Blue Crab

In Peril

Blue crabs, the icon of Chesapeake Bay, reached a tipping point in 2008. After 16 years of almost nonstop decline, populations had plummeted to little more than a third what they were before. Officials declared the fishery a federal disaster. Now populations are slowly climbing back. But it’s a fragile recovery. A slight upset in the wrong direction could send them back downward, along with the livelihoods of watermen who rely on the Bay for their daily bread.