ANNAPOLIS — The annual Blue Crab Advisory Report by the Chesapeake Bay Program and developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee, finds that the overall Chesapeake Bay blue crab population decreased by almost 18 percent from 455 million in 2017 to 372 million in 2018.
The report, released last month, provides scientific analysis of the Bay’s blue crab population to help resource managers as they set blue crab fishing regulations. The Chesapeake Bay Program’s Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team recently approved the 2018 edition of the report.
According to the report and the scientific reference points that resource managers follow for “target” (healthy) and “threshold” (border between safe and unsafe) levels, the Bay’s blue crab population is currently not depleted, nor is it being overfished.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Kent County News
