stacks of soft shell crabs 

 sprinkled with ice and ready 

 to go to market. The crabs 

 are boxed according to size 

 — from jumbo to hotel — 

 and packed in seaweed. 



"They will stay alive 

 for three days," says 

 Bridges. "They are all going 

 to the market in New York." 



Outside the building, 

 more than 150 shedding 

 tanks sit on top of wood 

 frames. The fiberglass white 

 tanks have pipes that draw 

 water from the nearby creek. 



"The water is con- 

 stantly circulating," says 

 Bridges. 



During shedding season 

 from May until November, 

 Bridges and his employees 

 dart from tank to tank, 

 watching the crabs to see 

 when they escape from their 

 shells. Crabs molt to grow, 

 and shed some 20 to 30 times in their two- 

 to three-year lifespan. 



"We have to check the tanks every 

 four hours," says Bridges. "I only get two 

 to three hours sleep during the shedding 

 season." 



The busiest time is May when 75 

 percent of the crabs shed, says Bridges. 



"Last year was an exception. We had a 

 great month in August. It had never 

 happened before. It is just nature." 



Although most crabbers call it quits 

 after the peak shedding season, Bridges sheds 

 until the last crab has crawled into the mud. 



"I buy a lot of peelers from hard 

 crabbers," he says. "This makes it worth- 

 while for me to shed until the water gets 

 cold in November." 



NEW SHEDDING 

 TECHNOLOGY 



Bridges was one of the first shedders 

 in the state to use a flow-through system. 

 Before installing onshore tanks, he used 

 sunken boats and floating trays offshore 

 while waiting for the critters to bust out. 



Bridges checks the tanks at his Colington seafood business, tucked away from tourist traffic. 



The efficiency of a flow-through 

 system has attracted more people to the 

 shedding business. 



"There weren't over 10 shedders when 

 I first started over 25 years ago," says 

 Bridges. "Now, there are over 200 shedders 

 on the Outer Banks. The majority of people 

 have been successful. It just takes a lot of 

 hard work. It is like anything else. You can 

 get out of it what you put in it." 



During crabbing season, Bridges 

 usually leaves before dawn in one of his 

 boats. He usually pulls pots for several 

 hours in Roanoke Sound. 



"Yesterday, I got 400 peelers, three 

 bushels of jimmies or hard crabs and 20 

 pounds of eels," he says. 



During the winter months. Bridges 

 does net fishing for perch, catfish, and other 

 fish in the nearby sounds. 



"I enjoy fishing," he says. "When you 

 set a pot or net, you always wonder what 

 will be in it when you get it back." 



Like many veteran fishers, Bridges is 

 worried about the future of the crab 

 industry. The hard crab harvest in North 



Carolina fell 30 percent last year to 38.8 

 million pounds, according to a DMF report. 

 However, the report says that soft crab 

 landings increased 47 percent — from 

 510,363 pounds in 1999 to 750,140 in 2000. 



During the start of this season, the run 

 for soft crabs in Dare County is the best in 

 five years, according to Bridges. 



To maintain a viable crab industry, 

 Bridges suggests that the state inspect all 

 peeler crabs going out of state. 



"I think that the state needs to check 

 the type of crabs going out of state," he 

 says. "A lot of the crabs are classified as 

 peelers when shipped, and they are hard 

 crabs." 



Even though DMF is not proposing to 

 limit crab pots, Bridges also is concerned 

 that the division may set limits like they did 

 with nets. 



"The state put a limit on nets in 

 Albemarle Sound," says Bridges "It has 

 gotten so bad that no one can make a living 

 out there with nets. I am afraid this is going 

 to happen with hard crabs — and you won't 

 be able to make a living." □ 



COASTWATCH 37 



