Daily Journal - Chesapeake Bay crab numbers drop, winter dredge survey shows; cold weather to blame

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — An annual winter dredge survey of the Chesapeake Bay says a cold winter has hurt the crab population.

The survey released Tuesday shows the crab population is at 460 million, down from more than 650 million in last year's survey.

The Department of Natural Resources says nearly one third of the bay's adult crabs were lost to cold weather, compared to about 11 percent last year.