614 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



In winter most of the crabs retire to fairly deep water. Formerly, it was thought 

 that they bmied themselves in the muddy or sandy bottoms in the deeper parts 

 of bays and harbors, but it is now believed that most of them do not bury them- 

 selves, but remain more or less inactive on the bottom. 



Atlantic Coast Fishery 



Location. Commercial crab fisheries exist in every state along the Atlantic and 

 Gulf coasts. However, in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut 

 the industry is of only minor importance. The center of the blue-crab industry, 

 which is the major crab industry in the United States, was formerly on Chesa- 

 peake Bay. Of late years the total production in the States bordering the Gulf 

 has surpassed that of Maryland and Virginia. Chesapeake Bay still leads in the 

 production of soft crabs. Louisiana alone produced over 33,000,000 pounds of 

 crabs in the year 1945. 



Seasons. Soft Crabs. Soft crabs are taken only during the warm months as the 

 moulting of the young at successive stages of growth occurs dviring warm weather; 

 therefore, the soft-crab season extends through the late spring, summer, and early 

 fall. The season opens 2 or 3 weeks earlier in Virginia waters than in Maryland, 

 the exact date depending upon the weather. In early springs soft-crabbing in Vir- 

 ginia begins during the latter part of April. It is discontinued in Virginia about 

 the first of August because of very hot weather and poor transportation facilities. 

 However, at Crisfield, Md. soft crabs are caught as late as the first or the middle 

 of October. 



Hard Crabs. During cold weather trotline crabbing is not practiced as the cold 

 water chills the crabs into numbness and inactivity, and they do not seize the bait 



Table 133. Composition of the Edible Meat of the Blue Crab and Sand Crab. 



