This results in over harvesting of the females, the egg bearing of the species, and results in depleting the population as a whole. the male population of crabs reside in the upper bays, and the female population migrates towards the mouth of the bay in Virginia. Mature females will primarily over-winter in the bay mainstream south of the Rappahannock River and prepare for spawning the following spring.įemales stay in Virginia waters until death. Immature females will be found mostly in lower to mid-Bay tributaries Newly mated mature females will migrate toward the mouth of the Bay. These factors reduce the chances of a successful reproductive cycle of the crab.įALL MIGRATION OF BLUE CRABS Males will stay in the upper portions of the bay and tributaries. At any time, a males sperm for reproduction may only be at 50%. Environmental stress like pollution further decreases the male crabs potency. Since the harvest of crabs is dependent upon the size of the crab, and the demand for larger crabs versus small crabs is greater, the smaller crabs left in the population are less effective in reproducing. Larger crabs are more effective impregnating the female. For the female still has the ability to reproduce.Ģ.) The ability for the males to effectively reproduce has declined because of their size and environmental stresses. Thus taking a female crab, which upon inspection is not showing evidence of egg sacks, should not be done. Sperm may live in female seminal receptacles for a year or more and be used for repeated fertilizations. Mating can occur only while the female is in the soft shell state. Mating generally occurs in late summer.ġ.) Female crabs mate once during their terminal molt, while males mate multiple times during their life. Usually around $2.99īlue Crab's Reproductive Process has decreased the crab population.Īlthough female crabs only mate once, nearly 95 percent of all females are mated.

Of live female blue crabs as a substitute for the moreĮxpensive male blue crab.

Store in the metropolitan areas the wholesale selling Femaleīlue crabs are kept, and then harvested for softshells.ĮXCEPT you will find in every Korean type grocery Submerged aquatic grass, hiding place for crabs during their molting process, has decreased from other fishing methods and pollution, further inhibiting the reproduction of the blue crab. Dredging equipment shreds softshells, softshells don't crawl into traps because they bury themselves in the mud and submerged aquatic vegetation for protection while they are defenseless during the molting process. They catch female hard crabs, and put them in pens until they molt. How do they catch softshells ? They don't. The action needed - moratorium on softshell crab fishing and female crabs harvesting, and the crab population will come back. If you want to invigorated the blue crab species in the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Bays near Ocean City Maryland stop taking the female crab. Packaged crabmeat, once solely male blue crabs, is now being replaced by packaged female crab meat as the male crab population has decreased in size and population. Only in your very best restaurants will you get 'fresh-live' softshell blue crabs preparations. The softshell crab is prepared fresh, but most likely frozen and shipped. Softshell blue crabs have become a delicacy in many parts of the world as purveyors extended their markets. Softshell blue crabs, and the unknown global increase in demand for the product. The world demand for the softshell, which is nearlyġ00% female crabs, has increased steadily and marketedly. The expansion of the market for softshell crab has been emphasized with a coinciding increase in crab shedding systems used to take advantage of the softshell market. Over the last five years the market has had to compete with a large increase in imports of crabmeat In Maryland, 60% of commercial watermen's fishing income came from the blue crab harvest. Crabmeat production occurs in approximately 44 processing plants along the Chesapeake Bay area. Combined Maryland and Virginia dockside harvest for the year 2000 being $50.4 million, while the lowest catch in 20 years, weighed in at 50.9 million pounds. Employing over 1,200 workers, and in 1999 produced sales volume estimated at $30.3 million. In Maryland the blue crab has been the dominant contributor to the seafood harvesting and processing industry. Female Blue Crabs and Male Blue Crabs and Depletion of the blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay can be explained by the crabbing policies of Maryland and Virginia.

Blue crab male vs female