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Blue Crab Advisory Report released

The annual Blue Crab Advisory Report, released by the Chesapeake Bay Program and developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee, finds that the overall Chesapeake Bay blue crab population is not being overfished and is not depleted.

The blue crab population in the bay—which varies naturally from year to year—decreased from 594 million in 2019 to 405 million in 2020, according to the report.

The report includes analysis of data from the annual bay-wide winter dredge survey (released earlier this year by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science) and harvest estimates from recent years to provide a picture of the Chesapeake’s blue crab population and to make suggestions for any needed changes to regulations.

In the Chesapeake Bay, the blue crab fishery is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Virginia Marine Resources Commission and Potomac River Fisheries Commission. Each jurisdiction sets its own regul...

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