Seasonal Fishery Closure Could Benefit Blue Crab Population, Economy of Chesapeake Bay

Seasonal closures, imposed by Maryland and Virginia in recent years, could provide both economic and ecological benefits for the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab fishery and its blue crab population, according to an article by USGS scientist David Bunnell and collaborators Douglas Lipton and Thomas Miller from the University of Maryland.

Recent blue crab declines and associated revenue losses in the Chesapeake Bay’s most valuable fishery have presented managers with a difficult charge: selecting a management plan that will balance blue crab conservation while minimizing negative economic impacts associated with reduced fishing efforts. Computer simulations of management scenarios revealed that seasonal closures can prevent over-fishing while increasing potential economic revenue.

Specifically, Bunnell and his co-researchers found that early-season closures aimed at protecting female blue crabs (similar to closures enacted by Maryland and Virginia in 2008 and 2009) yielded higher revenue than in previous years when closures were not implemented.

A series of 15 computer simulations revealed how the multi-million dollar Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery would vary under three types of management scenarios: changes to the sizes of legally harvestable crabs, seasonal closures, and permanent closures of selected fisheries. Of these, only one—elimination of the peeler blue crab harvest, which earns the highest price—showed a substantial decline in revenue.

The projected impacts on revenue were similar among the various size regulations and seasonal closure scenarios; however, size regulations were deemed unfavorable due to uncertainties about economic feasibility and ecological and evolutionary impacts.

The full manuscript is available in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management, at: http://afsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1577/M09-182.1

For more information contact: David B. Bunnell (dbunnell@usgs.gov)