Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Need Better Management and Reporting

(WASHINGTON – July 1, 2015) Responding to the 2015 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report released today by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC), the Environmental Defense Fund has issued the following statement from Matt Mullin, Northeast Regional Director, U.S. Oceans Program:  

This year’s increase in blue crabs is welcome news for both the fishery and watermen, but the data shows that the management of the Chesapeake’s blue crab stock remains unsustainable.

While humans have limited control over the weather, predators or other natural variables that threaten blue crabs each year, what we can control is how we manage this fishery – and we can do a much better job. 

The Environmental Defense Fund wholeheartedly agrees with the report’s recommendation that Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission define and quantify catch limits for the fishery, particularly with female crabs – and we hope this is taken seriously. 

If we changed the incentive for crabbers from maximizing the volume of catch to maximizing the price per pound, the Chesapeake’s fishery could produce millions of dollars more in economic output. This would create more prosperous watermen communities and provide more crabs for consumers.

We must also improve the accuracy, timeliness and validation of harvest reporting; currently, our annual estimation of the blue crab commercial harvest is imprecise, at best.

Even as we celebrate a good year for blue crabs, we must remain cautious and continue to make management improvements as quickly as possible. We have a long way to go before achieving stability and sustainability in this fishery.

The Chesapeake Bay blue crab population has been on a precarious decline for decades. This year’s population remains well below the high numbers seen the 1990s.

Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Maryland Department of Natural Resources.