Crab feasts depend on a working seafood supply, and Maryland’s commercial blue crab figures show how that supply changed over time. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reports estimated annual commercial blue crab harvest and estimated dockside value for Maryland from 2000 through 2024. Harvest is measured in pounds, while dockside value is measured in dollars at the point where the catch is landed.
Table of contents
- How to read these crab feast statistics
- Maryland blue crab harvest by year
- Dockside value by year
- The highest and lowest harvest years
- Harvest and value in the 2000s
- Harvest and value from 2010 through 2019
- Recent crab statistics, 2020–2024
How to read these crab feast statistics
These are estimated commercial figures for Maryland blue crab, not counts of individual crabs, restaurant sales, household purchases, or the number of people attending crab feasts. “Harvest” refers to the total commercial blue crab harvest reported for a year. “Dockside value” refers to the estimated value at the dock for that year’s commercial harvest.
The source is the Maryland Department of Natural Resources document titled Commercial Blue Crab Landings 2000–2024. The figures below retain the source’s estimated status. They should not be read as independently verified measurements, and they do not describe every blue crab caught outside Maryland or every dollar spent after the catch leaves the dock.
The 25-year series is useful because it puts a single crab season in context. A year with a larger harvest does not automatically have the largest dockside value. For example, the series includes years with relatively modest harvest totals but comparatively high estimated value. That difference matters when interpreting what the numbers may mean for the commercial crab supply behind a feast.
Maryland blue crab harvest by year
The estimated Maryland commercial blue crab harvest began at 21.66 million pounds in 2000. It rose to 24.55 million pounds in 2001 and 25.01 million pounds in 2002, followed by 26.43 million pounds in 2003. The next two years were substantially higher: 33.77 million pounds in 2004 and 32.06 million pounds in 2005.
Harvest then moved lower during the next two reported years. Maryland’s estimated commercial harvest was 29.02 million pounds in 2006 and 25.84 million pounds in 2007. The series reached 43.57 million pounds in 2008 and 42.79 million pounds in 2009.
The largest annual harvest in the supplied 2000–2024 series was 59.88 million pounds in 2010. After that peak, the estimated harvest was 50.24 million pounds in 2011 and 41.74 million pounds in 2012. It was 25.56 million pounds in 2013 and 25.82 million pounds in 2014, before rising to 33.11 million pounds in 2015.
The later 2010s included 38.24 million pounds in 2016, 33.43 million pounds in 2017, 34.15 million pounds in 2018, and 33.69 million pounds in 2019. These figures describe a series that remained above 30 million pounds in each year from 2015 through 2019.
The most recent five years in the series were lower than the 2010 peak. Estimated commercial harvest was 28.72 million pounds in 2020, 22.89 million pounds in 2021, 22.87 million pounds in 2022, 24.23 million pounds in 2023, and 25.18 million pounds in 2024.
Dockside value by year
Maryland’s estimated commercial blue crab dockside value was $30.08 million in 2000. It was $33.65 million in 2001, $29.45 million in 2002, and $33.73 million in 2003. The estimate increased to $40.34 million in 2004 and was $38.15 million in 2005.
The reported dockside value was $31.48 million in 2006 and $37.14 million in 2007. It then reached $61.78 million in 2008 and $58.42 million in 2009. The highest estimated dockside value in this series was $68.96 million in 2010.
After 2010, the estimate was $58.93 million in 2011 and $56.63 million in 2012. It was $51.73 million in 2013 and $52.63 million in 2014. The estimate was $58.88 million in 2015, $57.53 million in 2016, $53.21 million in 2017, $55.08 million in 2018, and $55.92 million in 2019.
The 2020–2024 dockside-value estimates were $57.01 million, $57.46 million, $48.91 million, $52.95 million, and $48.67 million, respectively. The 2024 estimate was therefore the lowest reported dockside value in that five-year period, while the 2021 estimate was the highest of those five years.
