A Virginia commission’s decision to strike down a ban on the winter dredge harvesting of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay drew sharp criticism from Maryland officials and regional environmentalists, who say it will further jeopardize the crab population and undermine efforts to protect the bay’s ecosystem.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), a state agency responsible for the commonwealth’s marine life, voted 5-4 Tuesday to repeal the prohibition on winter crab dredging in Virginia waters and to explore the establishment of a year-round crab fishery. The prohibition has been in place since 2008.

In a statement, the commission said that a year-round crab fishery “may serve to bolster the commercial crabbing industry during times of the year where jobs are often lost during industry closures, losing access to workers and customers.”

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It said the evaluation of whether a year-round crab fishery could operate would be made in conjunction with research and advice provided by the commission’s Crab Management Advisory Committee (CMAC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) “to ensure that any future fishery operates sustainably within the broader context of crab management efforts.”

But the vote did not go over well with Maryland leaders and environmental groups in Virginia and Maryland that have led efforts to stabilize the region’s blue crab population.

“A decision of this magnitude should have only been made with the support of scientists, in close consultation with Maryland officials, and in response to a significant increase in the blue crab population,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said in a statement.

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Kurtz said data shows that the population of female crabs is “below target levels and lower than last year’s abundance.”

The annual Baywide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, which estimates the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population, tallied 317 million crabs in 2024. Five years ago the survey estimated 594 million crabs were in the bay.

The Virginia and Maryland directors of the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation each issued statements blasting the Virginia commission’s vote and warning about the impact it could have.

“The Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s decision to reopen the winter crab season this year puts the prospect of a healthy blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay in jeopardy. It is incredibly disappointing,” Chris Moore, the foundation’s Virginia executive director, said in a statement. “The VMRC’s vote imperils not only the vulnerable blue crab, but the sustainability of harvests throughout the year and other species in the Bay that depend on the blue crab for food.”

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Allison Colden, Maryland executive director for the foundation, said the partnership between Virginia, Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission had been integral to growing and maintaining a stable blue crab population since it experienced deep declines in the early 2000s.

“VMRC’s decision damages this partnership and undermines the need for conservative management of the species which has seen below average numbers throughout the Chesapeake Bay for years,” she said in a statement.

The VMRC pushed back against the criticism, saying it “will always pursue fisheries management practices based around the best science.”

“The prohibition of crab dredging in Virginia was a roadblock to Virginia’s efforts to fully assess whether a year-round crab fishery could be integrated into current management frameworks without affecting the health of the crab fishery,” commission spokesman Zachary Widgeon said in an email. “We hope that our colleagues at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and in Maryland share our ideal that the ability to gather data and comprehensively assess all aspects of a fishery as important as the blue crab fishery allows us to employ the most sustainable management practices.”

Widgeon said findings on the feasibility and impact of a year-round fishery would be presented to the commission at its September meeting.

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