After a 16-year prohibition, a group of Virginia watermen voted to reinstate winter crab dredging. Many argue the decision puts the blue crab’s fragile population in jeopardy.

After a 16-year prohibition, a group of Virginia watermen voted to reinstate winter crab dredging. Many argue the decision puts the blue crab's fragile population in jeopardy.

Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay is slowly disappearing as sea rises and erosion hits the shoreline. The population has ...

The Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population has fallen to its second-lowest level since 1990, down 25% from last year, according to an annual study published Thursday.

Environment Chesapeake Bay's declining blue crab numbers hit historic low in 2025 survey The survey found the lowest number of males reported since the studies began in 1990.

Each winter, scientists from Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources head out on the Chesapeake Bay and drag baskets along the bottom and count the ...

The winter surveys in Maryland and Virginia in 2025 estimated population drops of adult male and female crabs and juvenile crabs. The Chesapeake Bay blue crab could be experiencing a population ...

After a 16-year prohibition, a group of Virginia watermen voted to reinstate winter crab dredging. Many argue the decision puts the blue crab’s fragile population in jeopardy.