Navesink ( Good an Bad News ) 7/31

[ROEMAN ROW]

Crabed with a friend out of Oceanic Marina , Used 20 Box Nets , with all Chicken Thighs . We nailed 70 of em , 5 1/2 to 7 " on the shell . Crabed by the North side of bridge for 7 hours , Then headed in . Had a couple of cold ones on land checking out our catch , as others were coming back to Marina . Seen a guy with 2 Igloo coolers loaded , asked if i could check out his Harvest he said sure as he was bragging ...  600 crabs  2 1/2 to 5 1/2 on the shell tops !      Males as well as Females ,  WALKED AWAY SHAKEN MY HEAD ! As he drove away , with a percentage of the future of the Blue Claws from the river !    All in All we had a good day , But , SOME PEOPLE are keeping what ever they harvest .      

[JTK]

Pobably same idiot from earlier in week....should have jotted down license and and called authorities.....If I was really gutsy I would have taken igloo and thrown it all back into the river.

Those are the people that need to be stopped......

[terriblecrabber]

Pobably same idiot from earlier in week....should have jotted down license and and called authorities.....If I was really gutsy I would have taken igloo and thrown it all back into the river.

Those are the people that need to be stopped......

They're all over that area ALL the time. Us coming on here and posting phenomenal reports produces swarms of these people who in turn, have great hauls and tell more idiots. Some of these people legitimately don't know how to tell a female from a male.

[oldwestuff]

Maybe the guy just is ignorant of the regulations? At least I hope so ! I crabbed for the first time the other day in MD. Not knowing all the regulations I spent a lot of time reading on the web. Maybe someone needs to fill him in next time? Well, These days that could end up ugly!
Would have made me mad to see that also!

[Blu-Claw Hunter]

If they are getting their info from this board, THEY KNOW THE RULES!!!!! one bushel has been posted as much as 4 1/2 inches. My kids could point out a female at 100 yards, no excuse. I've warned many a crabber on the public docks to put the shorts back ASAP, and how much it was going to cost them if they didn't. Most were not putting them back becouse they didn't want to keep catching them again.

[JTK]

Beat me to the punch on that one Blu -Claw......If he is dumb enough to post those results on this board he has certainly read up on other posts when it comes to regs.......I mean an amount is one thing but the size is another. What exactly are you getting out of a 3" crab? Either way he would have needed about 7 people on the boat to legally keep that many. Then the main question comes about.....does anyone really need to keep that many crabs?

[Ronster]

I like this thread, as there are three specific issues expressed here.

1.   Keeping shorts is illegal.    There's no excuse for it.    Call it in.

2.   Keeping females of size is legal in NJ.    Not much to complain about there.   It's a personal choice to keep females.

3.   Someone asked "Does anyone really need to keep that many crabs?"   Excellent question and point.    It's disgusting that with this many crabs around that anyone can make any excuse in keeping anything other than the bigguns.   

[Blu-Claw Hunter]

We were taking a few more than we realy needed and so went the "legal" smaller ones and lite ones. I'm in favor of keeping the largest females, if I only knew they were done producing and life expectancy, facts I don't have, so we put them back. I've was throwing back Red Bank amputies as well. Not sure why, guess i felt bad or satonic?

[ROEMAN ROW]

Both coolers were those big 36" Igloos , Believe me friends not a pleasant sight to see 2 1/2" being kept. Friday morning headed to RBM at 6:30 to find out it was packed with people wait'n to get a boat, and there were about 7 boats out allready, So headed to Oceanic .

[JTK]

The likely hood is that crabber was also out there by the oceanic bridge with only limited pressure of other crabbers, so no one would have even seen what they were keeping.....I have crabbed 100' from other boats and you kind of gather if they were just keepnig anything in the net. It is just a total disregard to the fishery and more than that that is a disrespect for us......We do Care  !!!!

[Mutzy crab man]

I think an area like the Naversink,which has been always crowded, would be a great spot for the man to patrol around and check ....Let me tell you something if it was known that the man is there things would be a lot different..Then size would matter ..   

