Blue Chip 2012 Project Reports #1 through #9

[BlueChip]

The Sound School
The ISSP and Capstone Project
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors
- The Search for Megalops -
The Connecticut Blue Crab Population Habitat Study 2010-2015
Report #1 Jan. 2012

•   Shoreline Sites Provide Stewardship Opportunities and Monitoring – Program Outline
•   Let us know if you want to attend a spring workshop at The Sound School
•   Update email distribution lists for additional reports
•   More on soft shell clam habitats / Blue crab larval interactions

During the summer of 2011, The Sound School invited members of the public, blue crabbers, teachers, and students to become more involved in learning about the rapid population increase of blue crabs in our waters. The search for Megalops has become part of blue crab websites, blogs, and research projects. Key to the study is the identification of key blue cab recruitment sites – the post plankton larval stages called the “Megalops.” I thank over 100 crabbers, striped bass fishermen, and coastal beach combers/walkers who emailed me their reports.

Last year, blue crabbers across the coast identified two significant coastal migrations of blue crabs leaving the Housatonic River moving east and a much later and smaller movement from the Little Narragansett Bay Pawtucket River moving west – to the Mystic River. This second migration is also a large feature of the Mystic River fishery last year which was very strong into October before the blizzard. Bluefish fishermen at the mouth of the Connecticut River reported large blue crabs on the chunk bunker bait up to Thanksgiving. 

We still don’t know the full impact of Irene, but just before the storm, adult blue crabs were observed moving up into the marshes. As for last years Megalops set, we just don’t know. The inshore waters certainly had a major bottom disturbance “re-cultivation” event. Clams including razors, soft shells, and hard shells were reported cast up on many shoreline beaches. These summer warm water hurricanes in the past have been followed by immense sets of soft shell clams (Clinton Cedar Island 1900 set after the 1898 Portland Gale). That habitat relationship in fact, has raised some regulatory concerns that the area that contains the blue crabs larval stages is also location of extensive soft shell clam beds. That apparently is true but with information about Connecticut’s NSSP – National Shellfish Sanitation Program those concerns lessened. 

A series of program reports 1 to 4 are available from Susan Weber, adult education and outreach program coordinator, and 15 project catch reports from last year which include numerous blue crab fisher observations are available online at Connecticut Fish Talk, the Blue Crab forum, and a Savannah State University blog titled, “Blue Crab Blog” (http://bluecrabblog.blogspot.com). All 15 catch observation reports are also available from Susan Weber at Susan.Weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

At present a list of possible sites has been developed from observations and reports during the summer of 2011. An opportunity exists to seek monitors or stewardship partners for each site which will consist of habitat surveys and examinations with microscopes for blue crab set – or small star stage blue crab juveniles.

This project also seeks to identify interested schools, civic organizations, municipal shellfish, harbor conservation commissions, environmental groups, etc. near each site who would like to learn more about blue crabs and possibly monitor them and email back reports. But the Sound School cannot do it all, so we welcome a group or an organization willing to become the lead organization for this effort.

A tremendous amount of email / letter, poster development is anticipated. Several Connecticut bait and tackle shops support this blue crab study and have offered to place posters detailing the scope and purpose of such a study in their businesses.

If sub tidal salt pond habitat is found to be the best sites for blue crab recruitment, perhaps we could build new areas replacing some salt ponds filled in along Connecticut’s coast. This habitat loss occurred during the several Malaria outbreaks of the 1900s which resulted in having the salt ponds ordered to be filled by the state and local health departments or reinstallation of tide gates to lower marsh water tables (mosquito control). It may be possible to restore them (tidal flow) or by building “replacement” salt ponds for increased habitat capacity.

We delayed Project Shellfish/Finfish last year because of two concerns:

1.   Many areas in which people blue crab contain dense beds of steamer clams (Mya) also called soft shell clams. We have had tremendous soft shell clam sets also since 2005, and it was feared that people would discover clams doing the Megalops survey and consume them even though the area could be posted no shell fishing  (if crabs are okay, the clams must be okay also, etc.) due to bacterial contamination. Much of Connecticut’s waters are closed to shell fishing because of insufficient water quality or the presence of bacteria. But the same device proposed to sample Megalops could be used to harvest clams, in fact in Rhode Island and on the Cape; the toilet plunger or plumber’s helper is used quite a lot. On Cape Cod in the 1980s, a long handle plunger was used to catch daily several bushels of soft shell clams in salt ponds. The same area that may hold the Megalops set. Most marine organisms love bottom disturbance, to them it is like ringing the dinner bell for feeding opportunity this relationship predator/prey is not new. It is suggested that small blue crab predate upon soft shell clams. The plunging concept is several centuries’ old, back to the spear fisheries for winter flounder. At that time it was a metal disk mounted on a wood pole called a flounder pounder. Some describe it as attached to the free end of the spear itself. Thus, the concept net and plunger combined as one instrument is over a century old.

2.   The catch and retention of the blue crab Megalops might be considered keeping and retaining a short (illegal), which may require all monitors being placed on a scientific collectors permit because blue crabs are regulated (legal issue), fishery size season, etc. We delayed Project Shellfish/Finfish last year because of these concerns. I will be contacting the state D.E.E.P. to see if we need a specific collectors permit for the study shortly.

So, I will send out the protocols and equipment list before the volunteer spring workshops, but ask that you keep the above in mind.

The shellfish issue I feel is more of a concern, along with the increase of blue crabs, we have seen several tremendous sets of soft shell steamers especially in areas that sand bars have moved or after a summer storm. (One location is the flats off the Sound School in 2005; 100 clams/foot). Soft shells quickly colonize sub tidal marine soils (bottoms) when disturbed (re-cultivated) and the same areas that contain soft shells are believed to retain high concentrations of Megalops. In fact, several researchers from the Chesapeake Bay region have told me it’s a key habitat to study and monitor – “Look for Mya.”  It is very important that shellfish in closed areas are not retained in any way and always check with local shell fishing authorities state and municipal before shell fishing in any area.

Next Year?

The big unknown for us is the length of our winters. Blue crabs hibernate and can store food for about 60 days. A mild, short winter, and the crabs survive as from 09-10 season and begin activity around 48 degrees. The “1950s” type cold winter last year 10-11 caused the water temperature to fall 2.5 degrees and lengthened the dormancy period to 105 days and the huge crop of Blue crabs in 09-10 starved to death before it was warm enough to eat. We saw that result in the Essex Connecticut River fishery at the town dock.  On July 18, 2010 catch rates were 90 crabs/hour; in July 18, 2011, 3 crabs/hour. Predator / prey, also relationships have influenced overwintering capacity in Connecticut. Starfish have been a frequent predator species, but now attention is being drawn to our surging conch population. Conch has been reported moving into soft bottom areas that have been reported to contain wintering crabs. Conch seem to prefer crab species, but in the 1900s, it was oysters, the 1950s clams (hard shells were abundant then), and now crabs. It could be just what’s around that drives this relationship - not certain.   

At this point a possible list of Megalops Survey Sites has been proposed and follows.  This preliminary list may change.  If someone would like to suggest a site, please do so.  These are the list of sites as of January 10, 2012:

Greenwich – Anderson Road – upper Indian Harbor salt pond
Darien – Gorhams Pond (no site at present)
Stamford – Mill River, Rippowam (no site at present)
Fairfield – Ash Creek* (see note below) sand spit
Milford – Gulf Pond – Huntington Avenue Bridge
Bridgeport – Arthur Street shore
New Haven – Howard Avenue beach / Long Wharf flats
Guilford – Rt. 146 Bridge – Lost Lake
Guilford – Grass Island DEP Boat Launch Ramp – Neck River / East River Junction
Madison – Tom’s Creek or Fence Creek (any established site)
Clinton – Lower Hammonasset River – Cedar Island Marina “mini park” (beach)
Westbrook –Kirtland Landing, Old Clinton Road / Menunketeseck River
Old Saybrook – North Cove Boat Ramp, North Cove Road
Old Saybrook - Rt. 1 Oyster River Bridge by Maynard’s Farm Market
Niantic (East Lyme) - Smith Cove (no site at present)
Waterford – Alewife Cove – Waterford Shore – Town Park
Waterford – Jordan Cove (no site at present)
Ledyard Poquetanuck Core – (new site)
Groton – Bakers Cove (DEP Boat launch ramp) end of Bayberry Lane
Stonington – Mystic River – (no site at present)
Stonington – Quanaduck Cove – (no site at present)

*Originally it was Perry Mill Pond, most likely the area that contains some of the densest Megalops sets but was advised by the Fairfield Conservation Commission that the area is undergoing an environmental cleanup of lead and a special advisory for harvesting blue crabs in the area has been issued.


