pennsylvania crabs ???

[archer393]

hello everyone ,,has anyone here ever done any crabbing in penn. waters ?i read that there is blue crabs in the river around phillie .im a transplant to penn. from balto. i grew up crabbing the bay and the cricks running into it and man im jonesing for some fresh crabs .one of you fine folks should take me crabbing  ..

[tattoo]

depends wher the salt line is . I have seen them being caught at the tinnicum wild life preserve  in years past. 

[ILLSWIMHOME]

Hey Tat, when do you think they'll be here?  I'm still hesitant about eating em.

[Pinchy]

There is NO WAY I would eat anything, especially scavenger crabs, out of the Delaware that far up. Tinicum is just south of all the [stuff] and runoff coming out of Trenton, Camden, Filthydephia, the Naval Yard, the oil refineries, etc. Just watch the oil slick, toxic soup, and garbage floating down after even a light rain. Catch all the crabs you want for fun, just keep 'em away from your mouth. Frankly I wouldn't eat the crabs out of Delaware Bay/Dividing Creek either, but that is a debatable judgement call.

[tattoo]

I would not eat them either. I don't eqt anything out the river. to answer Illswimnome. mostlikley late July. 

[Kristina685]

I'm not sure if crabbing is still allowed in the Tinicum Wildlife Preserve. Since I am from the Philadelphia area I did a search on the refuge and found that fishing is only permitted with a permit. Check out the website (I googled Tinicum Wildlife Refuge) to see what they prohibit in the area. Nothing is said about crabbing but I wouldn't chance it. 

Also, I wouldn't eat anything that comes out of those waters either!  

Kristina

[justaneater]

Having lived in Tinicum through my youth, I've fished every body of water surrounding the island.  You can smell the Delaware River as well as its tributaries including the Darby and Chester creeks.  The smell is not natural.  It smells like chemicals and you can see the oil slicks.

I can't imagine that the waters have gotten cleaner.  Avoid eating things that come out of these waters.

[tattoo]

The river is much cleaner, but I still wouldn't eat anything out of it. I fish the Del alot, but i always throw thm back , I go just for the fun of catching them. 

[mr mike]

i dont know if id eat any of em either. but i know people who do and one told me if you are gonna eat a catfish out of there, you might as well eat some crabs too!!! lol

[mikehn]

The chesapeake is not that far from Philly.  A little over an hour maybe?  However, crabs probably wont make it to the northern reaches of the bay till later in July

[tattoo]

July is almost here. 

[nadapesca]

About 4 or 5 years ago, I saw a blue claw swimming in the Neshaminy Creek under the I95 Bridge, which is just off the Delware. Other people have reported them too. It's strange because that is fresh(?) or sweet (?) water. However, there are not enough crabs in that area to bother with.

[Pinchy]

You can catch crabs in the Delaware all the way up to Trenton and possibly beyond. The state of PA in the recent past forbade harvest in waters around Trenton and advised not to eat, but that rule has since disappeared. I've seen people catching striped bass out of the Delaware, and behind the Phila Art Museum on the Schuylkill I saw a guy land a 28" striper on a lure. Largemouth bass and 20# carp are common. There are undoubtedly fish in these waters, but consumption is probably a bad idea.

[tattoo]

i have caught big striper's, catfish. and carp in the Del. Near com. Barry bridge.

[Feddog82]

Think about it!!!!!  The delaware river is not as polluted as it was 20 years ago, not even half as bad.  The EPA and all types of other governing agencies have set standards for all industrial outlets of waste.  There are hundreds of rivers all over the United States coastline that support industry and have the same problems that the "Big D" had for years.  Those are just the rivers in the United States.  All over the world there are rivers in countries with much less regulation than in the U>S>A>.  Same industry but with much more pollution.  Small less adanced countries sink barges of trash and waste in the ocean everyday instead of landfills or trash to steam type plants.  Some countries empty their waste water directly into the ocean.

What I'm getting at is that all of these rivers worldwide combine to dump trillions of gallons of water a day into the ocean.  The pollution does not dissappear, it's everywhere.  So if you think that eating something out of the Delaware river is any different than eating something out of the ocean, you are quite wrong.  PCBs are found in aquatic species hundreds of miles offshore, Mercury is found in bottom dwelling species throughout the worlds oceans, there is pollution everywhere.  I'm not saying that there aren't higher concentrations in some inland/industrialized areas, but you cannot forget where the water goes after it gets polluted!!!

Keep America Beautiful and or oceans, rivers, and lakes CLEAN!!!

[tattoo]

Very good point. 

[Schrade]

Amen Fed! There are warnings about fish and mollusk consumption. Bluefish, Tuna, Clams etc. I know for a fact many of fish markets buy and sell local crabs, clams etc. When I was a kid I used to sell Jersey crabs caught in the back waters and the market never cared. Take a good look at all the fertilizers used on farms that eventually run into the Chesapeake Bay and many other waterways. I guess it's just better to be careful. If not, don't ask questions.

[tattoo]

Eat the fish once a week ,you will be ok. 

[Feddog82]

***Keep America Beautiful and or oceans, rivers, and lakes CLEAN!!!***

Meant to say and "our" etc.

[ILLSWIMHOME]

Hey Fred, if I catch em, you want em?

[tattoo]

most of the time I  catch and release, But sometimes ther are people there who ask if they can have them. so i give the the fish to them.

[craboholic]

According to my fishing regulation books you can catch up to two bushels in PA in the tidal creeks too.

I wouldn't-but my mom lives 1/2 block from Ridley creek in Eddystone and I've been dying to put a pot out there just to see what I got.

I would NOT eat them- but I have a friend who says "if they can live-I can eat em"

I get sick just thinking about it!

[tattoo]

Thats cool. I went to EDDYSTONE HIGH, so I know it well.

[Feddog82]

I'm pretty sure I've been HIGH in eddystone before too!  J/K HAHA!!!

[tattoo]