By Pamela Wood, The CapitalThere’s nothing more Maryland than sitting down at a newspaper-covered picnic bench and attacking a pile of steamed blue crabs dusted with Old Bay or J.O. spice.

But the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population is closer to the brink than ever – leading to crabbing restrictions and an intense scrutiny of the crab population. Some people are shying away from eating local crabs.

“It was a very big concern last year and it will be a concern this year,” said Noreen Eberly, director of the state’s Seafood Marketing and Aquaculture Development Office. It’s her job to convince Marylanders that it’s OK to eat local seafood.

As the weather warms up, Eberly’s staff will buy ads to encourage Marylanders to eat local crabs. They’ll post new recipes on their Web site, www.marylandseafood.org.

They have a lot to overcome, including plenty of media attention to the woes of the blue crab and a deep-seated desire of many Marylanders to protect crabs, even if it means giving up backyard crab feasts.

The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, is found up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Here in the Chesapeake Bay, the population has taken a nose dive in recent years.

Scientists estimate there need to be at least 86 million adult crabs in the bay to ensure enough reproduction of baby crabs. Ideally, there would be 200 million adult crabs or more.

In the winter of 2007-2008, there were about 120 million adult crabs in the bay, down from 140 million adults the winter before. The population grew to 243 million adults this past winter, a positive sign for crabs.

Scientists count the crabs by dredging at sites around the bay in Maryland and Virginia to stir up crabs overwintering in the mud.

At the same time, watermen have been harvesting too great a percentage of blue crabs – even as they work harder to make the same or less money.

At most, scientists say watermen should be harvesting (and we should be eating) no more than 53 percent of the bay’s crabs each year. It’s preferable to harvest 46 percent or fewer crabs each year.

“Over the last decade, plain and simple, we’ve just been catching too many crabs for the number of crabs out there,” said Lynn Fegley, a fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the agency that oversees the crab harvest.

Besides the harvest problem, blue crabs are plagued by many of the issues facing the bay in general.

Crabs can’t survive in the infamous, oxygen-deprived summer “dead zones,” so they’re forced out of large stretches of the bay.

Underwater grasses, which are vital to protect crabs from being eaten by predators (or each other), are scarce in many parts of the bay.

Subpar water quality also means a decline in the number of the little clams and critters on the bay floor that crabs eat.

But fear not, crab lovers.

While the water quality and underwater grass problems are difficult to attack – there’s a constant effort to improve both areas – regulators are doing their best to bring the crab harvest back into balance.

A set of restrictions in 2008 and another round in 2009 are aimed at protecting more female crabs so they can produce more baby crabs.

If it works, the harvest should decline and the crab population should grow. The hope is that eventually, when the population is larger, the harvests also will grow proportionately larger, too.

“We want to build those crabs back up so people can keep eating crabs,” Fegley said.

Crabs are a short-lived species and they reach maturity quickly, so scientists say that if all works as planned, a crab rebound might take only a few years.

In the meantime, Fegley said Maryland blue crabs can be eaten with a clean conscience.

“It’s our job to manage the fishery and it’s the consumer’s job to enjoy crabs,” she said.

Eberly, at the seafood marketing office, offers the same advice.

She said not eating crabs doesn’t help them – it only hurts watermen, crab pickers, crab houses and others who depend on crabs for their livelihood.

“I worry about people that say, ‘Do your part and don’t eat crabs.’ Because if they’re out there on the market, they’re safe to eat,” she said. “You’re just hurting the watermen and the local economy.”

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LONDONTOWN TERRACE CRAB PIE
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced onion rings
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup crabmeat
11/2 cups shredded cheese (sharp, cheddar or Swiss)
9-inch unbaked pastry shell
Saute onion rings and celery in butter until onion is soft and golden. Spoon alternate layers of crab, cheese and onion-celery mix into pie shell.
In bowl, beat together:
3 eggs
2/3 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Pinch red pepper
Pour into pastry shell over other ingredients. Bake in hot oven, 400 degrees, until firm (30 to 40 minutes). When knife point inserted in center comes out clean, filling is set. May be decorated with tomato wedges or cherry tomatoes.

CRAB GIOVANNI
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound thin spaghetti, cooked
2 to 3 cups crabmeat
1/2 cup sliced stuffed green olives
1/2 pound cheddar cheese (save 1 cup for topping)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large can tomatoes, broken apart
11/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Melt butter or margarine in a large dutch oven and saute onions, mushrooms and garlic until tender. Combine with remaining ingredients, stirring until well mixed. Pour mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole. Top with 1 cup shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

CRAB IMPERIAL
1 pound crab meat
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1 egg, hard-boiled and diced
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
6 drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
Pimentos for garnish
Put crabmeat in large bowl. Melt butter over low heat and add flour. Stir to make paste. Add milk and cook slowly, stirring until thickened. Reserve 6 tablespoons white sauce and add remainder to crabmeat along with egg, hard-cooked egg, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, parsley, seafood seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix gently and thoroughly. Put crab mixture into 6 baking shells or casserole. Top with bread crumbs, melted butter and reserved white sauce. Add pimento strips for garnish. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned on top.

CRAB CURRY DIP
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon catsup
1 tablespoon A-1 Sauce
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
3 drops lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 pound crab meat
Mix well all but crab meat. Fold in crab and refrigerate.

DEVILED CRAB CROQUETTES
1 pound crabmeat
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash Old Bay seasoning
Dash onion powder
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Cracker meal
Saute chopped green pepper and parsley, set aside. Combine crabmeat, mashed potatoes, seasonings, chopped egg, green pepper and parsley and beaten egg.
Shape into croquettes, roll in cracker meal and deep fry until golden brown.

CRAB AND ARTICHOKE DIP
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Pepper to taste
1 16-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1 pound crabmeat
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 11/2-quart casserole dish. Combine all ingredients except crab and artichokes. Fold in artichokes. Gently stir in crabmeat. Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers.

SPAGHETTI AND CRAB SALAD
1 pound crab
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 pound extra-fine spaghetti
2 cups mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Cool after draining. Toss all ingredients together. Sprinkle with paprika or Old Bay.

COLD CRAB SALAD
1 pound backfin crab meat, picked over
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons capers
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
Mayonnaise to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients except crab together until well combined. Gently toss with the crab meat. Chill and serve on a bed of lettuce.