The Study Design 
Proposed for October 1, 2011

Where Do All Our Blue Crabs Come From?

The initial start of the project will be the selection of various coastal sites in which to investigate the presence or absence of blue crab Megalops.  The sites will represent areas known to contain adult or small crabs. The start of the project is to locate areas and determine if a habitat pattern/preference can be established.  It is just a presence/absence study to find Megalops; a more precise survey sampling program is a future expansion dependent upon initial findings. 

Thus the first step is to locate areas that might contain blue crab Megalops.  The second step is to have students and volunteers survey some areas.  A few years ago I attended the Project SEARCH volunteer winter training workshops held at Hammonasset State Park with Russ Miller in the Meigs Point Nature Center.  I was very impressed with the volunteer training workshops and this spring a similar workshop is planned at the Sound School.



Where to Look

Much of the available life cycle habitat studies have been done for the Chesapeake Bay region and southern areas.  From published articles evidence indicates that Megalops can find shelter in a wide range of habitats, the most important being estuarine bottoms that contain shell or live shellfish especially the soft shell clam (steamer) Mya between low tide depth of 1 to 2 feet..

A second habitat/environment type is areas with good tidal circulation and sufficient oxygen (shallow 1 foot or less, not stagnant) and perhaps edges of eelgrass also.  It is the edge of vegetation or the transition from non-structure smooth areas to habitats that have relief such as estucrure bivalre shell may perhaps be the best areas to look.  It is also suspected that the same areas will contain worms, small shrimp species and sets of shellfish.  Reports in some southern research papers speculate that the best Megalops areas often contain small and newly set soft set (steamer) clams (Mya).  It is also thought that acidic bottoms – those with low pH and low oxygen are hostile to the Megalops stage.  This habitat preference is one of the study/monitoring objectives. Reports do include adult Blue crabs digging into deeper water eelgrass meadows. Reports mention Blue crabs in offshore eelgrass meadows off Stonington in the 1950s.

Proposed Sampling Methods

The type of gear proposed is a modified “D sampling net” with a very fine mesh net.  The D net looks like a regular fish landing net with a flattened edge.  It looks like someone pushed on it making the bottom edge flat, making it look like a letter D with a handle opposite the flat edge.  The mesh is very fine because to the naked eye, a blue crab Megalops are very small, about the size of a flake of ground pepper.

In the PROJECT SEARCH DEEP study, the freshwater stream currents direct riffle dwelling organisms into the collection net (device).  To loosen these fresh water organisms a series of foot pounding (called kick stops) are employed to dislodge organisms into the current flow and then into the net.  In the marine environment we don’t have that flow all the time to concentrate specimens so a different sampling procedure might work.  A modified clam harvesting device (clam pounder) a descendant of the century old flounder pounder used in Niantic Bay winter flounder species fishing in the 1880s may assist in collection.  Rather than kicking the bottom a plumber’s helper is attached to D net handle and plunged three times.  The small depression is then scooped with the D net.  The rubber plumber’s helper can be purchased at hardware stores and attached with a metal screw operated pipe clamp.  This device looks a little funny at first- a wood handle with a sampling net at one end and the plumber’s helper on the other.  But, it is effective at suspending sub tidal organisms and while employed as a University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension agent in the 1980s I found it to be quite successful.



Sampling Protocols / Operations

Areas would be surveyed every two months, two samples about 1 meter apart.  All samples should be 12 inches deep at low tide (this may change after the first fall surveys).  Because these organisms are small, soft bodied, they are fragile and could break down before they can be keyed out.  To help preserve the samples, the salt water will be stabilized and frozen.

To collect the sample, the organisms are so small they will cling to the collecting net, so a bulb type turkey baster will draw up a portion of a reduced in the net sample and deliver it into a collection jar. Don’t be surprised if you’re soon surrounded by silversides and killifish, bottom disturbances to these species are like ringing the dinner bell.  But ample time should be available before visitors arrive in large numbers.

At this point, the sample will be stabilized most likely with an over the counter calcium tablet to buffer the sea water.  The fragile Megalops body tissue is very soft and an acid water sample could possibly dissolve it. Again, I need to talk to benthic researchers who do this all the time. There is evidence that some marine soils in oak leaf litter are quite acidic. Samples once neutralized can then be frozen and stored until keying out?  Not certain, and if this storage is practicable, again not certain.

Sound School Site – Control / Protocols Development

The Search for Megalops will involve Connecticut teachers statewide, but we also plan to establish a sampling station at the Sound School as a Capstone Project.  Taking a sample should only take a few minutes.  A photo/narrative outline will be available April 15 and key protocols by June 15. A genetic study will be started with Chesapeake Bay researchers to see if the genetic differences or similarities can be established and interest in hatching/spawning some sponge crabs as part of an Aquaculture Biology class.  A senior class aquaculture life teacher has planned to offer his senior students to look a blue crab habitat in terms of climate change.

We will also coordinate student projects (junior year) with interested Guilford, Madison and Old Saybrook marine science classes with survey sites and sampling techniques; the Bridgeport Aquaculture School and the new Groton Marine Science Magnet School has expressed interest also.  All of our information will be online and available by interested public, research or volunteers. 

The student projects will commence in early June and sampling should start July 1st. A public workshop forum is now being discussed in which student projects/papers and PowerPoint’s™ will be presented to staff, researchers and members of the environmental community that would be scheduled sometime in the spring the following year on a senior Capstone project.



Equipment

Net- http://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=7410R

The sampling net we are considering is the BioQuip™ heavy duty aquatic net (no trade or product endorsement implied).  They are the “D” shaped nets that allow greater bottom sampling area/contact.  BioQuip™ makes a net from heavy cotton and polyester canvas, stitched with non rotting screen.  They feature a white mesh (Nytex) screen placed about 8 inches below the canvas rim.  Since the Megalops are very small, a bag with 150 micron screen is thought to be the best 7412-DN model.

Since the organisms are very small drying the net will have organisms clinging to the canvas and screen.  It might be easier to do a water to water transfer by partially drying a corner of the net, but not completely.  A suction device (it looks like an old fashioned turkey baster could be an option) could draw up a liquid sample and direct it into a sample jar or bag.  Sea water is alkaline about 8.1 to 8.4 but samples after a heavy rain (fresh water tends to float over salt water) might be acidic so the addition of an over the counter calcium table could stabilize the sample until it is frozen.  This is just one possible stabilization method at this point.

The Pounder-
This device dates back to the cold period or climate shortly after the Civil War when Connecticut was in a very cold decade in the 1870s.  The coves would freeze up in eastern Connecticut including Niantic Bay.  Winter flounder spear fishermen would cut holes in the ice in two basic areas: soft sediment or eelgrass for overwintering eels and clam beds for winter flounder.  A large pole and wood rack or basket at the end would be pummeled into the bottom through the ice, dislodging worms, clams (breaking some no doubt) but attracting winter flounder (chumming).   Some retired bay scallopers from Niantic Bay told me about their fathers using such a device- a precursor to the modern chum pot.  After a few minutes, the flounder spear would be sent down the hole (you can still see these spear’s today for sale along the shore in antique stores).  The basket soon found its way to a simple flat metal plate disk and the blacksmith shop.  It too was fitted to a long pole and looked like a long plumbers helper – plunger. Some reports the pounder was attached to the same shaft as the spear. In the 1960s, this device was modified to catch sub tidal soft shells “steamer” clams and plunging for clams was frequent on Cape Cod and Rhode Island in the 1980s.

