A newly shed crab being readied for 

 market. 



salt marshes, sea grasses and estuaries 

 create prime habitat for blue crabs. 

 Their bounty has placed North Caro- 

 lina in the top three crab-producing 

 states on the East Coast for the past 20 

 years. The state follows Virginia and 

 Maryland, says Mike Street of the 

 N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. 

 Last year, crabbers landed more than 

 41 million pounds valued at $9 million 

 in the state, DMF reports. 



The abundance of crabs and a vear- 

 round fishery in some parts lure crab 

 fishermen to the water like fish to fresh 

 bait. 



In 1991, 7,605 commercial 

 fishermen acquired state licenses to set 

 an estimated 623,450 crab pots in 

 North Carolina waters. Another 1,671 

 trawled for crabs. The year before, 

 DMF licensed 7,511 fishing vessels 

 for crabbing. 



Most crabbers, like Howell, work 

 on their own, setting and checking 

 crab pots almost every day. Some man 

 larger boats — 25 to 75 feet — to 

 trawl for crabs with large fishing nets. 

 Less than a handful crab the old-timey 

 way, using a line of string called a 

 trotline to tempt crabs with dangling 

 baits. 



Crabbers comb the shoals of 

 Pamlico, Albemarle, Croatan and Core 

 sounds, as well as coastal rivers such 



as the Neuse and the Pamlico. 



On White Oak River, Howell 

 begins his rounds alone this March 

 morning, except for one other 

 crabber half a mile away. A flannel- 

 lined jacket, sturdy orange waders, 

 boots and an East Carolina Univer- 

 sity baseball cap protect him from 

 the cold as he guides his skiff around 

 the shoals. 



The abundance of crabs 

 and a year-round fishery 

 lure crab fishermen to 

 the water like fish to 

 fresh bait. 



In peak season, from April to 

 October, about 50 crabbers work this 

 river and Bogue Sound, Howell 

 explains. This morning, they know 

 most pots would come up empty. 



March's cold weather sends most 

 blue crabs burrowing in the muddy 

 bottomland. Males, especially, 

 winter in the deeper, fresher waters, 

 while females seek saltier waters 

 near the ocean. 



"As weather warms and winds 

 warm, crabs move into this river like 

 a school of fish from the ocean," 

 Howell says. "The females do all the 

 migrating. The males stay in the 



rivers, sounds and creeks." 



Young crabs spawned in 

 nearshore ocean waters migrate to 

 the protective estuaries rich with 

 food. In 12 to 18 months, they 

 mature and the cycle begins again. 



Normally, Howell sets about 400 

 crab pots in the river and sound, 

 checking about half of them each 

 day. This morning, he checks only 

 30 or so. 



"This one don't even have 

 nothing in it," he says, hauling in 

 another seaweed-covered, wire-mesh 

 cube. "It's got to have a little more 

 than that in it." 



Mad Dog races back and forth on 

 the boat, barking at pelicans as the 

 crabber replaces the soggy bluefish 

 in the pot's bait chamber. 



"Generally, you can't go to work 

 out here without the pelicans bother- 

 ing you," Howell says. "I've had 

 pelicans get their beaks stuck in the 

 hole [of a crab pot]. With a dog on 

 the boat, they'll stay at least 40 to 50 

 feet away." 



Like many crabbers, Howell 

 works full time in the fishery, 

 catching hard crabs in the winter, 

 spring and fall, and shedding soft 

 crabs through the summer. More and 

 more fishermen in his area are 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 3 



