Virginia fisheries regulators’ decision to extend the traditional crab pot season into December shouldn’t have a big effect on crab populations, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s latest blue crab management plan says.
The commission extended the usual crab pot season by 20 days, until Dec. 19. The season for peeler pots and other commercial crab gears still ended Oct. 31 to protect the juvenile population.
The goal of the extension is to make up for losses caused by the pandemic, as social distancing restrictions and stay-at-home orders cut demand at restaurants, the commission plan said.
“Based on estimates of abundance and the lack of fishing effort during the early period of the pandemic, researchers believe the extended season will have minimal impact on annual harvest,” the commission said.
When allowed in the past, December harvests were low, the commission said.
“I think the concern was that watermen had a hard year and with crab populations relatively stable and healthy, we could do this,” said Chris Moore, senior ecosystem scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
“The commission struck a good balance here,” he added.
The commission said its staff estimated that the extra days would add something like 100,000 to 200,000 pounds to the annual harvest.
Last year’s commercial harvest in the Chesapeake Bay was about 61 million pounds, including an estimated 28.7 million pounds in Virginia waters.
That’s below the long-term average, though it is above the average of 54 million crabs harvested since Virginia, Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission imposed tough conservation measures in 2008, after the population crashed.
Blue crabs are not currently overfished and the population is not depleted, according to this year’s winter dredge survey. The survey by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is the most important tool fisheries officials use in setting harvest regulations.
But the survey showed a conservative approach to managing the harvest is still needed, the commission said.
The survey estimated blue crab numbers at 405 million, 32% lower than last year’s estimate of 594 million crabs and 5% lower than the long-term survey average of 427 million crabs.
One key group saw an even steeper decline — juveniles numbered 185 million crabs, down 43% from the year before and 18% below the long-term survey average of 229 million juvenile crabs. This matters because juveniles counted in the winter will be big enough to harvest in late summer and fall, and if not caught then will contribute during the following spring and summer spawning periods.
The survey’s estimate of 141 million overwintering females was 7% below the average since the 2008 ban on winter dredging, which was put in place to protect this group. This total is about twice the 70 million threshold, when this population isn’t large enough to keep total numbers from collapsing, but below a target of 215 million.
Protecting female numbers is a key focus of conservation measures in the bay, the commission said.
Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com
