Baltimore Crab Houses Haven’t Any Crabs

Baltimore — If you can find steamed crabs in Baltimore, consider yourself lucky.

Bo Brooks in Canton has an outgoing voice message telling customers there aren’t any crabs. A hostess confirmed the bad news.

The crabs aren’t coming in. The problem is on the supply side. The Maryland crab harvest doesn’t begin until April 1, and the supply from the winter harvest from the Gulf of Mexico has dwindled.

“This is the worst winter we’ve had in recent memory,” said Dan Donnelly, general manager of Cantler’s Riverside Inn in Annapolis, who said his suppliers simply don’t have crabs to give him. “If they did, I’d be getting them,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly said that February is typically a slow month, but the Gulf crab supply typically starts to increase in March, when he’ll have 20 to 25 bushels on hand for a weekend. “Now I’m lucky to have three,” said Donnelly, who said he can usually gauge his crab supply by watching the Weather Channel.