BALTIMORE (AP) - Blue crabs are rebounding in the Chesapeake Bay, with an annual survey showing the highest estimated population in seven years.
Overall, the bay-wide crab population rose by 60% from last year to reach an estimated total of 594 million. An annual winter survey released by the states of Maryland and Virginia shows almost twice as many juveniles as last year. Spawning-age females have increased, too.
Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio is secretary of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources. In a Monday statement, she said the bay's crab population "is both healthy and thriving."