According to Phil Schwind, in a brief Chatham meeting (1982), populations of soft shells retreated to sub tidal areas on the Cape in the 1950s and 1960s along with the Blue crabs. A period of cold and storms 1951-1965 saw Blue crab populations plummet on the Cape. Fishermen started seeking out deeper soft shell clam beds that survived the cold. It was thought that severe freezes then reduced the exposed tidal soft shell populations beginning in the 1940s, the washing of clams in the sub tidal areas began and the pounder soon became the plunger.  It soon followed by trial and error that salt ponds contained significant soft shell clam populations. [This is not unlike some of the historical accounts from the Great Island soft shell clam flats off Old Lyme (1930s) of sub tidal harvest with a special offset shovel and an old Colonial garden screen, back then called a “riddle”.  CT soft shell production would soar during the Great Heat (1890-1920) but drop considerably in the colder period of 1960s.] In a 1970 booklet titled the Clam Shack Clammer (May 1, 1970 Printer Charles Thompson) Phil Schwind lists the plunger on page 35 as shellfish harvest equipment.  He is generally credited with keeping this old method of sub tidal soft shell clam harvest current from the past century.

The modern day plumber’s helper can still be purchased at most hardware stores and together with a screw fitted metal pipe clamp, it can be reinstalled at the end of the D net.  So, the “pounder” and collection net is one device (as with catching clams years ago).  You don’t’ need to plunge more than two or three times creating a slight depression (not a hole) – the organisms should settle in the depression and then collected with the D net end.

Cost equipment list –
o   One 7412 DNM Aquatic net 12” D shape 150 micro mesh    
               Nylon Bag ($68.20) BioQuip™
              (No product or trade endorsement implied).   $68.20
o   One metal screw fitted pipe clam (hardware store)       $1.49
o   One flexible plumber’s helper plunger (hardware store)                  (the existing wood handle is not used)      $7.95
o   One bottle of calcium supplement (drug store)      $4.95
               (Sample stabilization)
o   Collection bottles/bags (various) (for freezing until collection)   $10.00-$15.00
o   The total cost (excluding microscopes and bioscopes to examine samples) is about $100.00.
o   It is suggested that monitors wear “knee high” boots.
o   You will need a microscope to examine samples. 

If you are interested in becoming a Megalops monitor, please email me at the Sound School (tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us).  Although several educators have expressed interest and looking for Megalops now and can do so. (I’m surprised at how many people already have microscopes at home.) That is fine – please be certain to call the state D.E.E.P. about a scientific collection permit. I suggest workshops for interested monitors this spring. That way in the spring we may be able to assess surveyed Megalops. As a group, there is also a possibility that all Megalops monitors will need to be listed on a Scientific Collector Permit and one organization or environmental group might be willing to spearhead this monitoring effort. That would be great!

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us

Program reports are available upon request. 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

If you do not wish to receive these reports, please let us know.

Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

Supervised Research Projects / State Graduation Capstone Projects, ISSP’s

For over a century high school students attending Agriculture Science and Technology Centers (formerly known as Vocational Agriculture Centers) have had a statutory obligation for having a planned supervised agriculture work experience program. (SAE) For Agriculture Education students, the senior year contained a special topics/portfolio project that is designed with consultation with the scope & sequence teacher.  The addition of directed laboratories in the 1990s research projects can satisfy both the (SAE) and now the supervised Capstone graduation project.  The Capstone Project description is as follows and also found on the State Department website:

“The Capstone Experience is a culminating activity that provides a way for students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they acquired during their secondary school years of education.  It engages students in a project/experience that focuses on an interest, career path or academic pursuit that synthesizes classroom study and real world perspective.  High school students are asked to demonstrate their ability to apply key knowledge and skills by planning, completing and presenting a culminating project linked to one or more are of personal interest and the individual’s Student Success Plan.

The Capstone experience may include an in-depth project, reflective portfolio, community service and/or internship.  As part of the experience, the student will demonstrate research, communication and technology skills including additional relevant 21st century skills.

Work on the Capstone Project may begin as early as 9th grade.  Successful completion of a Capstone Project will earn the student one credit toward high school graduation.”



For more information about the Capstone Project, please contact:

Ann Gaulin, Consultant         
CT State Department of Education
(860)713-6544
Ann.gaulin@ct.gov
-Or-
Scott Shuler, Consultant
CT State Department of Education
(860) 713-6746
Scott.shuler@ct.gov

For more information about the Capstone Projects in CT, please go to:
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2702&Q=322264

We look to the possibility of some for credit ISSP proposals from any interested Sound School students.


Independent Study and
Seminar Program
New Haven Public Schools

The contact person for the Sound School is Barbara Mente; other schools could also have ISSP programs.  A quick call to your high school guidance director should be able to assist students from other school systems.

[BlueChip]

The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building A Network of Citizen Monitors 
The Search for Megalops
The Connecticut Blue Crab Population Habitat Study 2010-2015
Report 2 – April 23rd 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!
•   Blue Crabs Seen In The Connecticut River – Late Report
•   Shellfish Commissions/Shellfishers May See First Immature Blue Crabs
•   Volunteer Monitoring Workshops Postponed Until Fall
•   Warm Winter May Have Reduced Over Wintering Mortality
•   Researchers Seek Collaboration with New England Studies

Shellfishers May See First Blue Crabs
In April of 2010 members of the Guilford Shellfish Commission reported sightings of thousands of small blue crabs on shellfish beds off Guilford.  A warm winter had thought to increase small crab survival/populations and a couple of quick phone calls confirmed the Guilford observation.  A huge population of juvenile blue crabs was along the Connecticut beach fronts in creeks and coves in numbers such that no one could recall seeing before.  By June 1st (2010) small crabs were observed as far as east of Niantic Bay and by July 1st Connecticut was in the beginning of the best blue crab year since 1912.  What happened?  Well, the previous winters were relatively mild, and absent strong storms.  The 2007-2008 and 2010 will be remembered as some of the best recent Connecticut blue crab seasons.  Then, we had the winter of 2010-2011 with 76 inches of snow, bitter cold and tremendous record breaking spring floods and the 2011 crab year was much more modest, and overall blue crab abundance in the east fell sharply.  We had a 1950s winter and as in the 1950s and 1960s and following those type of winters we had a noticeable drop in blue crabs last year as compared to the 2010 season.  But Southern New England crabbers had seen this happen before.

What Connecticut has experienced the past two decades was similar to the end of The Great Heat in the late teens.  At the turn of the century northern blue crab populations soared most noticeably in Buzzards Bay, Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound.  A huge upsurge in blue crab productivity then but as winters grew colder in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s blue crab abundance dropped dramatically region wide.  A short passage in a report about the Westport River in Massachusetts details this concern about observations in blue crab abundance at the time.  The reference comes from a Massachusetts Board of Natural Resources Study (one of 23 such studies) titled A Study of the Marine Resources of the Westport River and this section appeared on page 39 of the report and mentions the decline in blue crabs.1

“The blue claw crab is a species which were formerly abundant the south shore of Massachusetts but has been declining in numbers for at least the last decade.  Such decline has also been observed in waters south of Massachusetts.  Jeffries (1966) noted that the blue crab began to decline in Rhode Island in the mid-1930’s and that by 1938 they had diminished to the point that it was no longer profitable to fish for them commercially.  The cause of the decline of this crab in our waters is unknown.  Many fishermen along the shore have expressed the belief that the loss of blue claw crabs- also fiddler crabs (Uca spp.) is due to the careless use of pesticides in coastal areas.  While it is certainly possible that pesticides have had a detrimental effect upon crab populations no conclusive evidence has been documented in this regards.”

