WASHINGTON — Late summer and early fall is usually the best time for a crab feast as crabs are more meaty, abundant, and more affordable. But this season, the blue crab is much harder to find.
Usually this time of year is the best time for commercial and recreational crabbers alike to drop a line in the water with a chicken neck on it and come up with a crab. But not this September. The Capital Gazette reports that one Edgewater resident calls it the worst season he’s ever seen. Others say you can fill a basket but it takes motivation, determination and most especially time.
Why? The winter crab survey from the Department of Natural Resources shows a 60 percent drop in small crabs. And it’s not only in Maryland where the crab pickings are slim. DNR blue crab program manager Brenda Davis says everybody’s seen the dip on the East Coast. But the crabbers hope the cooler weather will bring more crabs and that winter’s small crabs will be today’s keepers.
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