and can operate in up to 8 inches of ice. The vessel was built in 1989 and is 80 feet long.

When not performing this seasonally important responsibility, Hydrographic Operations manages about 2,500 floating and 360 fixed navigational and regulatory aids with a staff of 22 across the entire state of Maryland. The three ice-breaking vessels serve as buoy tenders and their other tailored outboard boats mark safety hazards near dams, as well as state and county lines.