By Gen York,Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – The commercial harvest of blue crabs has been extended in Virginia as the crab population trends upward. 

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted last week to approve the extension recommended by the Crab Management Advisory Committee. The harvest of crabs by hard crab pot is now Dec. 16, pushed back from Nov. 30. Lower bushel limits will begin Nov. 1 instead of Oct. 1.

The purpose of these changes is to promote efficient utilization of blue crabs and economic stability for the fishing industry, according to the Marine Resources Commission.

"Female crabs are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring on them," said Alexa Galván, a fisheries manager with the commission during a VRMC meeting. "But, the 2021 and 2022 exploitation rates were slightly above the target, not of the threshold which would be overfishing."

Blue Crab Vulnerability

The blue crab is an iconic part of the Chesapeake Bay, commercially and culturally. Their harvest brings in tens of millions of pounds of crab annually. 

The Chesapeake Bay is home to hundreds of millions of blue crabs, according to a yearly survey by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Fisheries Service of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The first 1990 survey reported 791 million crabs. There were 323 million reported this year. 

The Bay's blue crab population had been on a four-year decline before this year. The crabs were at their lowest population in 33 years in 2022, according to the survey.

The recent 42% increase prompted state agencies to expand commercial fishing timelines. 

Blue crabs haven't been overfished since 2008, when a framework was put in place to protect female crabs, according to Mandy Bromilow. Bromilow is a fisheries specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"Blue crabs are a short-lived species and high natural variability in the population is not uncommon," Bromilow stated. 

The population continues to show some signs of stress, according to Chris Moore, senior regional ecosystem specialist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The target level for adult female crabs is about 200 million and currently sits at about 150 million. The crab population has started to get healthier but concern from marine specialists remains. 

Crabs have a sensitivity to various factors. 

Areas of water with low oxygen, known as dead zones, could take away habitats and food sources from the blue crabs, according to Moore. The dead zones have gotten smaller, but environmentalists are also focused on improving other factors such as water quality and the underwater grass areas where crabs hide and feed.

Crabs are affected by "everything," including weather. It can be hard to pinpoint why the population is up or down in any given year, according to Moore. 

"Our weather affects how many blue crabs actually come into the mouth of the Bay each year and then obviously migrate throughout the rest of the Bay," Moore said.

Crabs perish in really cold temperatures, but milder temperatures prevented a "winter kill" in recent years.

"In some ways, blue crabs may be one of the winners from climate change," Moore said. 

Loved in Virginia, not yet embraced in Italy

Blue crabs have made recent headlines in Italy, where they have no natural predators. The new abundance in Italy is considered an invasion, a crisis and a threat to the economy. The Italian government allocated over $3 million to help fight against the overwhelming blue crabs.

Blue crabs have been in Italy for a while, likely because the larvae were transferred on ship ballast water, according to Moore. However, the population has expanded without natural predators or awareness of what to do with the crabs.

The warmer Mediterranean Sea allows blue crabs to dodge winter kill, according to Moore.

"The ones that are over in Italy right now, they're probably there to stay and hopefully they develop some good fisheries techniques for them and they're able to add them to the menus," Moore said. 

Virginia would not relocate Italian blue crabs to bolster the Chesapeake Bay population, for concerns of disease. A possible method to increase the population would focus more on controlled cultivation and release of the adults -- but the aquaculture method is hard because crabs cannot be packed in, according to Moore. 

"We're continuing to do a lot of work to try to ensure a healthier population," Moore said. "Everything from making sure we have a well-managed fishery to improving water quality and habitat."

Seafood Industry

Lower blue crab populations have an economic impact, but so does Virginia's waning infrastructure to process crab meat. People process crabs by removing the shells and picking out the meat, which is often sold by the pound. The decrease in crab picking infrastructure has probably had more effect on the market of crabs than the actual number of crabs out there, according to Moore. 

"Historically, people from the community worked in the picking houses," Moore said. "We're very good at picking crab meat." 

A lot of the picking workforce shifted to nonimmigrant workers, through the H-2B program, according to Moore. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire migrant workers for a limited time to perform nonagricultural labor or services. 

It's been getting harder for people to participate in the program, and also just to find people who know how to pick crabs can "be tough as well," Moore said.

By Kaitlyn McMahon, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. -- Terms like volley llamas, flabjacks and dillballs sound like a bad joke, but are actually terms used in pickleball, a sport that's a smash hit in Virginia.

In fact, there are three upcoming pickleball tournaments in October alone and new facilities opening.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport across the nation as of 2022, according to the national governing authority, USA Pickleball. The sport has taken hold in the South Atlantic region, which includes Virginia.

Virginia ranks No. 10 in the nation for pickleball courts, as determined by the Pickleheads website. The site reports 428 pickleball courts in Virginia. The website is a 101-level sport resource and a hub for finding players, courts and groups.

The sport is a hybrid of badminton, tennis and Ping-Pong that can be played on an indoor or outdoor court.

Bangers and Dinks recreational pickleball facility opened in Chesterfield County in July. Nicole Thompson and husband Jack are co-owners. The spot, named after two of the sport's terms, is central Virginia's first indoor pickleball facility, according to Nicole Thompson.