What fishery regulators didn’t understand at the time is that as the climate grew colder it favored lobster habitats – kelp cobblestone forests and red macro algae populations grew while the huge eelgrass meadows (1880-1920) were uprooted by storms which now more frequently occurred following decades of heat and few storms.  The colder winters most likely greatly reduced blue crab populations.  To the crabbers of the 1960s and 1970s the blue crabbing resembled nothing like former years or crabbing experiences as young people in Connecticut.  Those observations from the Westport River in Massachusetts (1967) were largely correct, blue crab populations greatly diminished during this period as it became a colder and more storm filled period.  Thousands of acres of cobblestones however were exposed along beach fronts, cleaned and with tumbled by hurricanes, and came to have kelp forests that were often in the same habitat areas as eelgrass meadows occurred decades before.

What was better habitat conditions for the blue crabs (heat and quiet) was not so good for lobsters – which in our area needed that critical stage four kelp/cobblestone habitat.  When the blue crab populations surged at the turn of the century Southern New England lobster populations crashed.  All the Southern New England lobster stocks were impacted.  Rhode Island even closed for a portion of the 1905 year, its fishery to lobstering.  Today we see that same dynamic – blue crab populations have surged (2010 was the best blue crab year since 1912 according to historic Fulton fish reports) while our lobster population has shrunk to its lowest levels since 1905.  Today much of that shallow water kelp/cobblestone habitat has failed – it is gone, disappeared and lobster recruitment is now at extremely low levels.  Blue Crab populations however have benefited from the warmer winters and heavy sets of Mya, the soft shell clam.  The presence of

1 Much thanks goes to Director Bruce Carlisle of the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office for making this entire set of marine resource publications available to The Sound School and students researching fisheries histories.
eelgrass in some coves also may also have helped – but it is those sandy/shelly areas that are thought to hold the first megalops stage.  That is why shellfishers may be the first ones to see the results of a successful megalops set from last fall – the big unknown is of course is the effect of Tropical Storm Irene – those shallow near shore areas got quite a cultivation event and the unusual Halloween Blizzard, could have caused a large megalops mortality – we just won’t know for a few more weeks.

Monitoring Megalops Workshops will be rescheduled

We have decided to postpone monitoring megalops training workshops until we have more of the monitoring sites covered, most likely until the fall.  Also we will contact some environmental organizations about some logistical help, perhaps dividing the coast into three basic reporting areas – east, central and west – with an overall catch/observation summary which combines regional observations and crab catch reports.  A smaller high school student Capstone Project Proposal is also being prepared to be sent to all coastal high schools.  The eventual goal is to have monitors for all the proposed sampling sites.  A new sampling device is also being explored a version of the turn of century, Guilford clam gun but now to include the water sample above and instead of a metal cylinder, a cut section PVC pipe.  We hope to have a few made this spring for sampling and report out on the initial trials.  A survey of Tom’s Creek in Madison, Connecticut is expected as one of the control sites – to see if creek habitats can obtain and hold a Megalops set.  (A comparison between a corer sample and wash sample Dnet will be made) and the Tom’s Creek survey will be reported out in a few weeks – The PVC tube acts as a water sample surface corer – anything invented to harvest razor and large softshell clams may also offer a good Benthic sample (more to follow).

Researchers Seek Regional Collaboration

The Blue Crab upswing in New England has obtained attention of researchers along the eastern seaboard.  With warmer temperatures the expansion of the Blue Crab (fishery) into New England waters offers a chance to study species shifts in response to climate change warmer waters which may lead to increases in blue crab population disease.  Tracking disease/pathogens north into New England would confirm the climate/life history stress theory.  With have certainly seen disease related mortality with heat stressed lobster populations –

The contact person for this initiative is Eric Schott at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science 701 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD  21202, scott@unces.edu

A short note and explanation of the study is detailed below;

Dear extension folks, shellfish health experts and others,

The recent noticeable abundance of blue crab in the Northeast has caught the attention of many of us.  For those interested in shellfish health, this expansion or increased abundance may provide an opportunity to track density- or climate-dependent changes in disease prevalence in an aquatic species.

Climate change models predict a warming of southern New England waters by up to 4.5 Co in this century, to temperatures similar to the current mid-Atlantic region. One consequence may be a northward expansion of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and other fishery species, along with their associated pathogens. Using sensitive molecular methods, a coalition of academic, state and federal partners is beginning to assess the prevalence of two fatal blue crab pathogens (a reovirus, CsRV, and the rotozoan parasite Hematodinium sp.) from Delaware Bay to the south shore of Massachusetts. After a successful first year, we are extending crab disease monitoring for a total of 5 years, to establish a baseline on blue crab health in the Northeast. Understanding whether diseases are present and influencing crabs in the NE will require the help of a network of fishermen, academics, and managers. It may serve as a template for long-term studies of the effects of climate change and latitude on the prevalence of diseases of blue crab or other fishery species in the NE. The endeavor can also provide opportunities for participation of graduate and undergraduate summer interns.

Warm Winters May Have Reduced Over Winter Mortality

Temperature Abundance link – long known in the coastal review of the blue crab
century ago a United States Fish Commission 1887 reports mentions a climate/temperature abundance connection.

It is thought that great cold – the coldest of temperatures in the early 1870s in which extremely cold temperatures damaged or killed Connecticut apple trees (Orchards) extended hibernation periods causing starvation or delayed mobility of blue crabs.  The colder winters is thought to have allowed to starfish and conch to consume them in large numbers.  This coincides with comments made from trawl fishermen seeking winter flounder in the 1950s and 1960s.  Here the muddy bottoms between Faulkners Island and Kimberly Reef held a great number of blue crabs and starfish feeding upon them.  Cold temperatures did not create preferred habitat conditions for the blue crab.  That would change at the turn of the century.

At the beginning of the great heat – 1880 to 1920 New England saw a pronounced lift of its blue crab fisheries.  As waters warmed blue crabs became much more abundant and the connection between temperature and river mouths was clearly described for these fisheries at the time.  The US Fish Commission report contains habitat clues for the blue crab fishery regarding;
 
1)   Abundance connected to temperature
2)   Entering the mouths of Rivers
3)   Overwintering in muddy bottoms
In volume II, section V, The Crab Fisheries, pages 634, 635 of the 1887 United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries report contains this paragraph written by Richard Rathbun assistant to George Brown Goode and submitted to Congress in response to the Tenth Census.

The following quote details the Southern New England Fishery.  Part 1 – Natural History and uses of The Blue Crab.

“Southern New England cannot be said to have any regular crab fishery.  About New Bedford many crabs are taken for bait and for eating, and at other places smaller quantities are captured and made use of; but very few persons, if any, devote their entire attention to this industry, even for a short period.  Most of the blue crabs eaten in the interior New England towns and in Boston, come from farther south, through the New York markets.  New Bedford makes some shipments to Providence and New York.  Both the north and south shores of Long Island furnish many crabs, the bulk of those not used at home going to New York and Brooklyn.

New England – The blue crab is not known from north of Massachusetts Bay, where it is of rare occurrence, but it ranges along the entire southern coast of New England from Cape Cod to New York.  At no place upon this section of coast, however, is crab-catching carried on as a regular business, mainly for the reason that this species of crab is less abundant here than to the south of New York, where it is more easily and cheaply obtained.  Blue crabs are common in Buzzard’s Bay, especially in the vicinity of New Bedford, and enter the mouths of the rivers during the summer in large numbers.  Acushnet River, near New Bedford, is described as a great abiding place for crabs in the summer season, and as affording good facilities for their capture.  In the spring the average weekly catch is stated to be about four hundred crab, but in the fall the number taken is sometimes as great as forty thousands per week.  Some of these crabs are used as food, being retained in New Bedford or sent to Providence or New York, but far the greater portion are employed as bait for tautog.  Among the other species of fish for which this crab is utilized as bait in this vicinity are the striped bass, rock bass, cod, squeteague, and blackfish.  When shipped away, they are packed in boxes with seaweeds, ice being added in warm weather. 

