CHAPTER 29 

 The American Crab Industry 



Introduction 



While the crab industry is one of the youngest in all the fisheries, its popularity 

 among consumers is almost universal. This can be attributed to the development 

 shortly after 1875 of refrigerated transport to the interior sections of the United 

 States. It was about this time that soft crabs were first shipped from Crisfield, Md. 

 Formerly, the unfamiliarity of the majority of sea food consumers with this shell- 

 fish retarded the market. The annual production of crabs in the Chesapeake Bay 

 area reached more than 3 million pounds in 1880; by 1890 this had about tripled. 

 It has continued to rise almost every year until in 1945 it was almost 38 million 

 pounds, valued at almost 3/2 million dollars. 



When the demand continued to increase more rapidly than could be supplied 

 by one area, the industry spread both north and south along the Atlantic and 



Table 132. Statistics on the Production of Crabs by States. 

 Blue Crabs. 



