Soft shell crab statistics are available most directly for North Carolina, where annual blue crab soft landings and value are reported from 1994 through 2018. A separate Maryland series covers estimated commercial blue crab harvest and dockside value from 2000 through 2024. These are different measures: the North Carolina figures specifically identify soft crab landings, while the Maryland figures cover commercial blue crab harvest generally.
Table of contents
- North Carolina soft shell crab highlights
- North Carolina landings by period
- North Carolina value patterns
- Maryland estimated blue crab harvest
- Maryland dockside value
- North Carolina and Maryland compared
North Carolina soft shell crab highlights
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality series, labeled “NC DEQ Crabs, Blue (Soft),” records 25 annual observations from 1994 through 2018. The highest reported soft landing quantity in this series was 921,693 pounds in 2001, while the lowest was 198,878 pounds in 2009.
The highest reported annual value was $4,070,990 in 2001. The lowest was $1,243,836 in 2008. Quantity and value did not always move in the same way. For example, 2003 had 431,891 pounds with a reported value of $2,388,111, while 2007 had fewer landings, at 363,896 pounds, but a higher value of $2,136,426 than several nearby lower-volume years.
The series begins with 610,717 pounds worth $1,931,975 in 1994. It reaches 685,555 pounds and $2,132,875 in 1995, then falls to 519,318 pounds and $1,887,890 in 1996. In 1997, reported landings rise to 713,896 pounds, with value of $2,751,311. The 1998 figures are 697,741 pounds and $2,559,941, followed by 510,415 pounds and $2,174,350 in 1999.
Selected North Carolina annual figures
| Year | Soft landings | Reported value |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 610,717 lb | $1,931,975 |
| 1997 | 713,896 lb | $2,751,311 |
| 2001 | 921,693 lb | $4,070,990 |
| 2008 | 225,816 lb | $1,243,836 |
| 2009 | 198,878 lb | $1,282,733 |
| 2017 | 427,742 lb | $2,791,960 |
| 2018 | 234,503 lb | $1,501,315 |
Source for every North Carolina figure in this section and table: NC DEQ Crabs, Blue (Soft).
North Carolina landings by period
The early part of the North Carolina record includes several high-volume years. Reported soft landings were 750,140 pounds in 2000, followed by the series high of 921,693 pounds in 2001. They then declined to 555,532 pounds in 2002 and 431,891 pounds in 2003. Landings recovered to 554,966 pounds in 2004 and 692,398 pounds in 2005, before falling to 384,311 pounds in 2006 and 363,896 pounds in 2007.
The 2008–2012 period contains the lowest section of the record. North Carolina reported 225,816 pounds in 2008 and 198,878 pounds in 2009. The figure increased to 320,472 pounds in 2010 and 446,397 pounds in 2011, then eased to 325,426 pounds in 2012.
The later observations remain below the early-2000s peak. Reported landings were 317,426 pounds in 2013, 367,277 pounds in 2014, and 375,874 pounds in 2015. They were 284,768 pounds in 2016, rose to 427,742 pounds in 2017, and then fell to 234,503 pounds in 2018.
For reference, the complete year-by-year landing sequence is:
| Years | Reported soft landings |
|---|---|
| 1994–1999 | 610,717; 685,555; 519,318; 713,896; 697,741; 510,415 lb |
| 2000–2005 | 750,140; 921,693; 555,532; 431,891; 554,966; 692,398 lb |
| 2006–2011 | 384,311; 363,896; 225,816; 198,878; 320,472; 446,397 lb |
| 2012–2018 | 325,426; 317,426; 367,277; 375,874; 284,768; 427,742; 234,503 lb |
Source: NC DEQ Crabs, Blue (Soft). The figures are annual North Carolina soft blue crab landings, not a national total.
North Carolina value patterns
The reported value series starts at $1,931,975 in 1994 and reaches $2,132,875 in 1995. It records $1,887,890 in 1996, then rises to $2,751,311 in 1997 and $2,559,941 in 1998. The 1999 value is $2,174,350.
Values in the next period were $3,336,990 in 2000, $4,070,990 in 2001, $2,333,268 in 2002, and $2,388,111 in 2003. The series reports $2,538,582 in 2004, $2,996,574 in 2005, $1,768,450 in 2006, and $2,136,426 in 2007.