[JTK]

Mutzy I wish I could say I've seen one but I never have....I have had the state police boat check us for proper documentations for the boat and I see him go up and down the river at least once a day each time I've been there......but otherwise nothing.......fishing or crabbing. Yeah the navesink is popular but so is Barnegat Bay and other areas....but I would agree show up once and you at least get the mention of notice that they are around.

[Mutzy crab man]

I know you can't have the man on the water all the time,but just have him sitting on the dock.In that area alone he can check at least 4 different marinas ..It makes me wonder during the crabbing season they should be checking the HOT spots..Man during the hunting season they check everything..That's how all the little towns make there $$$

[JTK]

100 % Agree Mutz......Hunting they are at every major gameland on Saturdays and they track down the smaller ones during the weekdays trying to see who they can catch..... This is part of the reason why are fishing regulations have been getting hammered.....crabbing will be next.

[SEMPER-FI Crabber]

$25 a crab fine would get your point across. I would have thrown the cooler back into the bay....and if he didn't like it....he'd follow the crabs.....these people aren't dumb.....just ignorant!

God Bless America!
Semper-Fi

[Ronster]

NJ should begin to utilize their F&W volunteers to help with this task.    They were moving in this direction before then suddenly shut down the idea (my guess is there was a union stink over it.) 

[nadapesca]

NJ should begin to utilize their F&W volunteers to help with this task.    They were moving in this direction before then suddenly shut down the idea (my guess is there was a union stink over it.) 

Sadly, they shut the program down altogether. No more unpaid types. State said they could not afford the liability insurance. There was a shooting by one a couple of years back and the State was sued. Proably the catalyst.

[aciffer]

The ower at RBM told me that there was someone watching the crabbers a week ago; made someone dump his entire catch back.  Not sure if fines were handed out.

Something should be done... I saw one group hoot and holler every time I saw them net a crab, and the crabs were small.  They kept them.

I caught some large females, but they all went back into the water.  I did keep some smaller (though legal) crab, but only because the run of biggies seems to be over.

[Ronster]

Sadly, they shut the program down altogether. No more unpaid types. State said they could not afford the liability insurance. There was a shooting by one a couple of years back and the State was sued. Proably the catalyst.

Just the volunteer deputy program was discontinued.    The volunteer program for F&W is still active...

[Barbarella]

Agree. At least get this car and license for future reference. I have called in twice . one time got a recording, but the next got a real person and  was told they were on the way. Some idiots I saw on the bridge by the east gate of Ft. Monmouth took babies and then had a pair of pliers to snip off one  part of the claw. i wanted to punch him but what could i do , was there with 2 kids.

[low-tide-clyde]

Hey Guys,
    
      My family and I are regulars at Oceanic Marina and they provide a laminated card to customers with New Jersey Blue Claw Crab size and possession regulations and identification info (Male vs. Female) egg sponge photo, as well as one side having a ruler printed on it for measuring purposes. (should you actually need to measure)   NO EXCUSE FOR THIS!

Sounds like these folks were in violation of both size limit and the one bushel per person possession limit.  Sad thing is how many of these crabs went directly to the trash. TOTAL WASTE!  

[crankycraber]

lets be for real  what are you going to do with 600 under sized crabs eat some and sell the rest people like that are ruining for everyone maybe the marina owners should start checking catches they are killing there own bussines to

[JTK]

Cranky it all depends on how ethical the owners want to be.....as well as the crabbers. The owner goes out of his way to assist in making sure the renter knows certain regulations as Clyde mentioned......but if they then check the catch at the end they may not collect $80 from the crabber again.  Somehow it is up to the crabbers who care to make it a point not to let the violations take place.....

[shipem]

i agree plan on going out in a week or 2 and will be thrilled if we bring home a couple of dozen

[terriblecrabber]

In this world, there's no such thing as "ethics" when money is involved     .. I agree with JTK, no good businessman would go beyond what the law absolutely requires him to do in a way that's detrimental to his customers; if a marina owner asked to check my catch, I would simply say no.  They have no legal right to do that, nor do other crabbers. We really can't do anything but call the proper officials and cross our fingers, they need more wardens/marine police/etc, bottom line.