Indicator: Blue Crab Abundance and Harvest in the Chesapeake Bay (1990-2025)

<p><strong>Access the Indicator Materials:</strong><br />- <a target="_blank" href="https://d18lev1ok5leia.cloudfront.net/chesapeakeprogress/chart-assets/adult-female-blue-crab-abundance/2025-UPDATES-Analysis-and-Methods_2024_Blue-Crab-Abundance_FINAL.docx">Analysis &amp; Methods</a><br />- <a target="_blank" href="https://d18lev1ok5leia.cloudfront.net/chesapeakeprogress/chart-assets/adult-female-blue-crab-abundance/2025-UPDATES-Data_2024_Blue-Crab-Abundance-and-Harvest_Progress_FINAL.xlsx">Data File</a></p><p>Blue crab abundance in the Chesapeake Bay is estimated each year through the annual Winter Dredge Survey (WDS), conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The WDS measures crab density at about 1,500 sites throughout the Bay, then expands those estimates across the Bay’s area to calculate the total number of blue crabs by age, sex, and maturity. When combined with harvest data from the three jurisdictions, these abundance estimates also allow managers to calculate exploitation rates, defined as crab harvest divided by the total number of age-0+ crabs in the population at the start of the crabbing season. Each year, managers assess blue crab stock status by comparing adult female abundance and female exploitation rate to female-specific management reference points.</p><p><strong>Note: This Indicator supported progress tracking toward the Blue Crab Abundance Outcome in the original Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, adopted in 2014. The Watershed Agreement and Blue Crabs Outcome were revised in 2025.</strong></p>