2024 MD Blue Crab Numbers Down In Dredge Count: DNR

MARYLAND — While blue crab season has begun in Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey released estimates a slight dip in the population from a year ago.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources said 317 million blue crabs are in the Chesapeake Bay in 2024, compared to 323 million crabs last year.

The number of spawning age female crabs decreased from 152 million crabs in 2023 to 133 million crabs in 2024, but is still well above the management threshold of 72.5 million crabs, the DNR said last week. The threshold indicates whether the female crab population is being overfished or not.

The survey said adult male crabs decreased from 55 million in 2023 to 46 million in 2024.

The number of juvenile crabs in the Chesapeake Bay has been below average for the past four years, but rose to 138 million juvenile crabs in 2024.

“An increase in juvenile recruitment is certainly welcome news, and the stock and population as a whole remains healthy,” said Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director Lynn Fegley, in a release. “However, the continued relatively low recruitment numbers warrant a closer look at our approach moving forward.”

The 2023 survey estimated 323 million blue crabs were in the Bay, an increase from a 2022 record low count of 227 million crabs.

The consecutive years of low juvenile crab numbers prompted advocates to plan a new stock assessment for blue crabs, which will begin this summer. The DNR said the assessment will give fishery managers an in-depth look at their understanding of the ecology of this species, how it is modeled, and whether the reference points used for management should be revised.

Mandy Bromilow, DNR’s blue crab program manager, said there has not been an overall reexamination of the data that contributed to the 2011 stock assessment on blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.

“We haven’t had a real evaluation of the assumptions we have in the model, and there are new analytical methods that could be applied to the data,” she said. The stock assessment is set to be completed and published in March 2026.

The count is a cooperative effort between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.