It’s been one of the worst years for Chesapeake crabbers for harvesting the blue crabs.
Scientists are attributing the decline to crab cannibalism.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that Brenda Davis, manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Blue Crab program, said that there has been a 60 percent decline down to 300-million blue crabs in the bay
Last year the figure was 765 million – a 20 year high.
In addition to cannibalism Davis said that Maryland’s warmer saltier waters in 2012 also played a part with an increase in predators from the sea such as striped bass.
Dan Brooks, president of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association, told the paper that the drop has hurt the seafood business – forcing some watermen to find new jobs.
