Murray Bridges has been tending peelers for more than 25 years. 



1999 to 2000, the value of soft shell crabs 

 jumped from about $2.1 million to $3.3 

 million, according to the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (DMF). The price per 

 pound increased from $4.26 to $4.45. 



In the early part of this season, soft 

 crabs were bringing a hefty price — from 

 $20 a dozen for small "hotel" crabs to $36 a 

 dozen for jumbo crabs. 



SEA GRANT 

 EXTENSION EFFORTS 



When Bridges first started in the crab 

 business, he learned how to operate an 

 electric pot puller from the late Hughes 

 Tillett, a North Carolina Sea Grant 

 extension agent. 



"The pot puller has cut my time 75 

 percent," he says. "I used to pull 120 pots 



by hand in one day. Now I pull 200 to 250 

 pots a day with the pot puller." 



Through a Sea Grant demonstration, 

 Bridges also learned how to operate a 

 hydraulic net reel that allows fishers to reel 

 in a net with the push of a button. 



"The reel was new on the East Coast," 

 says Bridges. "Sea Grant brought the idea 

 from the West Coast. The hydraulic net reel 

 has improved fishing 1,000 per cent. It has 

 created a lot of income for fishermen and 

 saved a lot of time." 



After Bridges learned to use the reel, 

 he helped North Carolina Sea Grant with 

 demonstrations onboard a boat. 



"The net reels caught on good," says 

 Bridges. "Now, more than 250 fishing boats 

 on the Outer Banks have net reels. Sea Grant 

 has been a godsend to commercial fishers." 



provided demonstrations in a number of 

 North Carolina Sea Grant shedding work- 

 shops. 



"Murray is an innovative man with a 

 lot of knowledge," says Wescott. "He is 

 willing to take new ideas and equipment 

 and modify them until they work efficiently 

 enough to improve his fishery. Murray also 

 is willing to share with others." 



By sharing his hands-on experience, 

 Bridges gives a different perspective to 

 other fishers. 



"Good extension programming is a 

 two-way street," says North Carolina Sea 

 Grant extension director Jack Thigpen. 

 "We share research-based information from 

 the academic community while providing a 

 forum for our clients to educate researchers 

 about the practical realities of harvesting 

 and producing crabs." 



FAMILY-RUN 

 SHEDDING OPERATION 



Bridges' seafood business is tucked 

 away in the tiny community of Colington 

 near Kill Devil Hills. 



To get to Endurance Seafood, turn off 

 the tourist hubbub on U.S. 158 onto 

 Colington Road — a two-lane road lined 

 with local seafood businesses and restaurants. 



After crossing over a small bridge, 

 you see a sign for Endurance Seafood 

 leading down a tree-lined, sandy road. 



Bridges' ranch-style brick home sits 

 on one side. On the other side is his seafood 

 business housed in a white concrete 

 building with two garages piled high with 

 old parts and other items. Near the garage 

 are stacks of crab pots and a net wheel that 

 Bridges uses to make nets. 



"I do a little bit of everything," he 



says. 



In the front of the building, several 

 freight trucks are lined up to the back, 

 waiting to receive boxes of crabs. Inside the 

 building, there are several offices and 

 refrigerated areas to store seafood. 



"This is a family-run business," he 

 says. "My wife, sister-in-law and daughter 

 all work here." 



Toward the back, there is a room with 



36 HIGH SEASON 2001 



