Crab Season Peaking, Prices Soaring, Will Supplies Last?

Prices for blue crab from the Chesapeake Bay region are expected to hit $200 a bushel in anticipation of the holiday weekend. Don’t worry, though, there isn’t a shortage. Yet. Actually, there’s more crab than usual. The Baltimore Sun reports that it’s “the second highest count since the late 1990s.” So, why the rising prices? Consumer demand peaks around July 4. And, as the Sun notes, “just as a looming snowstorm clears grocery store shelves of toilet paper, the short-term rush to eat crabs over the long holiday weekend may deplete the supply pipeline.”