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To protect the health of the blue crab stock and maintain the spawning stock at a sustainable level.

• The population of juvenile blue crabs (age 0) increased to 163 million in 2007-08, compared with 104 million in 2006-07, according to the 2008 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report.
• Despite this slight increase over last year, the abundance of young crabs remains well below the survey average (246 million). Therefore, 2008 represents a continuation of a period of low recruitment that has persisted since 1997-1998.
• The Blue Crab Advisory Report, developed by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC), is based primarily on data from the 2007-08 baywide winter dredge survey. In 2006, the CBSAC adopted the Baywide winter dredge survey (WDS) as the primary indicator of blue crab stock status because it is the most comprehensive and statistically robust of the blue crab surveys conducted in the Bay..
• The CBSAC includes fisheries scientists from universities, the states of Maryland and Virginia, and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
• Results from the 2009 winter dredge survey are not currently available and will be reported in the annual Blue Crab Advisory Report in June 2009.

• Blue Crab Abundance (Adults)

For more information contact: Mike Fritz at 800-968-7229 ext. 721 or Derek Orner at 800-968-7229 ext. 676

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee