SALISBURY, Md. — An annual survey of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs estimates that the population of juvenile crabs has fallen to its lowest level since the Maryland Department of Natural Resources started the survey more than 30 years ago.

The Salisbury Daily Times reports that the department’s review also found positive trends, including a rise in the bay’s population of spawning-age mature female crabs, from 141 million in 2020 to 158 million in 2021. The total abundance of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay was 282 million, a below-average total largely attributed to the low juvenile numbers.