BLUE CRAB UPDATE - North Carolina Blue Crab stock is overfished - Webinar May 28th

 

MOREHEAD CITY – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a webinar to update the public on the development of a new benchmark Blue Crab stock assessment.

The webinar will be held via WebEx.

Blue Crab Stock Assessment Webinar

Thursday, May 28
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Register for Webinar

In accordance with NCGS 143-318.13(a), a listening location will be provided at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office.

Listening Location
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries
Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557

A 2018 benchmark stock assessment indicates the North Carolina Blue Crab stock is overfished (the population size is too small) and overfishing is occurring (the removal rate is too high). The Division completed a stock assessment update in 2023, but Division staff and external peer reviewers identified concerns with model specifications and results, so the assessment is not being used for management. However, available data from Division sampling and monitoring programs indicate a continued decline of the Blue Crab stock. The Division has started the process of developing a new benchmark stock assessment to better understand North Carolina Blue Crab population dynamics and determine stock status.

During the webinar, Division stock assessment scientists will describe the stock assessment process, including recent and future changes, and report on progress in analyzing fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data used in the assessment model.

Fishery-dependent data are collected directly from the commercial and recreational fisheries and may include fishing effort (such as the number of fishing trips that harvested blue crab) and biological information (for example lengths and sex of the crab) and amount of landings and discards. Fishery-independent data are collected from at-sea surveys, where scientists from the Division and from partner organizations gather data on fish stock abundance, biology and the ecosystem.

Stock assessment scientists will also describe the methods for the assessment of North Carolina’s Blue Crab stock, including how data were selected for use.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to give feedback on the stock assessment progress and process.

For More Information 
Contact:  Patricia Smith
Phone: 252-515-5500