206 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



described the mating behavior of this crustacean, in which the soft-shelled 

 crab is seized and fertilized by the hard-shelled male. Brickell said: 



"These sorts (crabs) cast their shell every year at which time they make 

 holes in the sand and cover themselves, or those with hard shells lie on them 

 till their shells harden; otherwise they would be destroyed by other fish. 

 These sort have the same virtues that the former." 



This outline of the early recognition and utilization of the blue crab in 

 North Carolina may be concluded here by quoting a record of the establish- 

 ment of a modern fishery for crabs within the State. Townsend (1900) in a 

 report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries in 1899 (p. 179) 

 informs us: 



"A comparatively new industry in Carteret County since the former 

 investigation (1890) is that of shipping soft-shell crabs to the Northern 

 markets, the total number shipped in 1897 being 13,600 dozen. This busi- 

 ness is growing steadily." 



The blue crab, along with the shrimp, supported a minor fishery in the 

 i88o's, when statistics began to be collected, and well into the 1890's. With 

 the turn of the century, the blue crab fishery, especially that of Chesapeake 

 Bay, far outstripped the general run of fisheries in rate of growth in relation 

 to human population, as did the shrimp to an even greater extent. Table i 

 summarizes this growth for the blue crab.^ The growth of the fisheries for 

 these two crustaceans, the blue crab and shrimp, taken together, has been 



TABLE 1 



Growth of the Blue Crab Industry, Atlantic and Gulf States, 

 New York to Texas, inclusive 



I. For further statistical treatment of the blue crab (in comparison with shrimp and oysters), 

 see Part III of this Survey, Table 22, and the accompanying text. 



