females," says Mark. "And where 

 there are lots of mature female crabs, 

 you wouldn't find many peelers in 

 that area." 



Males live most of their lives in 

 areas of low salinity, such as creeks, 

 rivers and ditches. Females prefer the 

 higher salinity of inlets. 



For mating, the two sexes seek 

 middle ground, such as the main 

 sounds between inlets and upper 

 creeks. 



After mating, the females migrate 

 downstream toward higher salinity 

 areas, such as the mouths of estuaries, 

 where eggs are laid and hatched. 



Mature females usually remain in 



North Carolina's 

 shedding industry, 

 like the blue crab that 

 sustains it. is on the 

 verge of explosion. 



the spawning area or move a short 

 distance out to sea. 



Crab larvae feed on ocean plank- 

 ton until they transform to the first 

 crab stage, after which they begin 

 their migration to estuarine waters. 



The peak shedding season runs 

 from early spring through June, but 

 crabs will continue to molt throughout 

 the summer and into early fall if the 

 water stays warm. The best water 

 temperature for shedding is between 

 68 F and 72 F. 



"The peelers are kind of like the 

 elk coming down from the mountain, 

 but there are always stragglers all 

 summer," says Wescott. 



During the winter months, crabs 

 burrow into the bottom and stop 

 growing until spring. 



Blue crabs seem to shed relative to 

 the position of the moon, says 

 Wescott. 



"There seems to be more soft crab 

 shedding on new moon and full 

 moon," he says. "More children are 

 born on the full moon too. No one 



really knows why." 



The first full moon in either May 

 or June usually produces the biggest 

 shed, he says. 



Crabbers such as the Hoopers and 

 the Wolffs usually call it quits after 

 the peak. But soft-crabbing magnate 

 Murray Bridges, a Dare County 

 shedder with more than 150 trays, 

 will shed until the last crab has 

 crawled into the mud. Through May 

 and early June, Bridges will be 

 shedding up to 180,000 crabs a week. 



"By the time we get into the full 

 swing of it, the price will come down 

 to six, eight or ten dollars a dozen," 

 says Wescott. 



When prices are very low, many 

 shedders freeze the crabs and hold 

 them until prices rise again. 



Bridges' operation in Collington 

 is the largest in the state. But Wescott 

 says a new shedder in Wanchese, 

 with 100 trays and 1,000 crab pots, is 

 gaining ground. 



Wescott says North Carolina 

 shedders have hardly tapped the soft 

 crab market, which has tremendous 

 potential for growth. 



"Probably more people are in the 

 hard crabbing business than any 

 other fishery we have," he says. 

 "Only 5 to 10 percent of people that 

 are harvesting crabs (in the northern 

 coastal part of the state) are shedding 

 them." 



Millions of peelers are caught and 

 sold on the hard crab market. If hard 

 crab fishermen culled and shed their 

 peelers — or sold them to other 

 shedders — soft crab production 

 could more than double without 

 increasing blue crab landings, says 

 Wescott. 



The state has a winning combina- 

 tion of salt, estuarine and fresh 

 waters — and plenty of calm, 

 shallow stretches of marsh that make 

 prime crab habitat, he says. 



North Carolina's shedding indus- 

 try, like the blue crab that sustains it, 

 is on the verge of explosion. □ 



What does it cost to set 

 up a flow-through system of 

 your own? 



"Ten shedders could 

 easily be constructed for 

 under a thousand dollars, " 

 says Sea Grant agent Wayne 

 Wescott. 



If you build it yourself, 

 each box costs about $30, 

 including the cost of ply- 

 wood sheets, shelving board 

 and wood for bracing. The 

 pump, plumbing and wiring 

 will run about $500, he says. 



You '11 need to fish about 

 100 crab pots, which cost 

 $15 to $17 apiece. 



Shed 600 crabs in each 

 box twice a week, and you '11 

 produce 12,000 soft crabs. 

 Multiply that 1,000 dozen 

 critters by an average 

 market price of $10 a dozen, 

 and you've made $10,000. 



Before your pupils turn 

 into dollar signs, subtract 

 your expenses — electricity, 

 gear maintenance and fuel, 

 packing supplies and labor. 



And of course, you'll 

 need a boat and waterfront 

 property. 



For publications on crab 

 shedding, see The Book- 

 store, page 25. 



COASTWATCH I 1 



