As summer rages on, Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are once again a beloved delicacy in the mid-Atlantic, accounting for roughly one-third of the nation’s catch.
But the sought-after crabs have been dropping in numbers for years — and no one knows definitively why. Now, a new stock assessment of the crustaceans ordered by Virginia and Maryland legislators is providing some clues.
The study, the first such state-ordered assessment in 15 years, found that the population of both male and female crabs has decreased 50 percent since 2010. It also concluded an invasive fish that consumes crabs in the bay has played a part in the creatures’ decline.
“We haven’t been able to find the silver bullets for it yet to explain all of it, but it does look like invasive blue catfish are part of the reason that blue crabs are declining,” said Michael Wilberg, a professor of fisheries science at the University of Maryland and lead author of the assessment, which was released this month.
