Poll: Keep the females or throw them back?

[Ronster]

Assuming it's legal in your area, do you keep the females or do you throw them back?

[Mikie]

I'll keep a bushel or so big ones in the Fall when they've really fattened up and get dark. Best tasting crabs of the year. (Completely legal for me).

[tugcapt]

I pick YES, but I also pick all of the above since they all apply


Yes.   A keeper is a keeper. Yes, I do keep some females when crabbing on the ocean side of Maryland, it's legal and there are not as many males some days. The females taste better to me.
 
No.   I throw them back.  I do throw small mature females back when I am in a place that allows you to keep them and always throw them back in the chesapeake bay.
         
Keeping females is illegal in my state  Only in some parts of Maryland is it illegal. 

[lone sailor]

Its legal for me to take them so I do.  I agree with Mikie they are especially great in the fall.

[Crab Shack]

I throw all females back.  
 

Unless she's trophy size.  I wouldn't throw her back because I figure if she's that big, she has to be old and past her breeding years.

[shedking]

Your lifestyle choices do not affect my feelings for you cs. I have other friend like

I throw all females back. 

that too.

[jack1747]

I throw all females back. 

wtg. nice catch. glad you got some...

[Crab Shack]

Actually, at frat parties, I didn't use to throw all females back!  

[Dreampixels]

I throw all females back.  
 

Unless she's trophy size.  I wouldn't throw her back because I figure if she's that big, she has to be old and past her breeding years.

You are robbing the area of Cougar Crabs my friend.

[Crabbyd]

Actually, at frat parties, I didn't used to throw all females back!   

.

[elsmere ed]

Kept them many years ago,but not now!Here's some food for thought....if everyone comm and rec threw all females back there would be more crabs period.You can be keeping a female that is storing sperm and not even know it,hence less crabs!

[Crabbyd]

Kept them many years ago,but not now!Here's some food for thought....if everyone comm and rec threw all females back there would be more crabs period.You can be keeping a female that is storing sperm and not even know it,hence less crabs!

There has to be a balance just like in all of nature.  This has been proven many times over such as deer population.  Taking a reasonable amount of females is not a bad thing and the only way to keep things balanced.  No different then keeping smaller crabs as compared to just the large ones.  Keep taking the large ones and before you know it, all you have is smaller ones and guess who will be populating all these females that no one will be taking.  Don't you think eventually you will be decreasing the size and quality of the stock?  BALANCE is the answer!  What will the male crabs eat when there is an over population of females and the competition begins for the decreasing amounts of food?

[German82407]

This is debatable.  If it were a night of heavy drinking and the hogging prize pool was a minimum of a $100, I'm all in.  I take and conquer the biggest female there is.  Unfortunately, this was 7-8 years ago. 

[elsmere ed]

There has to be a balance just like in all of nature.  This has been proven many times over such as deer population.  Taking a reasonable amount of females is not a bad thing and the only way to keep things balanced.  No different then keeping smaller crabs as compared to just the large ones.  Keep taking the large ones and before you know it, all you have is smaller ones and guess who will be populating all these females that no one will be taking.  Don't you think eventually you will be decreasing the size and quality of the stock?  BALANCE is the answer!  What will the male crabs eat when there is an over population of females and the competition begins for the decreasing amounts of food?

Don't the males generally follow the salt line,and a majority of females prefer saltier water? yes,you do have places where there is a mix.Wouldn't be opposed to keeping females in late oct. before they burrow for the winter.I know this might start an argument,but why in md. can comms keep females but recs can't? shouldn't the law be either one way or the other,either both can or none at all?

[Crabbyd]

Have you ever caught sooks and jimmy's in the same location?

[Ronster]

There has to be a balance just like in all of nature.  This has been proven many times over such as deer population.  Taking a reasonable amount of females is not a bad thing and the only way to keep things balanced.  No different then keeping smaller crabs as compared to just the large ones.  Keep taking the large ones and before you know it, all you have is smaller ones and guess who will be populating all these females that no one will be taking.  Don't you think eventually you will be decreasing the size and quality of the stock?  BALANCE is the answer!  What will the male crabs eat when there is an over population of females and the competition begins for the decreasing amounts of food?

I tend to subscribe to this thought process.

[dfran]

I only crab in Md. I can't keep females so I don't. Before the ban on recs taking females I used to take the really big heavy females we caught on the line. I know that in Sept. and Oct. sometime the female keepers out numbered the jimmies.

[olclamman]

   not  most  of  the yr - but  in the  fall when  they are  fat  and  may  not  winter over
 

                                                          oc

     see ya  down  the  bay  (  barnegat )

[flounderpounder]

Actually, at frat parties, I didn't use to throw all females back!  

because they were to heavy to throw   

[muleman88]

I can keep sooks but I dont unless its late in the year and I cant catch any males. Then Im eating females . The argument about females and Md is kinda like De and dredging. They dredge all winter , for decades and theres still crabs  . But no dredging in Md . I wonder how big of a difference it makes? It sems to me that its would be hurting the crab population in DE but I can catch more crabs in De than Md. Although Md crabs are usually bigger.   

[cedar999]

Can of worms here I know, but how many comm crabbers dredge sooks in winter? How many are taken that way? As a rec I personally don't keep any females, but don't feel strongly about it. But when compared to dredging sooks in winter, a rec throwing back the occasional female is like spitting in the wind.

All IMHO of course, and I know everyone has to make a living

-Paul

[elsmere ed]

Can of worms here I know, but how many comm crabbers dredge sooks in winter? How many are taken that way? As a rec I personally don't keep any females, but don't feel strongly about it. But when compared to dredging sooks in winter, a rec throwing back the occasional female is like spitting in the wind.

All IMHO of course, and I know everyone has to make a living

-Paul

100% agree!

[jack1747]

I think there are 35 +/- dredge boats left.....

To dredge or not is going to be decided sometime this month.  Who knows what's going to happen......  It's open for public debate.  If the public comes out strongly against it, IMO, it's gone.  Reading between the lines, I think the VMRC would like to see it gone for good.

[Crabbyd]

I think there are 35 +/- dredge boats left.....

To dredge or not is going to be decided sometime this month.  Who knows what's going to happen......  It's open for public debate.  If the public comes out strongly against it, IMO, it's gone.  Reading between the lines, I think the VMRC would like to see it gone for good.

I'm not sure you even have to read between the lines........

[rdbeard]

First ther is no crab dredging in md. second female have been harvested in ches. by comm for a long time with no ill effects till the last 10 years. third when new regs were made and all had to give something the recs claimed the didn't keep sooks anyhow so thats what they gave up. comm went to a limited harvest by way of closures on sooks at certain times of the year. and last if they could do some thing about water quality we would be having this conversation.