Concern over dwindling numbers of blue crab in the Potomac River continues to grow for Maryland and Virginia watermen. Some fishermen blame rockfish and catfish for eating juveniles, however, it is most likely a reduced number of spawning age females preventing the recovery of crab populations.
Analysis of the 2014 winter dredge survey, conducted by Maryland and Virignia, suggests that the number of spawning age females is well below the "safe level" of 70 million. For several years now the Potomac River Fisheries Commission has been working to reduce the number of female crabs caught by implementing harvest reductions. Unfortunately, the success of these reduction has been small, this year the number of females caught was reduced by only 8.9%.
Low crab numbers are driving prices up, due to a still high demand for crab meat, while putting crab fishermen out of business, as there's not enough for everyone to catch.
Read the original article: Despite Downturn, Some Local Watermen Optomistic
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