winter crabbing, Beresoffhas discovered that 

 crab harvest comes to an abrupt stop when the 

 temperatures rise. 



"All of a sudden, they disappear in the 

 spring time," he says. "We wanted to see where 

 they went." 



outhern MioraNon 



This is the second consecutive year that 

 the Blue Crab Research Program is funding the 

 tagging project. 



In 2005, Beresoff and fellow fisher Tom 

 Likos tagged almost 1,250 female crabs in the 

 waters off Caswell and Holden beaches, as well 

 as the Long Beach part of Oak Island, all in 

 Brunswick County. 



They tagged terminal molt female crabs 

 — a stage where the crabs no longer shed their 

 shells — so the crabs would not discard the tags 

 along with their shells. Almost half of the tags 

 were returned or reported. 



This spring, supported by a second grant 

 and the addition of fishers Dan Rimmer and 

 Eustace Wood, the team was able to tag almost 

 1 ,300 female blue crabs in the ocean. They 

 wanted to determine if there were variations in 

 the catch rates of blue crabs, as well as movement 

 patterns from year to year, Logothetis explains. 



The second grant expanded the study 

 northwards to include Topsail Island and the 

 area around Beaufort Inlet. 



"We wanted to know the composition and 



catch rate of ocean populations in these areas," 

 Logothetis says. More than 80 percent of the 

 captured crabs were mature female crabs that 

 move towards high salinity waters, like the 

 ocean, to release their eggs. 



The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries 

 (DMF) has been tagging crabs in the Cape 

 Fear River and the Intracoastal Waterway since 

 2003. Stephen Taylor, DMF shellfish biologist 

 for the southern district, says Logothetis' 

 research complements the ongoing studies. 



While Logothetis and her team tag crabs 

 in the ocean, DMF tags crabs "in the internal 

 coastal waters," he says. Taylor tagged mature 

 female crabs bought from local commercial 

 fishers crabbing in coastal waters, bays and the 

 Cape Fear River. 



Although most crabs are recaptured 

 within 10 miles of the release location, some 

 crabs are hardy travelers. Tags from Logothetis' 

 2005 study were recovered from a handful of 

 crabs in Myrtle Beach last year. 



"I guess they like it down there," 

 Logothetis says with a laugh. "They want to 

 shag or something," she adds, referring to a 

 popular Southern dance style. 



Cape 

 Lookout 

 34"30'- 



Tacj Release Sites: 2005 2006 



Beaufort Inlet 

 S. Topsail Island 

 Caswell Beach 

 Holden Beach 

 Long Beach 



20 Miles 10 20 Kilometers 



ne mg noun of bou 



The data from the 2005 project showed 

 that the crabs tagged in Brunswick County 

 moved south and southwest, riding the 

 prevailing southward currents. "None of them 

 ever traveled north of 

 the Cape Fear River," 

 Beresoff says. 



In addition, 

 tag returns indicate 

 that crabs not only 

 head south, but also 

 return to the nearest 

 estuaries. But what 

 causes the crabs 

 to move into the 

 estuaries? 



"Once the 

 temperature of the 

 estuaries gets warmer 

 than the ocean, the 

 crabs start moving in," 

 Logothetis explains. 

 The shallower water 



3V 



TOP: Wilmington teacher Jackie Anderson crabs at the 

 Lockwood Folly River on summer weekends. 

 BOTTOM: Each tag contains contact information and 

 the details researchers need if the crab is recaptured. 



in the estuaries cools faster in the winter and 

 warms up sooner in the spring than the ocean. 



"Where there's warmer water, there's going 

 to be more food. So they're just following that 

 pulse," she adds. 



Until the estuaries begin to warm up, the 

 crabs appear to "stage" — or remain in one area 

 in the ocean — before they re-enter the estuaries. 



Dan Rittschof, a blue crab researcher at 

 Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, 

 has studied the migratory patterns of female 

 crabs as they move towards high salinity waters 

 when they are ready to spawn. 



"The crabs don't know if they're in the 

 ocean or in the sound," explains Rittschof, who 

 also has received funding from the Blue Crab 



20 Coastwatch I Holiday 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 