The highest and lowest harvest years
The comparison below identifies notable points directly from the Maryland annual estimates. It does not convert the figures into per-crab prices or calculate additional totals.
| Measure | Year | Estimated figure |
|---|---|---|
| Highest commercial harvest in the series | 2010 | 59.88 million pounds |
| Lowest commercial harvest in the series | 2000 | 21.66 million pounds |
| Highest dockside value in the series | 2010 | $68.96 million |
| Lowest dockside value in the series | 2002 | $29.45 million |
| Most recent commercial harvest | 2024 | 25.18 million pounds |
| Most recent dockside value | 2024 | $48.67 million |
The same year, 2010, appears at the top of both measures: 59.88 million pounds of estimated commercial harvest and $68.96 million of estimated dockside value. The lowest harvest estimate, 21.66 million pounds, occurred in 2000. The lowest dockside-value estimate, $29.45 million, occurred in 2002. Those are different years, which is one reason harvest volume and dockside value should be discussed separately.
The early 2000s also show that the smallest harvest number was not paired with the smallest value number. In 2000, harvest was estimated at 21.66 million pounds and dockside value at $30.08 million. In 2002, harvest was estimated at 25.01 million pounds while dockside value was estimated at $29.45 million.
Harvest and value in the 2000s
The first decade in this series moved through several distinct reported levels. Harvest estimates increased from 21.66 million pounds in 2000 to 33.77 million pounds in 2004. The dockside-value estimate increased over the same endpoints from $30.08 million to $40.34 million.
The 2004 and 2005 estimates were 33.77 million and 32.06 million pounds, respectively. Their dockside values were $40.34 million and $38.15 million. In 2006, the harvest estimate was 29.02 million pounds and the value estimate was $31.48 million. In 2007, the figures were 25.84 million pounds and $37.14 million.
The last two years of the decade stand out in the source series. Maryland’s estimated commercial harvest was 43.57 million pounds in 2008 and 42.79 million pounds in 2009. Estimated dockside value was $61.78 million in 2008 and $58.42 million in 2009. These were the two largest harvest estimates before 2010, and both were also among the higher dockside-value estimates in the full period.
For a crab-feast reader, the key point is that the 2000s were not a single stable baseline. The reported harvest estimates ranged from 21.66 million pounds in 2000 to 43.57 million pounds in 2008. The reported dockside-value estimates ranged from $29.45 million in 2002 to $61.78 million in 2008.
Harvest and value from 2010 through 2019
The 2010 estimate marks the highest point in the supplied series for both commercial harvest and dockside value. Maryland reported an estimated 59.88 million pounds of harvest and $68.96 million in dockside value for that year.
The next two years were also high-volume years. Estimated harvest was 50.24 million pounds in 2011 and 41.74 million pounds in 2012. Estimated dockside value was $58.93 million in 2011 and $56.63 million in 2012.
Harvest estimates were lower in 2013 and 2014, at 25.56 million and 25.82 million pounds. Their estimated dockside values were $51.73 million and $52.63 million. The 2015 estimate then rose to 33.11 million pounds, with estimated dockside value of $58.88 million.
The remaining years of the decade were 38.24 million pounds and $57.53 million in 2016; 33.43 million pounds and $53.21 million in 2017; 34.15 million pounds and $55.08 million in 2018; and 33.69 million pounds and $55.92 million in 2019.
This part of the record contains an important contrast. The 2013 and 2014 harvest estimates were each below 26 million pounds, yet their dockside-value estimates were above $51 million. Meanwhile, the 2016 harvest estimate was 38.24 million pounds and its dockside-value estimate was $57.53 million. The figures support comparing both columns rather than treating harvest pounds as a substitute for value.
Recent crab statistics, 2020–2024
The five most recent years in the Maryland document begin with an estimated 28.72 million pounds of commercial blue crab harvest and $57.01 million in dockside value in 2020. In 2021, the estimates were 22.89 million pounds and $57.46 million.
The 2022 estimates were 22.87 million pounds of harvest and $48.91 million in dockside value. Harvest was estimated at 24.23 million pounds in 2023, while dockside value was estimated at $52.95 million. In 2024, the reported estimates were 25.18 million pounds and $48.67 million.
The 2021 and 2022 harvest estimates were nearly the same in the source record: 22.89 million pounds and 22.87 million pounds. Their dockside values differed, at $57.46 million in 2021 and $48.91 million in 2022. The 2023 and 2024 harvest estimates were higher than both 2021 and 2022, at 24.23 million and 25.18 million pounds, while their dockside values were $52.95 million and $48.67 million.
For the latest reported year, the Maryland estimate is 25.18 million pounds of commercial blue crab harvest and $48.67 million of dockside value in 2024. Those figures describe Maryland commercial landings for that year; they are not a forecast, a national total, or a measure of the number of crabs served at individual feasts.