I think is Gene ..last year

Locals study why blue crab numbers are declining

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about the project
Who is involved Kristina Bridges and three other crabbers in the region are part of 13 studies funded by North Carolina Sea Grant, teaming harvesters with biologists along the coast to gather data on the blue crab.

What they are doing
Bridges’ part of the project is to tag mature female crabs in the Albemarle Sound at the mouth of the North River to help determine migration habits.

Decline
Blue crab harvests have fallen from an all-time high of 63.6 million pounds in 1996 to 21.3 million pounds last year, an inexplicable decline, a marine biologist said. Above, Kristina Bridges records data about a mature female crab before throwing her back into the water.

By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 3, 2008
KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C.

Tall and stocky Gene Ashton donned an orange rubber apron and gloves, pulled up the first pot, and began dumping crabs on a metal tray - this time for science rather than for market.

His wife, Kristina Bridges, sat on an upside- down bushel basket, waiting with a ruler, a water-resistant note pad, and a handful of small tags.

The job has its hazards. Heavy waves rocked the 32-foot fishing boat enough that standing up was tough. Bridges, wearing sandals, had to watch out for her toes if Ashton or his apprentice, Ray Weed, dropped a well-clawed crab.

Bridges and three other crabbers in the region are part of 13 studies funded by North Carolina Sea Grant, teaming harvesters with biologists to gather data on the blue crab, the state's largest and most profitable seafood species.

Blue crab harvests have fallen from an all-time high of 63.6 million pounds in 1996 to 21.3 million pounds last year, an inexplicable decline, said Lynn Henry, a marine biologist with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

"We really don't know," Henry said of the reasons.

The state has declared blue crabs a species of concern. Weather, water temperature and salinity, and harvests all can affect blue crab numbers, he said.

This year, blue crabs surprised everybody by turning up in large numbers in the Albemarle Sound. Other places remain low.

"We've seen more hard crabs this time of year than we have seen in years," Bridges said.

Bridges' role is to tag mature female crabs in the Albemarle Sound at the mouth of the North River to help determine migration habits. She and Ashton set baited traps of wire mesh, or pots, in the water not far from Camden Point Shores, a 45-minute boat ride from her launch in the Kill Devil Hills community of Colington.

Her job along with three other crabbers is to tag and measure 150 each per month until the season ends in November.

Funded by the General Assembly, North Carolina Sea Grant spends $500,000 annually on the North Carolina Blue Crab Research Program, said Jack Thigpen, extension director for North Carolina Sea Grant.

Last week, crabs tagged in the Currituck Sound had traveled five miles in one day into the Albemarle Sound, said Bridges who with her father, Murray, owns and operates Endurance Seafood in Colington. Her brother, Scott, is also a crabber.

In the rocky boat, Ashton separated male s from female s by looking on their undersides.

If the belly plate looks like the U.S. Capitol, then the crab's a female. If the plate looks like the Washington Monument, the crab's a male.

Ashton quickly threw the males and small females overboard.

Each large female was tagged by hooking a metal wire on one of the shell tips and wrapping on the other tip. A plastic tag attached to the wire includes an identification number and a toll-free number. Crabbers who return a tag get $5 or a hat marked North Carolina Blue Crab Research Program.

A mature female doesn't shed, so the tag remains wired harmlessly across the top of her shell for the rest of her life.

Bridges measured and tagged the last crab of the day and tossed her overboard. The she-crab disappeared into the murky water of the sound.

According to statistics, it is likely that she'll turn up again in a few days in another pot, this time for market.

For details on the tagging program, call the toll-free number, (866) 737-6808.