Blue Crab Summary_Blue Crab Status02001-8.5x11

The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is a keystone species which plays an integral ecological, economic, and sociological role in Chesapeake Bay. The blue crab functions as both predator and prey in the Bay’s complex estuarine foodweb and occupies a variety of critical habitats impacted by human activity. Blue crabs exhibit a complex life history, disperse between estuarine and marine habitats, and are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in environmental conditions. The robust fishery is intricate, divided between commercial and recreational sectors, a suite of fishing gear and effort levels, and several different markets. Concern over depressed population levels in 2008 resulted in Maryland and Virginia implementing a rebuilding strategy which includes limiting the fall harvest of migrating females, closing the winter female dredge harvest in Vir ginia, and extending the spawning season sanctuary. Following these new regulations, the female blue crab population increased by 200% from the period 2008 to 2009. While coordinated multi-jurisdictional, single-species management has been successful in recent years, fisheries researchers, managers, and policy makers recognize that blue crabs are particularly susceptible to ecosystem changes. A holistic management framework which addresses the inter-relationships between the blue crab’s foodweb, habitat, stock dynamics, and socioeconomics may yield a long-term strategy for managing blue crabs in an ecosystem context. The foundation of this approach is based on an understanding of the critical issues impacting blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay. As a critical first step for advancing EBFM for blue crabs, Maryland Sea Grant assembled a team of experts to develop detailed background and ecosystem issue briefs for five of the Bay’s key species identified in the Fisheries Ecosystem Planning for Chesapeake Bay document, including the blue crab. The briefs describe how ecosystem issues impact the blue crab or the blue crab’s ecosystem and recommends indicators which may be useful for management. Their findings are summarized here.