May 26, 2026 — The latest Chesapeake Bay blue crab survey is offering a mix of encouraging signs and ongoing concerns for watermen and seafood industries on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where the blue crab remains one of the region’s most economically and culturally important fisheries.
According to results released from the annual Chesapeake Bay Winter Dredge Survey, conducted jointly by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Bay’s total blue crab population is estimated at 349 million crabs in 2026. That marks a 46 percent increase from last year’s estimate of 238 million crabs, which had been the second-lowest total recorded since the survey began in 1990.
The survey found strong gains among juvenile crabs and adult male crabs, raising hopes for a more productive crabbing season this summer for many Virginia watermen, including those working along the Eastern Shore.
However, scientists and fisheries managers continue to express concern about the Bay’s spawning-age female crabs, whose numbers declined again this year and remain well below long-term averages.