Maryland crab prices climb as catches fall

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Art D’Amico remembers when a bushel of crabs cost about $35 in the mid-1970s. Today, the president of the Annapolis Anglers Club pays nearly $400 a bushel — a price he says has climbed by at least $150 in the past five years.

“Everything’s more expensive,” said D’Amico, who has been involved in Chesapeake Bay fishing and crabbing since 1973, adding that he’s never seen crab prices like this before.

The soaring cost reflects more than inflation. Watermen, seafood dealers and economists say higher operating costs, shifting markets and concern about Maryland’s blue crab population are pushing prices higher, making one of the state’s signature summer traditions more expensive. But many Marylanders are still buying crabs, even at record prices.

“It’s definitely not what we’re accustomed to this time of year as far as quantity and price,” said John Ecker, a managing partner of Conrad’s Crabs, which has four locations in Maryland. “I’ve been here for 19 years doing this and, yeah, they’re getting higher.”

Read the full story on The Baltimore Sun.