Maryland moved Monday to reduce the commercial harvest of female blue crabs in the aftermath of a survey finding that the Chesapeake Bay's crab population hit a five-year low last winter.
The Department of Natural Resources announced that it was lowering the daily allowable catch of female crabs, effective last Thursday. The move comes nearly a month after Maryland and Virginia officials announced the results of their annual winter dredge survey, which found that the bay's crab population had declined by nearly two-thirds over the previous year, to around 300 million, with juvenile crabs plummeting 80 percent.
The number of female crabs increased substantially despite the overall decline, and remained well above the threshold scientists say is needed to sustain the population. But officials said they would seek to reduce the female crab harvest by 10 percent as a precaution, to boost prospects for a good spawn this year and possibly spark a rebound in the prized crustaceans.
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