Crabbing has been slow this season, but Chris Pritchett of North said it picked up some over the past week or so. He caught 16 bushels of crabs on Tuesday, up from only seven or eight bushels daily in weeks past. He said he’s catching more females and cushion crabs now.

Rain, cold, and last year’s storms all might be having an effect on the crab population, said Pritchett, adding that "it’s hard to put your finger on one thing."

"It hasn’t got hot yet," he said, "but it’s getting ready to get that way. Crabs like it hot; you always seem to catch more when it’s hot."

Although there don’t seem to be many crabs, there’s still a living to be made, since the market is up. Pritchett said that there still aren’t a lot of crabs in other places, so buyers are paying good prices. "As long as the market is high, that’s the main thing," he said.

While the bushel limit for crabs used to be 51 bushels a day for everyone, the Virgi...