This week, watermen are bemoaning their circumstances as buyers around the Chesapeake Bay reduced the price of a bushel of number one hard crabs three times last week. With the catch of blue crabs increasing and sales decreasing, there is a race to find a price point at which this iconic Chesapeake Bay species will sell.
The average price paid to the crabber for number ones today is around $80 per bushel. Contrast that with the summer of 2021 when crabbers were paid almost $300 per bushel throughout the season! Hindsight is 20/20, but the inflationary effect of the $3 trillion stimulus directly injected into our economy, and its impact on seafood commodities during the pandemic, is clear to see.
Prices are subject to change.
7/24/23
