Crab shortage causes prices to soar

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Crab prices are sky-high this summertime and are apt to stay that mode heading into Labor Day.

When you locomotion into Floyd’s Crossroads Pub successful Dayton, you’ll beryllium greeted with a motion that volition alert you astir the rising costs.

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“It does hurt, and with COVID, we’re mode down successful our income and our break-even points,” said CindyLee Floyd, the pub’s owner.

She had to rise crab barroom prices by $4 but that wasn’t capable to screen her costs.

“Over the weekend, we changed it to $6,” she said. “We’re not losing money. We’re conscionable hardly breaking even.”

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What’s to blame?

“It’s conscionable the aged instrumentality of proviso and demand,” said Bill Sieling, enforcement manager of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association. “Right now, there’s much radical wanting to bargain crab and crab nutrient than determination is crabs and crab meat.”

He said there’s nary shortage of workers and nary storms person disrupted the crab population. There conscionable aren’t capable mature crabs yet.

He said diners tin expect prices to spell down successful the fall, arsenic they ever do, erstwhile young crabs get large capable to harvest.

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“They privation to devour crab meat, they privation to devour crab cakes, they’re gonna wage the price,” Sieling said. “And, they will. And, they are.”

Paul Gessler