September 24, 1961 - Blue Claw CrabBLUE CLAW CRAB'
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
14" �
•1
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh
Cutchogae
BLUE CLAW CRAB
A. few weeks ago I decided to
go fire - lighting at night for eels
as I have done many times be-
fore. Fishing by light is probably
one of the oldest methods known
to man. Some of our earliest
records show primitive man hold-
ing bunches of burning grass a9
he stalked fish - in the s b a 11 o w
waters.
This method works equally well
with crabs and so beside the eel
spear I armed myself with the
familiar crab net. I was amazed
to find that our catch of crabs was
so good for from all reports our
north shore was experiencing one
of its poorest crab years.
The thought flashed through my
mind how those people down along
the Atlantic coast, from Delaware
to the Carolinas, who rely on the
blue claw- crab for their liveli-
hood would be affected when a
poor year hit them. During Easter
vacation cny family and I drove
to the National Camp Grounds
at Cape Hatteras and we saw
many of ` these areas along the
way with their typical wire traps
and crab boats.
These symbols were as pre-
valent as the lobster pots of the
Maim lobstermen and a large
revenue,is realized from the blue
clew he,* ,The difference in opera-
tion is that the crab boats work
-the inland waters while the lob -
stermen work the ocean front.
Why is it that every once in a
while we have a lull in our crab
population? There are always the
tales of too much DDT b e i n g
used, the continual riling of the
water by motor boats, or the tale
I just recently heard told by an
old tifner who said the lack of
crabs is due to the heavy ice
last winter.
He recalled that a winter of
thick ice was often the cause of
fish being smothered and killed
in ponds and lakes and likewise
he feels this is wb4t happens to
ourcrabs. He further reasons that
we do not find the dead crabs
about because they hibernate in
the mud during the winter and
therefore - would,not be seen.
Whatever the .reasog, I think
we will all agree therp is a defin-
ite rise and fall in the crab pop-
ulation from year to year.
RDr the naturalist who looks
the sea and its surroundings,
ng Island furnishes- a v as t
array of marine lihe. • Included
in this pageant are the many
crabs found in our waters.
One crab that is worth mention-
ing here is the green crab or
rock crab that can usually be
found among the rocks and
stones. He is much smaller than
our blue claw and has no com-
mercial value. Many people, I
am afraid, have never seen him
for his habit of living amongst
the rdeks with perfect camou-
flage, keeps him from the public.
Just the opposite can be said
of another member of.the crab
family, the sand crab. Fhis fellow
I first met'on the end of my toe
while swimming. This crab has
perfect camouflage also as he
lives only in the sand and is a
sandy pink color with purple
dots:
He has the ability, like other
crabs, to stay submerged in the
sand with only his eyes protrud-
ing aifd many is the time I have
picked him up in a clam rake.
Another crab that will often
surprise• you when you bring up-
your clam rake is the s p i d e r
crab, who, as the name implies,
looks like a large, brown spider
and is often camouflaged w it h
moss and algae. The pincers on
this fellow are small and are on
long appendages.
The spider crab does not have
the ability to swim like the sand
crab and blue claw but can only
move about on his long s p i n e y
legs. He has the distinction of
being our only crab that c a n
walk straight ahead while a 11
other crabs move sidewise:
From this ugly member of the
crustacean family, we will meet
last but not least our little fiddler
crab. Some imaginative person
must have named the fiddler crab
because of the resemblance of
his large claw to a fiddle.
This claw, like a fiddle, is used
to woo the female, who is equip-
ped with only* two small incon-
speicuous claw , z'I hey live within
the tide limits burrows where
you see the characteristic balls
of sand outside their doors.
I recall years ago on a beach
In Fleets Neck, Cutchogue, that
one could see armies of these
interesting fiddlers. Where these
great armies have gone, no one
knows but today it is a rare
sight indeed to find even t he
scattering remains of the great
fiddler colonies-that once inhabit-
ed our marshlands.
All" the crabs that we are
familiar with grow by a series
of molts which means they shed
their shell. Even the lowly
hdrseshoe crab that pilgrimages
to our shores each spring giving
us a glimpse of life 200 million
years ago, molts from his shell.
Crabs, unlike us, have no inner
skelton but c4rry their skeletons
'as a shell on the outside. When
-the crab has outgrown his shell,
it is time for a new one and so
the back of the shell opens and
slowly he pulls himself out, dis-
playing a soft, bright new suit.
This shedding is done m any
times' a, season when the crabs
are young but as the crab ac-
quires his grc,4E , he only sheds
about once a year. During the
soft shell period, the crab is most
vulnerable to his many enemies
such as the eel, dog fish, and
even other crabs. After the crab
has left the old shell, the new soft
skin passes through a leathery
stage before it becomes c o m•
pletely hard. Y
While going through the soft
shell period, the females are pro-
tected by male hard crabs and
it is these crabs we often catch
in our net in pairs. During this
.time of protection and carrying,
the crabs mate and - the cycle
of life is continued.
The male soft crabs do not
have this protection and must
derive help from skillful hiding
and camouflage. often under
seaweed, old debris, or in the
mud these male soft -crabs can
be found hardening up.
Should any of you be crabbing
and get a pair of hard crabs
attached, take this old. time tip.
Separate the crabs by putting
the smaller one from the bottom
in a large killie cart. Keep this
in the .water with ample food and
you will be rewarded handsomely
in a few days by the miracle
of growth that will produce a
luscious soft crab.
What greater reward for a few
hours spent on the water than to
sit down to a delicious, crispy,
delicately browned soft - shelled
crab for dinner. Surely, the.blue
claw crab, hard or soft, is one
of the greatest delicacies of oiir
seashore.
Please send all Field Observa-
tions and Comments to P a u 1
Stoutenburgh, R D No 1, Box
in Bay Avenue, Cutchogue, N Y.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS: Kv I
Dennis Pulesten report&:
September it — Y e I I o W- bellied
Flycatcher - Brookhaven
September 13 — 2 Connecticut
Warblers - Brookhaven
September 16 — Philadelpl!i Vir-
eo Yaphank
September 16 — N a s h,v i 11 e
Warbler - Yaphank
September 16 — T e n niss s e e
Warbler - Yaphank
September 16 — 6 Rose - breasted
Grosbeaks - Yaphank
September 18 — 4 Pigeon hawks
- Meco xBay
September 18 — Lark Sparrow .
Quogue Beach
L R 'Ernest reports:
September 14 — Duck Hawk
East side Shinnecock Inlet ,
September 16 — Hudsonian Ctk-
lew - East side Shinnecock Inlet
September 17 — Gadwalls - Mecox
September. 18 — Wood Duck --
Nature Trail - East . Hampton
Hundreds of Monarch Butterflies
on Beech Road east side Shin -
necotf Inlet,