Commercial Softshell Blue Crab Production Systems in the United States

Softshell Blue Crab Pond Production, 2018-2022: https://vimeo.com/812876873/d963a4d388

  • Working with crab scientists, specialists, and producers in Mississippi and North Carolina, Dr. Posadas started creating enterprise budgets for softshell blue crab pond grow-out systems in November 2018. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Sea Grant Program externally funds this three-year project
  • The U.S. commercial softshell blue crab landings have drastically declined since 2000. This decline in commercial softshell blue crab landings radically altered the domestic market situation for blue softshell crabs.
  • The ex-vessel prices of blue softshell crab have been persistently increasing over the years, with a marked increase during the last five years after the recession and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. 
  • The evaluation of the costs of pond growing out of blue softshell crab in the Southern United States will be based upon a hypothetical commercial pond production system (CPPS) using pilot test results and commercial production practices in Mississippi and North Carolina.
  • Operating costs will be estimated based on recommended management practices, biological knowledge of the species, estimated input usage, and prices.

softbluecrab
Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries.

evp
Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries.

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