According to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the Chesapeake Bay’s 2008 blue crab population has dropped below last year’s alarming levels. It confirms that the bay’s signature species remains in peril. The population of spawning-age blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2007-08 was 120 million, down from 143 million during the 2006-2007 season.
It is said that the state and federal experts have set a population target of 200 million spawning-age crabs. The winter dredge survey count crab as they burrow in the mud and is regarded as one of the most accurate tools for counting crabs in the bay. State officials have said the survey can predict the crab population with 90 percent accuracy. NOAA fisheries biologist Derek Orner told that it is additional information that basically confirms what has been out there.
Scientists estimated that watermen would be removing more than 60 percent of the blue crabs in the bay if harvest pressure continued as expected. Based on this survey Maryland and Virginia enacted restrictions aimed at reducing the baywide female crab harvest by 34 percent.