In Vineyard Sound blue crabs are less abundant, and are only taken occasionally by persons desiring them for their own use.  The Newport markets are partly supplied with blue crabs from Narragansett Bay, where they are said to be more abundant and more easily taken than the Jonah crab (Cancer borealis), which also occurs there, and is the only other species of crab used in Newport.  Soft blue crabs are also sent to Newport from New York.

All of the other larger towns and cities on the Southern New England coast (Stonington, New London, New Haven, &c.,) make use of greater or less quantities of crabs caught in their immediate vicinity, but these places probably receive most of their supplies from New York.  At the smaller towns and villages crabs are probably also collected at times, when desired for home consumption, but nowhere in this region can crab-catching be regarded as an established industry, nor is it possible to give an estimate of the number of crabs annually taken and disposed of.  The season extends from April to November, but varies according to the conditions of temperature, some years being more favorable than others.  The fishing is carried on mostly by means of dip-nets or scoop-nets, the crabs being sometimes enticed to the surface of the water by the use of baited lines.  Incidentally crabs are obtained, often in great abundance, in lobster pots, fish seines, and other nets.  In the winter they area occasionally speared by eel fishermen, who find them buried in the muddy bottoms.” 

Capstone questions –

1)   Can a temperature/climate link be clearly established for the Southern New England Blue Crab resources?
2)   Has the warmer temperatures enhanced habitat carrying capacity for the Long Island Sound Blue Crab population?
3)   How can resource monitoring provide population abundance indicators?


Just before printing – Adult Blue Crabs Observed in Connecticut River

A late report -= Monday, April (23rd) has adult blue crabs in large numbers on the Connecticut River above the Baldwin Bridge – Report is a night time observation, if report is confirmed, large adult blue crabs have survived our very mild winter and are out actively seeking out food.  Looking for reports from the Hammonasset, Branford and Housatonic Rivers.

Some of the western CT coves and salt ponds that warm quickly may have similar observations.  As in 2010 reports of small crabs along the shore would be a very positive indicator for the upcoming blue crab season.

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request. 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

If you do not wish to receive these reports, please let us know.

Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

Supervised Research Projects / State Graduation Capstone Projects, ISSP’s

For over a century high school students attending Agriculture Science and Technology Centers (formerly known as Vocational Agriculture Centers) have had a statutory obligation for having a planned supervised agriculture work experience program. (SAE) For Agriculture Education students, the senior year contained a special topics/portfolio project that is designed with consultation with the scope & sequence teacher.  The addition of directed laboratories in the 1990s research projects can satisfy both the (SAE) and now the supervised Capstone graduation project.  The Capstone Project description is as follows and also found on the State Department website:

“The Capstone Experience is a culminating activity that provides a way for students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they acquired during their secondary school years of education.  It engages students in a project/experience that focuses on an interest, career path or academic pursuit that synthesizes classroom study and real world perspective.  High school students are asked to demonstrate their ability to apply key knowledge and skills by planning, completing and presenting a culminating project linked to one or more are of personal interest and the individual’s Student Success Plan.

The Capstone experience may include an in-depth project, reflective portfolio, community service and/or internship.  As part of the experience, the student will demonstrate research, communication and technology skills including additional relevant 21st century skills.

Work on the Capstone Project may begin as early as 9th grade.  Successful completion of a Capstone Project will earn the student one credit toward high school graduation.”



For more information about the Capstone Project, please contact:

Ann Gaulin, Consultant         
CT State Department of Education
(860)713-6544
Ann.gaulin@ct.gov
-Or-
Scott Shuler, Consultant
CT State Department of Education
(860) 713-6746
Scott.shuler@ct.gov

For more information about the Capstone Projects in CT, please go to:
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2702&Q=322264

We look to the possibility of some for credit ISSP proposals from any interested Sound School students.


Independent Study and
Seminar Program
New Haven Public Schools

The contact person for the Sound School is Barbara Mente; other schools could also have ISSP programs.  A quick call to your high school guidance director should be able to assist students from other school systems.

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Population and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors 
The Search for Megalops
Report 3 – June 19, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

•   Shell Fishermen report small blue crabs in eastern CT
•   Adult blue crabs in most coastal areas / conch predation concerns
•   Cool rains slowed record breaking warmth
•   Blue crabbers all report modest catches
•   WindCheck© Magazine / UCONN Sea Grant Articles feature study.
•   Blue Crab Health Research – University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
•   Capstone Proposal available from the Sound School

Much thanks to Tessa Getchis of the University of Connecticut Sea Grant College Program who mentioned observations by shell fishermen who had been seeing many juvenile blue crabs in the Groton and Stonington area.  This report and a few reports from the Milford area point to significant numbers of 3 to 4 inch crabs.  This is a good sign, for these crabs will be growing into legal size crabs in the next few weeks.  Salt ponds and coves should provide the first clues to the survival of these crabs.

Reports continue to come in about the Branford and Farm Rivers holding large hard shell jimmies but only modest catch numbers – 3 to 5 crabs per hour.  Also reports from Clinton Harbor, CT River (lower), Westbrook, all mention a few hard shell male crabs and some occasional good catches. Schooner, Inc. out of New Haven has found a possible over wintering location in front of the Coast Guard Station.  In sample trawl net surveys, crabs have apparently dug into the soft bottom and survived the winter.  All reports make no mention of legal size female crabs as yet.

Some clammers and in Branford especially Steve Joseph of The Sound School reported huge numbers of the knobbed whelk in three to five feet deep shallow areas, feeding on something below the soil surface in early May.

Adult conchs are known predators of blue crabs and Connecticut’s conch population is now at higher levels than the past twenty years.  A hard clammer (Guilford) reported seeing hundreds of knobbed whelk below the surface in May (not the channeled whelk) and potential predation impacts upon over wintering blue crabs is relatively unknown.  Warmer temperatures favor conch species and the early hot days in April could have accelerated mating in shallow water.  Knobbed whelk can feed three to four inches below the surface making them almost impossible to trap, but often caught in hard clam rakes.

Warmer water temperatures retreated a bit with the spring rains and for June 19th, water temperatures ranged about five degrees above normal, but prior to the cooler rain filled period it was an incredible 11°above average. Warmer temperatures usually bring in Gulf Stream tropical fish. In 1905 a very similar hot spring had researchers at the Wickford, Rhode Island lobster hatchery concerned as surface sea water temps rose quickly to 76° by July 1 and by July 30th, (1905) they recorded 82°. Tarpon and Barracuda were caught in Narragansett Bay by August. Our June sea water temperatures are much more modest, Long Island Sound current sea water temperatures from the NOAA National Data Buoy Center (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/) finds Bridgeport (both 6/19) at 68.7°and New Haven surface at 69.4°.  Another 6° degrees higher and it would be very similar to the 1905 summer.                     

Conversations with crabbers at Clinton Harbor feel it’s just still too cool and crabbing will be up the first of July.  A few large jimmies are caught here with traps on incoming tides but catches are modest – 3 to 8 crabs/trip.  Adult blue crabs can be seen at low tide by the town dock.  Key to this year’s late blue crab season is the strength of the fall Megalops set. These crabs should now be visible and be the size of a green pea. All the crabbers I have spoken with including those in the East Haven/Branford area are very concerned about the impact of Irene. If this Megalops set failed over the winter in Connecticut, attention would turn to an early Chesapeake Megalops set and appearance of small crabs here in late July.

For most of the Connecticut blue crabbers, they are just waiting to see how many of the 3 to 4 inch crabs survived from last fall and if they begin to appear in large numbers.  We should be able to tell any day, last year the coves and salt ponds gave the first reports.

The search for Megalops continues to get some great media coverage, first with a large article on the effort to learn more about blue crab reproductive capacity in Wrack Lines©, published by University of Connecticut Sea Grant. In fact, Steve Joseph’s son Kelly Joseph took the photograph of a yellow face blue crab that was the cover of Wrack Lines© Magazine last summer. The same photograph was utilized in an article on page 49 of WindCheck© magazine, May 2012. Both articles have resulted in people interested in learning more about blue crabs contacting The Sound School. Thank you Kelly!

