Press Release: Blue Crabs across the Coast
Art by Hazel Kidd.
Blue crabs are a staple on menus along the Atlantic Coast, across the country, and around the world. The best are sweet and buttery, delicate with just a tinge of brine, and many connoisseurs say Chesapeake Bay’s are the tastiest.
Before blue crabs find their place on our plates, they skitter through estuaries to coasts that meet the ocean. On their crustacean backs, they carry many fisheries, while filling an important niche in the ocean ecosystem.
Research to understand when and why blue crab populations fluctuate can inform decisions to better manage and sustain them. If temperature rise will impact a population off southern Georgia, will the same impacts be felt in Chesapeake Bay? If the Gulf Stream shifts weather patterns in the Northern Atlantic, what will that foretell for newborn larvae along the coast?
Scientists at the University of Maryland identified key factors in weather and geography that can help answer questions like these and inform strategies for blue crab management.
Looking at regional and local trends, they found that times of abundance or decline in crab populations sync closely in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Chesapeake Bay crabs follow trends in these locations, too. Populations from North Carolina and north follow their own pattern, though synchronization across geographies is slightly less strong.
This study also supports others that record a sustained decline in overall blue crab populations along the Atlantic Coast, with numbers dropping for the past two decades. Additional research can help to further identify causes. The scientists note, for example, that the movement of larvae through regional estuaries may also influence nearby populations. Female blue crabs travel to the ocean coast to release their young, and some hatchlings may catch a ride on currents before they settle into the safety of a marshland to grow.
In the estuary or on the menu, blue crabs provide an important anchor along the Atlantic Coast. Along with sustainable management, additional research can help further understanding these economically and ecologically important creatures.
