Blue crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay dropped to the second-lowest number on record, according to a recent survey from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The 2025 survey showed the overall population has declined to an estimated 238 million crabs — just above the all-time low of 226 million crabs recorded in 2022. This marks one of the most severe declines since surveying began in 1990.
“The red flags are flying for blue crabs,” said Allison Colden, the foundation’s Maryland executive director, in a statement by the foundation. “With more than five years of below average crab numbers, it is clear that changing conditions in the bay are undermining the current management of this important species.”…