The facility offers floors with Pro-Cushion surfacing, specialized lighting, changing rooms and drink and snack options.

"I think pickleball is popular because it's easy to learn but hard to master," Thompson said.

Competitive camaraderie is a part of the game, according to Thompson. The pickleball culture encourages laughter and fun when playing.

Bangers and Dinks host college athletic teams, corporate team building events, holiday and birthday parties. There are single, dual and family memberships available, or drop-in play for a daily fee of $12.

Performance Pickleball RVA will open in Henrico County on Dec. 1. The facility plans to be the largest indoor pickleball space in the region, according to chief operating officer Jon Laaser. There are 18 total courts; 12 indoor courts and six outdoor courts.

Laaser wound up falling in love with pickleball, despite his initial indifference. He and his wife joined the Western Henrico Pickleball group shortly after. His background in tennis and Ping-Pong helped him learn the game quickly.

"I think there's kind of a misconceptions because of the name, that it's, you know, a goofy sport," Laaser said.

Pickleball is a sport for all ages, cultures and backgrounds, Laaser said. The sport offers people the chance to connect with strangers.

"The game has really skewed younger, and the older players that loved it in the beginning are still playing, but you really see it run the gamut age wise," Laaser said.

Laaser's soon-to-open facility was inspired from feedback after he hosted a few pickleball tournaments with his wife. This year they hosted two pickleball tournaments; Ladybug Classic and Body Armor 804. Ladybug Classic had 300 participants and Body Armor 804 offered approximately $10,000 in prize money.

Performance Pickleball RVA will host a grand opening celebration, The Pickle Ball, on Dec. 20. Riley and Lindsey Newman, ranked No. 2 and No. 9 respectively in mixed doubles in the Professional Pickleball Association tour, will attend.

Jonathan Medina Alvarez, a Richmond-area pickleball player, will be the club's resident professional, according to Laaser. Alvarez is the No. 3 ranked singles player in the Association of Pickleball Players. The association is officially sanctioned by USA Pickleball, which formed in 2005. Alvarez will lead instruction, clinics and crossfit training.

Other pickleball courts throughout Virginia, private and public, can be tracked on the pickleheads website.

It feels like pickleball just arrived, but this year marks the 58th anniversary of the sport, according to USA Pickleball. Three men created the game in 1965, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. The oft-repeated origin story is that they wanted to play badminton but had to use Ping-Pong paddles instead.

The number of pickleball players increased 159% in the last three years, according to USA Pickleball. There are approximately 70,000 official members and an estimated 4.8 million players in the U.S. The largest total demographic for pickleball players is ages 18-34.

There are over 44,000 courts. The governing association estimated that 130 new locations open per month.

Upcoming pickleball tournaments in Virginia include the Legends Championships in Wintergreen on Oct. 6; Upshot Pickleballs' Hustle and BUSTle Open in Fredericksburg on Oct. 13; and Pickleboo in Henrico County on Oct. 27.

Tournaments all over the world can be found on the Pickleball Brackets website.

Terms to know:

    Fault: Any rules violation that stops play. If fault is a result of the receiving team, the serving team gets a point.

    Line-call: When a ball in a play does not land in the required court space. The preferred word to indicate a line call is "out."

    Two-Bounce Rule: Each side must make one groundstroke after the serve, prior to volleying the ball.

    Non-volley zone: The area within 7 feet on both sides of the net. No volleying or smashing in this zone. Commonly called "the kitchen."

    Volley: During a rally, a strike of the ball out of the air before the ball has bounced.

Overview of how to play doubles pickleball, per the official USA Pickleball Rulebook:

    To begin the game the score must be called aloud. The server calls the serving team's score first, then the receiving team's score, lastly the server's number. The first call will always be "zero-zero-two," as the original server is referred to as the second server.

    A serve is underhanded, and cannot be above the waist. A serve is made diagonally crosscourt. At the start of the game the server is awarded only one serve.For the remainder of the game, if the serving side faults then their partner has one more opportunity to serve.

    Volleys are initiated outside of the non-volley zone. A player can be in the non-volley zone as long as their opponent is not volleying the ball. A player can stay inside the non-volley zone before or after returning a bounced ball.

    The receiving team must let the ball bounce once after a serve. After the initial serve, the receiving side can hit the ball out of the air or choose to allow it to bounce.

    The ball cannot bounce twice. If it does it is considered a "fault," any faults in the game means the opponents gain possession of the serve. Until another fault occurs and then the possession of the serve is switched again.

    If the serving side holds serve (serving players continue gaining points), after each point the server will alternate serving from the left to right side.

    When the servers advantage is even numbers they will serve on the right side, when the servers advantage is odd numbers they will serve on the left side. The receiving team returns the ball in the diagonal court of the server.

    Similar to tennis, the ball must stay inside of the lines. The opponent can call "out," if they believe the ball from their opponent is out of bounds.

    The most commonly used scoring option is best 2 of 3 games to 11 points. Players must win by 2 points.

    After each game, players switch sides.