What's behind this year's boom in Chesapeake Bay blue crabs? Good management? Good weather? Or good luck? The question sounds simple, but the answer may not be. Not if you look for an answer among the various scientists who study blue crabs for a living. Some of them, the crab biologists, focus on the in-Bay travels and travails of this colorful, two-clawed crustacean. Others, the oceanographers, track the offshore exodus of blue crab larvae - the tiny offspring who will grow into the next generation of Bay crabs - but only if they work their way off the ocean and back into the estuary. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about The Blue Crab Conundrum
When the talk around the Chesapeake turns to blue crabs - and the talk turns that way every spring - there are two questions that matter most: When will blue crabs start moving up the Bay? And how many will be coming? Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about The Offshore Odyssey of Blue Crab Science
Rachel Dean and her husband Simon have a lively fishing business in Solomons Island, Maryland, switching between striped bass and crabs when they aren't taking tourists on the water and running a seafood company. Dean acquired two commercial licenses to catch blue crabs, one to run her business, and another with the next generation in mind. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about The Value Of Crabbing
To get the flash freezer, a new technique up and running, Brooks and his colleagues collaborated with Tom Rippen, a seafood technology specialist with Maryland Sea Grant Extension who is based at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore in Princess Anne. Rippen and his fellow researchers haven't stopped at refrigeration: they're also working to develop other new technologies and best practices, including robotic pickers, to keep Maryland businesses competitive in a tough, shrinking industry. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Crab Processors Get High Tech
The future of the Maryland crab industry may depend in part on whether real Maryland crab makes it onto the menu at your local restaurant. That's the idea behind the True Blue campaign, a new marketing effort by the state of Maryland celebrating local restaurants that offer Chesapeake-caught crab. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Are U.S. Imports Sustainable?
The future of the Maryland crab industry may depend in part on whether real Maryland crab makes it onto the menu at your local restaurant. That's the idea behind the True Blue campaign, a new marketing effort by the state of Maryland celebrating local restaurants that offer Chesapeake-caught crab. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Maryland Crab Coming to a Restaurant Near You
When Marylanders go crabbing for fun or a family feast, most of them use some chicken necks on a line to bait the crabs and a dip net to catch them. The more ambitious, however, can try some of the tools the pros use. Those who go crabbing for profit are called watermen, and they chase hard crabs with crab pots in the Bay's mainstem and with trotlines and net rings in the tributaries. When they're hunting peeler crabs, crabs that are getting ready to molt, watermen use peeler pots, bank traps, or crab scrapes. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Maryland-Style Crabbing
When they're ready, females can produce millions of eggs (from 8 to 14 million). Only two have to reach adulthood to give the Bay a steady-state population. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Atlantic Blue Crab Life Cycle
Many of the terms related to blue crab biology are defined. Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about Glossary of Blue Crab Biology
The floods of Agnes had little or no effect on another popular Bay species: blue crabs. (Their harvest actually increased over the next two years.) That puzzled two young scientists - one working in Maryland, one in Delaware - who were already rethinking the current theory about where blue crabs spend their early lives.The result would be a new theory that helped solve a long-standing enigma: why do blue crab populations go through so many sudden booms and slumps? Chesapeake Quarterly, Maryland Sea Grant's quarterly magazine, reports on research, extension, education and other Chesapeake Bay issues and activities of interest to the marine community. It is produced and funded by this program, which receives support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Editors, Michael W. Fincham and Jeffrey Brainard; Science Writer, Daniel Strain; Production Editor and Art Director, Sandy Rodgers.
more . . . about 35 Years of Blue Crab Research
