The Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population has recovered somewhat from last year’s low ebb, new data show, but not enough to dispel worries about the future of the region’s most valuable commercial fishery and most popular recreational fishery.
The annual wintertime survey by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science found an estimated 323 million crabs Baywide. That’s up more than 40% from last year’s record-low tally of 227 million crabs.
