maryland winter dredge survey data download

Each adult female is capable of producing several broods of young crabs every year. The focus on protecting females is due to their importance to the overall resilience of the population, said Rom Lipcius, a professor of Fisheries Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and head of the lab that conducts the annual dredge survey in Virginia. “These reduced abundances highlight the need to continue to protect adult females in order to help ensure better numbers in the future.” “Although juvenile population estimates can vary greatly from year to year, the 2022 results are the third year of below-average numbers in this segment of the population,” Chris Moore, CBF’s Senior Regional Ecosystem Scientist, said at the time.

It also showed a continuing low number of juvenile crabs. Last year, the survey showed the overall crab population dropped for the third consecutive year to its lowest level in the survey’s 33-year history. This year’s survey results, which won’t be released for another couple months, are anxiously awaited. On March 16, VIMS researchers sampled crabs at 18 locations in the Lower Bay, marked by green squares on this electronic navigational chart.

Maryland winter dredge survey data download