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Saturday, August 20, 2016

Quantity up, quality improving on crab catch

Devotees of the Chesapeake Bay’s most notable crustaceans rejoiced this spring when results of the 2016 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey predicted a second straight year of record population growth.

Still, according to several area experts, quantity doesn’t always equal quality.

Since 1990, biologists with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science have worked each winter to excavate crabs buried in mud to record length measurements and develop population estimates from 1,500 sites throughout the bay.

The 2016 survey concluded the bay contained approximately 553 million crabs, up 35 percent from the prior year. That finding continues the upswing revealed in the 2015 survey, which showed an increase of 38 percent.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I priced Jumbo crabs today........$79.00 a dozen!!!!!! Prices are not decreasing!

Anonymous said...

I thought Assateague Coast Keeper Kathy Phillips, Margo Barnes, Wannabe Pastor Rick Price, Big Mouth, Maria Payan and Bimbo "I lost my job at the Ward Museum" Gabby and Lisa "the Doctors wife" Inzerillo said the chicken houses was killing the Chesapeake Bay??

Anonymous said...

JUMBO? You should have priced colossals. Really, what's in a name?

The only place I have found that still uses the age old standard of #1 crabs is PGN at 29th st in Ocean City. $45 or less per dozen they are all consistency heavy/full crabs that vary in size. No surprises.