The Sound School has made available five program reports and a proposal titled Blue Crab Research Topics for The Sound School and area high school. Students for any high school student interested in researching blue crab life history in our waters. One word of caution, for those new to crabbing, please respect the claws; blue crabs are very well armed and these claws can inflict serious painful bites.  For those first timers, a good rule of thumb is to watch another crabber! 

One of the areas suitable for a Capstone Project is collaborative research with Dr. Eric Schott of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who has developed a proposal titled Monitoring Disease Of The Blue Crab Within Its Expanding Range In The Northeast he is looking for people interested in blue crab health.  Dr. Schott is following the changes in Northeast blue crab populations and sent out this request in late March.

“Dear extension folks, shellfish health experts and bay men, fishermen, others,

The recent noticeable abundance of blue crab in the Northeast has caught the attention of many of us.  For those interested in shellfish health, this expansion or increased abundance may provide an opportunity to track density- or climate-dependent changes in disease prevalence in an aquatic species.”  Dr. Schott is looking for collaborative research contacts /partners.  For more information please contact: 

Principal Investigator: Eric Schott, UMCES-Inst of Marine & Environ Technol. 701 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202  schott@umces.edu; 410-234-8881  www.umces.edu/imet/people/eschott

All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request. 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available from last year.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for past reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us
If you would like to receive these Blue Crab reports ask to be placed on the email directory.

If you do not wish to receive these reports, please let us know.

Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

Watch for the Megalops Portal on The Sound School website www.soundschool.com

The Sound School is a Regional Agriculture Science and Technology Center that enrolls high school students from 23 cooperating towns.

[Willowemoc]

this will get moved to the resources section man.. reports are for reports

[jack1747]

10-4

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Population and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors 
The Search for Megalops
Report 4 – June 29, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!


•   Crabbing Surges in Central Connecticut – Large crabs prevalent in many areas
•   Female sponge crabs caught between Branford and Old Saybrook
•   Eastern Coves all report large crabs
•   Megalops set from last fall feared lost
•   Large crabs generate new interest in crabbing

In Central Connecticut crabbers enjoyed increased catches breaking 20 counts approaching 30 crabs per trip.  Effort remains somewhat high, now 5 to 10 crabs/hour.  Incoming tides in this region shows the best crabbing with lowest catches on mid tide ebb.  A good sign is that for every legal crab caught two or more small crabs (3 to 4 inches) are returned.  What is quite noticeable is the large size of these male crabs which ranges from 6 to 7 inches with measurements tending toward 7 inches.  Many of the largest central catches are made in or near dredged marina channels or basins.  These areas are thought to have large over wintering populations that are protected from more saline predators, which include conch and starfish.  The largest crabs appear to be caught adjacent to these areas and at night by traps.

Female egg bearing crabs appear in large numbers –

Many crabbers have reported that an unusual number of female ova containing (sponge) crabs have been observed between the Connecticut and Branford Rivers.  One Clinton crabber reported returning over 50 egg carrying females in a four hour trip.  Large catches of female crabs were also caught in Clinton Harbor, Farm River in East Haven, Gulf Pond Milford and Pachaug River in Westbrook.  The presence of large numbers of sponge crabs that over wintered in Connecticut may lead to a maturation process for a Connecticut megalops set which should be observable in October.  The large numbers of sponge crabs show that crabs were able to survive Irene and the heavy rains last fall.  The winter was very mild so “winter kill” was diminished but predation may have increased in high saline areas containing shallow conch and deeper star fish populations (see report #3, June 19, 2012).





Huge crabs reported in Central, CT –

“They are monsters” were the first words out of a veteran Old Saybrook crabber and after inspecting his catch, I would need to agree – all between 6 and 7 inches, some more than 7 inches.  A Baldwin Bridge crabber made almost the same comment after many of the crabs were beyond 7 inches and one just short of 8 inches.  They were huge!  Incoming tides still seem to be the favorite time and hard shell jimmies make up most of the catches.  As the salt water wedges strengthened (and the rains finally subsided) look for these large jimmies to continue to move into the upper estuaries, rivers and creeks.  Crabs hit the Baldwin DEP Dock Connecticut River on June 25th – about a week earlier than last year.  Crabbing is still modest, however you need to put the time in, one 40 crab plus catch was 8 hours long or about 5 crabs/hour which is average for many areas.  Never before has so many large crabs been caught this early and one crabber said I can’t wait for those August crabs if they measure 7 inches now – good point.

Megalops set feared lost -

Key to continue crabbing of course is the population of 3 to 4 inch crabs but they are here also and also seem to be increasing.  More and more reports mention the 3 to 4 inch crabs from the central areas.  No reports of along the beach movement as yet – and no megalops?  What seems to be missing and its still too early to declare the megalops set a failure but the absence of small 1 inch to 2 inch crabs now, it is not a good sign as compared to 2010.  The only western cove/region to report them is Gulf Pond in Milford.  Seine surveys will be conducted over the summer in New Haven Harbor to see if any of this age group can be found.  An early megalops set from last summer should be about 2 inches now a late fall set should now be the size of a dime.  It is these sizes that produce the 3 to 4 inches crabs by August.  It’s still possible that the 2011 megalops survived the silt, fresh water and disturbance from Irene but without reports of these size crabs along the coast the prospects of that are dimming.

The next chance would be an early Chesapeake Bay Megalops drift from currents and southerly winds and small crabs should be observed by August/September.  The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab population is showing increased numbers – now estimated at over a half billion crabs.  The warmer spring temperatures did have the potential of an earlier spawn/megalops set and potential drift into Long Island Sound.

The other chance is for the first time large numbers of Connecticut female “sponge” crabs have been observed between Clinton and Westbrook, primarily in Westbrook.  The ova/egg masses look intact and ripe so a Connecticut set from these crabs is possible and with the prevailing south westerly winds should keep the megalops small crabs blown to our shores as with the oyster spat.  These would appear as small crabs in late fall.  Shelly areas will be examined for megalops later this summer.   

Large crabs generate new interest -

As expected the large size of the crabs in the lower CT River have started to bother shore fishermen who now reel in huge blue crabs refusing to release chunk bait (mostly bunker).  A Baldwin Bridge fisherman caught 8 crabs on chunk bunker bait but not one blue fish but was pleased nonetheless.

Areas in Central CT that have the best crabbing continue to be next to dredged basins/channels and those near shellfish populations.

I continue to find people surprised that Connecticut has such large blue crabs and some bait and tackle stores report crab nets and traps have been selling fast as the “giant” blue crab season starts.

Any reports of small blue crabs are very helpful, locations can be general “east” “central” or “west” what is particularly interesting is the “run” the percentage of legal crabs to sublegal crabs which indicates the future fishery.

All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request, 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available from last year.

For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for past reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us
If you would like to receive these Blue Crab reports ask to be placed on the email directory.

If you do not wish to receive these reports, please let us know.

Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

Watch for the Megalops Portal on The Sound School website www.soundschool.com

The Sound School is a Regional Agriculture Science and Technology Center that enrolls high school students from 23 cooperating towns.

[tattoo]

nice read.

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Populations and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School - The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors
The Search for Megalops
Report #5 – July 9th, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

•   Small crabs reported in several areas – Bridgeport/Fairfield areas report heavy concentration of sponge crabs;
•   Hand liners frustrated by strong tides; nighttime netters do well;
•   Small crabs entering the Connecticut River at night using the strong flood tides;
•   Temperatures show slight increase as reports from USGS shows Connecticut River tidal wedge forming;
•   Conch populations now reported off Guilford, several small 2 inch crab sightings. 

In one of the best signs that large numbers of 3 to 4 inch and some 2 inch crabs survived Irene came from several recent observations about them; thank you for these reports! They are very helpful. 
Small 2 inch crabs have been reported in Wequetequock Cove, Stonington, north of Masons Island in the Mystic River, South Cove, Old Saybrook, Guilford/Madison shore; West Haven shore; the westerly side of the Housatonic River and in the Darien River.  Small 2 inch crabs were seen in the Oyster River, Hammonasset River and Branford River many observed with the incoming tides.  Dense concentrations of female ova carrying sponge crabs have now been reported for the east and west- the mouth of Pawcatuck River; Little Narragansett Bay; Mystic River below the Seaport; West Haven shore; the Bridgeport/Fairfield area (also the hot spot from last year).  All reports mention increases in the 3 to 4 inch size in crabs.  This predicts a good season. 