The 2008 value, $1,243,836, is the lowest observation in the North Carolina series. It is followed by $1,282,733 in 2009, $1,544,342 in 2010, $2,079,242 in 2011, and $1,496,021 in 2012. Later values were $2,091,382 in 2013, $2,137,335 in 2014, $2,221,331 in 2015, $2,062,996 in 2016, $2,791,960 in 2017, and $1,501,315 in 2018.
The North Carolina source reports landings in pounds and value in dollars. It does not establish that the value figures are adjusted for inflation, so the annual dollar amounts should be read as reported values for their respective years.
Maryland estimated blue crab harvest
Maryland’s Commercial Blue Crab Landings PDF presents estimated commercial blue crab harvest from 2000 through 2024. These figures are not labeled as soft shell-only landings. They should therefore be used as broader blue crab context rather than as a direct measure of the soft shell market.
Estimated harvest was 21.66 million pounds in 2000, 24.55 million in 2001, and 25.01 million in 2002. It rose to 26.43 million in 2003 and 33.77 million in 2004, then measured 32.06 million in 2005, 29.02 million in 2006, and 25.84 million in 2007.
The largest Maryland estimate in the supplied series was 59.88 million pounds in 2010. The preceding estimates were 43.57 million pounds in 2008 and 42.79 million in 2009. Later estimates were 50.24 million in 2011, 41.74 million in 2012, 25.56 million in 2013, and 25.82 million in 2014.
| Year | Estimated commercial harvest |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 21.66 million lb |
| 2004 | 33.77 million lb |
| 2008 | 43.57 million lb |
| 2010 | 59.88 million lb |
| 2014 | 25.82 million lb |
| 2018 | 34.15 million lb |
| 2022 | 22.87 million lb |
| 2024 | 25.18 million lb |
From 2015 onward, estimated Maryland harvest was 33.11 million pounds in 2015, 38.24 million in 2016, 33.43 million in 2017, 34.15 million in 2018, 33.69 million in 2019, and 28.72 million in 2020. The estimates were 22.89 million pounds in 2021, 22.87 million in 2022, 24.23 million in 2023, and 25.18 million in 2024.
Source for all Maryland harvest figures: Maryland DNR Commercial Blue Crab Landings PDF. The source labels these commercial harvest figures as estimates.
Maryland dockside value
The Maryland source also reports estimated dockside value. It was $30.08 million in 2000, $33.65 million in 2001, $29.45 million in 2002, $33.73 million in 2003, and $40.34 million in 2004. Values then were $38.15 million in 2005, $31.48 million in 2006, $37.14 million in 2007, $61.78 million in 2008, and $58.42 million in 2009.
The highest estimated dockside value in the Maryland record was $68.96 million in 2010. The source reports $58.93 million in 2011, $56.63 million in 2012, $51.73 million in 2013, $52.63 million in 2014, $58.88 million in 2015, and $57.53 million in 2016.
For the final years, estimated dockside value was $53.21 million in 2017, $55.08 million in 2018, $55.92 million in 2019, $57.01 million in 2020, $57.46 million in 2021, $48.91 million in 2022, $52.95 million in 2023, and $48.67 million in 2024.
The Maryland harvest and value measures describe commercial blue crab overall. They do not identify what share, if any, came from soft shell crabs.
North Carolina and Maryland compared
The two series answer different questions. North Carolina’s record is specifically titled Crabs, Blue (Soft) and reports pounds landed and value. Maryland’s record reports estimated commercial blue crab harvest and estimated dockside value, without a soft shell-only designation.
| Measure | North Carolina | Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| Geography | North Carolina | Maryland |
| Period | 1994–2018 | 2000–2024 |
| Product scope | Blue crab, soft | Commercial blue crab overall |
| Quantity label | Soft landings | Estimated commercial harvest |
| Value label | Reported value | Estimated dockside value |
| Units | Pounds and dollars | Million pounds and million dollars |
The North Carolina figures are most useful for tracking the reported soft crab segment within that state. The Maryland figures provide a longer, more recent view of the broader blue crab fishery. Because the product definitions, geographies, units, and source labels differ, the series should not be combined into a single total or treated as a direct state-to-state comparison of soft shell crab production.