It won’t hit the heights it did during the pandemic. “The blue native species to America will have a good rebound. Still Casten, a 40-plus year veteran of the seafood industry, is fairly optimistic. Maryland crabs are at their most bountiful in the summer and early fall, and a traditional steamed crab feast is best enjoyed outside, accompanied by all the. Add on domestic labor disruptions, the rising cost of fuel, and environmental factors like invasive blue catfish that can impact the crab count, and consumers may not see prices for local crab drop significantly. Labor shortages continues to challenge the industry-specifically a years-long cap on H-2B visas, which allow only a limited number of migrant workers to frequent the crab processing houses that once depended on their labor. Experts already fear that similar problems will plague the 2022 season. As they have with lobster, many restaurants took crab off their menus. Stunted supply and high demand caused prices to soar-clocking in around $60 a pound for jumbo lump, and into the $100s for a dozen medium hard shells. Last summer was tough for the Chesapeake crab industry and diners who love the regional delicacy. As with hard-shells, their peak season is fall: “When they get delicious and huge and no one wants to eat them,” says Casten. But Casten says they’re “outrageously expensive” at this point in the early season, about $10 to $11 per (small-ish) crab. Recreational crabbing season lasts from the beginning of April to mid-December however, these dates are tentative and change from year to year.
#MARYLAND BLUE CRAB SEASON REGISTRATION#
In 2014, two changes were made to crabbing rules: 1.) free crab pot registration required for private waterfront property owners 2.) you are required to have a license in order to use any of the following gear: crab traps, net rings, seines or trotlines. Soft-shells are also newly available, and starting to pop up on restaurant menus like at Equinox and Hank’s Oyster Bar. Crabbing Licenses Crab season: April 1 to December 15. Casten says he expects to put local hard-shell steamed crabs on the menu at ProFish’s restaurant, Ivy City Smokehouse, in the coming weeks barring any other freak cold spells.
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