What has been “quiet” is information about Housatonic River.  Last year it had masses of 3 to 4 inch crabs at the southern marshes (mouth) and western side, but no reports of similar masses or adult crab movement?  One explanation could include that Irene delivered an immense amount of silt (and nitrogen also) from our long tidal rivers, the pictures of the silt entering the sound at the mouth of the Connecticut River is dramatic.  (See UCONN Sea Grant’s Wrack Lines issue Vol. 11 #2, Fall/Winter, 2011-2012 an incredible article. The article is titled: Tropical Storm Irene Delivered a Sunday Punch to Connecticut” by Marybeth Hart.  The article is outstanding and describes the tremendous storm changes/damage along Connecticut’s coast, (pg 3 to 6.)

Strong fresh water flows pushed the salinity very low in many rivers.  A similar occurrence may have occurred in the Housatonic River.  However despite the large Connecticut River fresh water runoff crabs survived in North Cove, Old Saybrook, the site of a dredged harbor of refuge (a refuge also, it seems for blue crabs) and the first reports of Connecticut River blue crabs can be seen here the past three years.

It is the frequent reports of large numbers of sponge crabs that may lead to a good “native” Connecticut Megalops set later this summer.  The amount of female ova carrying crabs is unprecedented according to some crabbers.  The numbers are certainly higher that than the 2010 and 2011 years sponge crab and small crab reports are very helpful and I thank those crabbers that sent in reports after report #4.

•   Up until the strong moon tides shore hand liners were doing good, but night time netters have pulled way ahead, with large catches.  Most of the hand liners have had difficulty with the recent strong moon tides, either keeping the bait on the bottom or after hookups having the crab ripped off the bait.  One clever blue crabber in Clinton used the strong tides to advantage casting a chicken leg up current with a small sinker and reeling the crab on the surface past a friend who then netted them (no second chance) with four fishing poles rigged this way a dozen large crabs came quickly as hand lines and potters caught little.
Look to see catches from shore improve as currents lessen.  Nighttime netters report good to excellent catches, but as yet very few soft shells.

•   Small crabs entering the Connecticut River at night.
July 6th had thousands of 2 inch crabs hitching a ride upstream on the moon tides past Essex Town Dock.  I observed hundreds of small crabs on the surface swimming past the dock.  In a flashlight beam they were hard to miss- the striped bass had noticed them also as frequent splashes signaled an evening feeding opportunity.  The tides have been very strong but the amount of small 2 inch crabs on the surface now was a surprise.  This size had been scarce until the Fourth of July but now seem to be present in many areas along the coast.  This is the late 2011 Megalops set (not the overwinter Megalops set) that grew before winter.  The 3 to 4 inch crabs are 30 days from legal size, weather depending and should be 5 inches by August 1st.
Will the adult population hold out until then, that’s not certain yet, although that did occur in 2010; we had the 2 inch and 4 inch crabs both mature into legal sizes during the summer with the large population of legal size adults the equivalent of 3 sets reaching legal sized all at once—and it was an incredible blue crab year (2010).

The reports of central Connecticut although positive, the western sections remain (except for a few isolated reports) quiet, just the opposite in 2011.  Perhaps the next few days will have some crab reports in the west.
Sometimes, according to some crabbers fishing drops because of shedding and then suddenly takes off again. 


Weather temperatures show slight increases-
Connecticut River wedge strengthens
Sea water surface temperatures continued to inch up and July 6th reports as follows from Long Island Sound current sea water temperatures from the NOAA National Data Buoy Center (http://Http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/).
New Haven Harbor 71.4°F
Black Rock Harbor 69.3°F
Execution Rocks – (New York) 73.9°F
And areas south at Sandy Hook, New Jersey 81.9°F
And Montauk to the north a cooler 70.9°F

The salt water wedge strengthened considerably from July 2nd (thanks to a helpful United States Geological Service (website http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ct/nwis/40 Report #8) - that maintains a tidal sensor on the Connecticut River in Essex.  Here the site displays several functions but you can graphically watch the salt wedge strengthen in the Connecticut River; US Dept of Interior US Geological Survey titled USGS current conditions URL http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ct/nwis/current   

(If you have a chance check out this site it is very interesting.)  A nighttime Essex observation found hundreds of small crabs using the strong moon tides to move up river.

•   Small crabs a good sign/conch reported off Guilford, West Haven and New Haven.  The reports of 2 inch crabs earlier this spring in the east and now a few shore reports from Guilford to Fairfield are good signs.  These crabs depending upon the summer’s growth season with reach legal size before fall.  The smaller size less than an inch has yet to appear.

But add to that observations of small conch reported in Clinton Harbor, Guilford shore, Branford shore and Milford – some in areas and quantities seen never before only speaks to species changes/shifts in Long Island Sound.  Years ago, conch harvests in Connecticut were relatively small and generally not in commercial quantities.  That started to change in the 1960s.  As Long Island Sound warmed conch populations increase again subject to storm filled cold winters.  By the late 1970s conch became prevalent (channel whelk) especially in central Connecticut from Old Lyme to Milford.  They seem to populate the sand bars shoals along the 10 to 30 feet contours-smooth bottoms seem to be the best habitats.  But dense populations were reported last year in the Bridgeport area and this year between Branford and Clinton. 

The popularity of conch seafood dishes recipes has also increased once termed the forgotten shellfish and a coastal Native American favorite its popularity has jumped region wide in the last five years.  To learn more about conch, see the  The History of Madison’s Finfish and Shellfish Industries.  It is report number
#47 on the Sound School directory http://www.soundschool.com/directory.html  The paper includes a description of Native American fisheries and some conch recipes.  For a more recent report on the Conch Fisheries of Connecticut contact Susan Weber at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us and ask for report titled, The Rise of the Abundance of Conch in Long Island Sound with Warmer Temperatures, December 2011.

All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request, 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available from last year.

For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for past reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us
If you would like to receive these Blue Crab reports ask to be placed on the email directory.

Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.
Watch for the Megalops Portal on The Sound School website www.soundschool.com
The Sound School is a Regional Agriculture Science and Technology Center that enrolls high school students from 23 cooperating towns.

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Populations and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School - The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors
The Search for Megalops
Report #6 – July 19th, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

•   Connecticut DEEP confirms pesticide residues found in lobster tissue (organs) – blue crab concerns – my view;
•   Megalops set survival confirmed by many reports –small crabs abound in central Connecticut – Connecticut River crabbers doing well;
•   What’s happening to Connecticut’s blue crab populations?
•   Catches increase for central shore hand liners and trappers; where to crab;
•   Western CT, still has few crab reports; discouraging news from the Norwalk River;
•   Thanks for your reports!

This report was delayed for several days after the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced the results of September 2011 testing that found residues (trace amounts) of Methoprene and Resmethrin in lobster organs.  Questions and dock discussions immediately turned to blue crabs health and potential impacts (if any) to Connecticut blue crab populations, especially the Megalops life cycle for blue crabs.

Blue crabs by their very biology and life cycle habitat requirements live next to and in salt marshes, the same areas that were reported to be treated with pesticides to reduce the West Nile virus threat (mosquito vector control).  At this time it appears that Connecticut switched treatment procedures in 2011, but additional testing is reportedly underway for lobsters.  No direct concern about blue crabs has been made in media articles.

The impact of insecticides upon lobster populations as claimed by lobster fishers for decades here needs a review, especially in high temperature, low salinity, low pH areas.  In 2010, I reported two instances of pesticide suspected impacts to blue crab populations- one in 1971 and one in 1982.  The report titled “Where Do All The Blue Crabs Come From?” dated December 2010 was made available in January 2011 and it is program report #2 for the Search for Megalops.

