In May, results of the 2026 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey were released by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
2026 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey Highlights
The annual cooperative survey estimates a total of 349 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2026, a 46% increase over the estimate of 238 million crabs last year.
The survey estimated 228 million juvenile blue crabs, an increase of 121% from the previous year.
The above-average abundance estimate follows six consecutive years of below-average juvenile recruitment.
The total abundance and juvenile abundance were at the highest levels since 2019.
The number of adult male crabs also increased. There are an estimated 37 million adult male blue crabs in the Bay, which is 43% higher than last year.
Adult female abundance has decreased by 25%, to 81 million crabs, which is above the management threshold but below the target level.
The cold winter led to a large amount of overwintering mortality in the Bay’s crabs, especially among adults. About 20% of adult male crabs and 12% of adult female crabs died in the winter, compared to an average of 9% and 7% male and female overwintering mortality from 1996 to 2026.
Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Stock Assessment
The dredge survey results come as scientists are finalizing the Chesapeake Bay blue crab benchmark stock assessment, a large-scale analysis of the species and factors affecting their population.
The draft assessment found that there are more blue crabs than previously estimated in the Bay, but that the crabs face an overall population decrease without a clear cause.
Over the course of the next year, DNR will discuss how to implement the stock assessment results into its management framework, in coordination with the other jurisdictions, watermen, and scientists.
The previous blue crab stock assessment in 2011 and accompanying management decisions helped to bring the Chesapeake’s blue crab population back from more than a decade of low abundance and harvest levels.
The current stock assessment will serve as a critical update to that work by ensuring that management targets and thresholds, including sustainable fishing rates, are set appropriately.
Winter Dredge Survey
The Winter Dredge Survey has been conducted cooperatively by Maryland and Virginia since 1990, and the results are reviewed annually in an effort to have consistent management efforts across the jurisdictions.
Throughout the survey, biologists use dredge equipment to capture, measure, record and release blue crabs at 1,500 sites throughout the Chesapeake Bay from December through March. Detailed results are on the DNR website.
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