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Dear Readers, 



This issue, Coastwatch takes a close look at the blue 

 crab. This coastal curmudgeon makes up the state's 

 largest fishery. Last year, North Carolina watermen 

 harvested a record 41 million pounds of hard blue crabs 

 valued at slightly more than $9 million. Only the shrimp 

 fishery is more valuable. 



Since blue crabs are such an important part of coastal 

 North Carolina, we thought you might want to know more 

 about these feisty crustaceans. 



Former Coastwatch writer Sarah Friday Peters 

 examines the hard crab fishery. She talks with fishermen 

 who make their living from the wire pots that dot our 

 coastal estuaries. 



Shoreside, Carla Burgess explains the intricacies of 

 shedding soft-shell blue crabs. She describes the lan- 

 guage, lore, mechanics and economics of a business 

 dependent on the blue crab shirking its hard shell. 



I take readers into the Carolina crab houses, those 

 places where they cook and handpick tub after tub of 



sweet, succulent meat. The processing plants are under- 

 going a quiet revolution as they grapple with ways to 

 bring new technology and higher profits to the industry. 



This month, I'd also like to introduce you to our 

 newest staff member, Jeannie Faris. Faris comes to Sea 

 Grant from The Greenville News in South Carolina, where 

 she covered the legislature in Columbia. Despite spend- 

 ing a few years in the Palmetto state, Faris grew up along 

 the North Carolina coast in Wilmington. 



But with our welcome to Faris, we must bid farewell 

 to C.R. Edgerton. Edgerton left Sea Grant to return to The 

 Smithfield Herald in Johnston County. We'll miss 

 Edgerton 's folksy writing, beautiful photographs and 

 thoughtful ways. 



We hope you enjoy learning more about blue crabs. 

 For many, it will be the last issue of your subscription. 

 We hope you'll stay with us, and we'll see you next issue. 



Happy reading, 



Kathy Hart 



in this issue 



pj 



era 



c 



Capturing Crabs Along the Carolina Coast ... 2 

 Shedding a Soft Commodity ... 6 

 Picking New Ways to Process Crabs ... 12 

 How to Clean a Soft-Shell Crab 

 Crab Cravings ... 17 



16 



Page 



Young Mariners 

 Paper Plate Fun ... 18 



From Sound to Sea 

 Gators for Neighbors ... 19 



Marine Advice 

 Shedding Beyond the Water's Edge. . . 20 



Field Notes 



The Wolcotts: Curious About Crab Behavior . . 



The Aft Deck ... 22 



Back Talk ... 24 

 The Bookstore ... 25 



P a 



N.C. DOCUMENTS 

 CLEARINGHOUSE 



J UN 4 1992 



N.C. STATE LIBRARY 

 RALEIGH 



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COASTWATCH I 



