![]() ![]() As they grow older, crabs feed upon a variety of smaller bivalves that live on the Bay floor. As larvae they are preyed upon by numerous filter-feeders, such as menhaden. Blue crabs serve many important roles in the Bay food web. Humans aren’t alone in our love of crabs. Picking steamed crabs has reached the level of an artform in many Chesapeake Bay communities, where they are often enjoyed for summer holidays and at family gatherings, and crab cakes are a staple of both restaurants and home cooking. Moreover, crabs continue to hold great cultural significance in the watershed. In Virginia, the commercial harvest value has ranged from $22 million to $38 million annually. In Maryland alone, commercial landings of blue crab have topped $45 million in dockside value annually for the past decade-far more than oysters and striped bass combined. Why Are Blue Crabs Important to the Chesapeake Bay?īlue crabs support one of the Bay’s most valuable commercial fisheries and a large recreational fishery. It takes a year to 18 months for a crab to reach maturity. The tiny blue crab larvae begin their lives in the ocean, growing and molting several times before they return to the Bay. Once they have mated, female crabs migrate to the saltier waters at the mouth of the Bay to spawn. Mating often occurs in shallower waters that support underwater grass beds. They are most active from spring through fall, but commonly burrow into the Bay’s bottom sediments during winter to wait out the cold. ![]() These grass beds form a crucial habitat that provides food, shelter, and protection when crabs are young and when they mate and molt (shed their shell).ĭepending on the time of year, blue crabs can be found in different parts of the Bay. They eat a range of foods including mussels, oysters, small crustaceans, and decaying plant and animal matter, and they are often found in the Bay’s underwater grass beds. They are found in coastal waters along the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, although their range stretches as far south as Argentina in South America.īlue crabs have bright blue claws and four pairs of legs-the rearmost of which have paddle-like ‘fins’ that allow them to swim throughout the water column. Known as the "beautiful swimmer," blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, are the most iconic Chesapeake Bay species. ![]()
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