Members point to lowest crab numbers in history of winter dredge survey, recent rapid rise in invasive blue catfish and snakeheads as cause for urgent action On September 21, 2022., U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Andy Harris, M.D., Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin and David Trone (all Md.) urged U.S. Department of Commerce leadership to initiate a new benchmark stock assessment for the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population, in line with the recommendations of leading scientists and fisheries managers. Following the lowest-ever blue crab population estimates in this year’s winter dredge survey, the Members of Congress called for expedient action to be undertaken using funding from the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). “The 2022 [winter dredge] survey demonstrates the complexity of the blue crab fishery. This year saw the Bay’s lowest number of crabs observed (227 million crabs) in the survey’s history. Approximately 97 million mature female crabs were estimated to be present in the Bay at the start of the 2022 crabbing season, which is above the abundance threshold of 72.5 million adult females, but […]
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