The Decline of the Blue Crab
By Richard Lee, Marc Frischer
Changing weather patterns and a suffocating parasite may have reduced the numbers of this species along the Eastern seaboard
This Article From Issue
November-December 2004
Volume 92, Number 6
Page 548
DOI: 10.1511/2004.50.548
Most of us encounter the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, on a dinner plate—often in an unrecognizable mass described as a "crab cake." The blue crab's participation in various appetizing recipes supports an important fishery along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, where tens of millions of crabs are harvested annually. In recent years, however, the commercial crab industry on the East Coast has suffered a significant decline.
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