It is true that the health of the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population have led to harvest restrictions that have pinched watermen. Now there are mixed reports about whether the economy is keeping diners home instead of at crab shacks and crab houses. Douglas Lipton, a University of Maryland assistant professor who specializes in seafood economics, said that there are certain amount of fear and people closely scrutinizing the purchasing decisions.
Larry Simns, longtime president of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, explained that for most Marylanders, an afternoon of picking crabs is considered an expensive treat. He added that when the economy’s bad, people can’t afford crabs. Matt Weidman, general manager of Thursday’s Steak and Crab House in Galesville, opined that doom-and-gloom predictions last summer didn’t pan out.
Manager Andrew Ackerman said Buddy’s sold 75 bushels last weekend, about half from the Chesapeake and half from the Carolinas and Louisiana. Buddy’s current prices are $110 for a dozen of super jumbos, $85 for jumbos, $65 for larges, $45 for mediums and $35 for smalls. Melanie McGrath, a manager, told that people are still coming out for crabs.
It is told that crabbers are getting paid about $70 to $80 for a bushel of No. 1 crabs, down from about $90 earlier this season. They are catching plenty of crabs in the southern bay, though the northern bay hasn’t picked up yet, which is normal.