Without extending this discussion and delaying the report further, we’ve posted Report #2  for any blue crabbers interested in this topic on the web sites CT Fish Talk, The Blue Crab Forum and the Blue Crab blog run by Dr. Matthew Ogburn. 

Dr. Eric Schott of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who also reached out to crabbers here on blue crab health issues before has also obtained this information.  (See reports #3 and#5 this year).

As a member of two Long Island Sound Study committees, to the CT lobster fishers who continue to report their concerns, my appreciation, confirming “You don’t need to be a scientist to report.”  We do need to know much about our shallow water habitats for many species.
Tim Visel

Small Crabs in Central Connecticut – Waves of small crabs reported.

After July 8, I obtained several reports of the first ¾ inch to 1 inch size blue crabs and its large numbers – perhaps in the millions.  On July 11th, what could be described as waves of small crabs were observed along the central coast.  Starting in Milford/West Haven on July 8th ending with small crabs in Guilford on the 10th and further reports from Milford and West Haven reporting huge numbers of small crabs on the 11th and 12th.  This is the first news about the Megalops over wintering set; it did survive both the stormy summer and October blizzard and should be the 3 to 4 inch crabs by September (next years legal crabs). 

The two inch and 3 to 4 inch size crabs also inched up along with the legal catches.  Look for crabbing to increase for central Connecticut it’s looking like a better crab season than 2011, still too early to tell about the east but historically the past few years crabs mature later about a month after, from cooler water, so what has been good crabbing in Clinton on July 15 has been August 15 for the eastern state – Pawcatuck River fishery.  The western areas continue to have few reports of legal size crabs, but one observer made an excellent comment:  the inch to ¾ inch crabs might still be present; they just don’t show up in the crab nets, the mesh size is too big and the small crabs just fall out.  That comment was followed by another:  that seine net surveys might be a better way to determine Megalops and small crab survival at least the first few weeks of the summer and I agree.  Use of a seine net is a better way and one used in the southern crab producing areas, good suggestions!

While catches continue to increase for hand liners and pots (traps) the central sections show improved numbers of small crabs running 2 to 1 to 3 to 1.  Crabbing in these areas will improve.

The great news is that the ¾ to 1 inch size is starting to show up and in large numbers!  Still waiting for any news about crabs in the west, particularly between the Housatonic and Norwalk Rivers, excellent blue crab areas in 2010 and 2011.  Two recent reports from the Norwalk area report few or no blue crabs as yet.

What’s happening to Connecticut’s blue crab populations – more about lobster and blue crab habitats

While watching quite an active Baldwin Bridge DEEP fishing pier (Old Saybrook side) over the weekend, and discussing recent catches one crabber came over and asked me, “What’s going on with Long Island Sound?”  He had caught 17 large blue crabs in an hour (not a complaint) while years ago that was a day’s catch.  I agreed and the recent newspaper accounts of declining lobster populations were a concern.  How could the crabbing be so good and the lobster populations be in such tough shape?

Several crabbers have asked about the abundance of blue crabs and lobster declines recently.  Part of the explanation of why crabbing in CT has been good for the last two decades and lobstering has not, is habitat quality.  I think it is important to include two key factors which are frequently overlooked in terms of historical habitat patterns, and fisheries abundance combining energy levels and temperature.

At the turn of the century it became very hot in New England (The Great Heat 1880-1920) and at this time blue crab abundance soared while Connecticut’s lobster population crashed.  We have good historical resources from the Biennial Reports of the CT State Board of Fisheries and Game that describe regional efforts to build lobster hatcheries at the turn of the century to replace post “Megalops” stage 4 lobsters.  All the New England states built lobster hatcheries between 1899 to 1910; all of them even Maine (New York also later).  In fact, the Maine facility in Boothbay Harbor Maine was the largest ever constructed in the US releasing hundreds of millions of stage 4 lobsters and “fry” into the environment and coastal waters.  Connecticut fishermen felt the lobster hatchery effort had helped and testimony from individual fishers and fishing families has survived in the historical literature, abstracted from the 1911-1912 ninth biennial report.  Since the lobster population crash, (1898 to 1905), by 1910 fishermen noticed increases in small lobsters and made comments about the increase of small lobsters in 1912. 

Report of the CT Lobster Hatchery (Started in 1905) for the Period of 1911-1912 – comments from fishermen (Guilford) pg 14, see footnote.
* Guilford – “As my figures show I have caught very few large lobsters and very few egg lobsters this year, but there is no question in my mind as to the increase of small lobsters, and that is due to the hatchery work.  Whether these will be permitted to remain in the water long enough to grow to legal size, is another question which I cannot answer, but I fear not all of them will.” (1912 comment)

* Guilford – “The marked increase of small lobsters is very gratifying, and is sufficient proof that the hatchery is one of the greatest institutions in the state, and I shall do all I can to help the Commissioners of Fisheries and Game in the protection and propagation.” (1912 comment)

* Guilford – “I never saw so many small lobsters in my life as there is this season.  Why don’t you try to pass a law so lobstermen have to space the slats further apart?” (1912 comment)

And page 16 is the following report (1912- lobster hatchery)

Noank Station in procuring the eggs for the operation of this station the same general policy has been pursued as heretofore, by purchasing the adult lobster with the egg attached.  These were collected from the fishermen the entire length of the coast, who are paid the full market price.  After the eggs have been removed and placed in the hatching section from which they originally were taken.  The fry hatched from the eggs are plated in the waters of Long island Sound, as near the same locality as possible from which they were taken.

During the biennial period 1,474 ripe egg lobsters have been collected, from which 25,585,990 eggs were obtained, resulting in the hatching of 22,750,000 fry which were planted in the coast waters.

During this same period there were also collected 1,586 green egg lobsters, making a total of 3,060 egg bearing lobsters collected, of which number 1,586 were held in cars during the winters, and the balance, 536, were returned to the water.

In the seven years of the operation of this hatchery, 208,761,870 fry have been hatched and liberated.”

Although Connecticut’s lobster hatchery effort was commendable it paled in comparison to the Maine Lobster Hatchery at Boothbay Harbor, in seven years 1905 to 1912, Connecticut procured and spawned out 4,500 eggers for about 209 million lobster (fry).  The Maine facility was spawning out almost 3 times as many eggers (14,000 each year) for hundreds of millions of Stage 4 lobster and fry each year.  Eventually most of the hatcheries released Stage 4 to help increase survival.

[State of CT Public Document No 19- Ninth Biennial Report of the State Commissioners of Fisheries and Game for the years 1911-1912 to His Excellency the Governor and the General Assembly, Hartford, published by the State 1912].

I think what we are experiencing today is a massive heat/energy habitat reversal.  As temperatures warmed, the habitat quality improved for blue crabs (I estimated that in 2010 Connecticut contained between 80 to 120 million blue crabs) and declined for lobsters.  This habitat reversal (failure) resembles the period between 1898-1905 – lobsters crashed and blue crab populations increased.  Key to this is the blue crab Megalops if it also finds Connecticut’s habitats more favorable and the reports this June and July of huge numbers of female sponge crabs also needs to be taken into consideration.  Is this new habitat/fishery territory- no not from examining the historical fisheries / literature, we have experienced this before.  When it got colder in the 1950s and 1960s, lobsters increased and blue crabs declined.

Catches Increase for Central Connecticut shore hand liners and trappers

What started off as a regular reporting period grew more complicated after July 10th.   Crabbing was generally good, shoreline potters and hand liners were observed with catches between 20 to 30 adults.  A Clinton Harbor catch (July 12) saw over 40 adults between 6 and 7.5 inches (I measured some with permission).  Catches at the DEEP Bridge also was good; this is the DEEP Old Saybrook Boat Launch facility.  This includes a large public pier which is excellent for families wanting to crab, but on weekends (July 14-15); I found the pier packed – a count of 42 crab traps alone.  Early mornings were the best; some crabbers were leaving around 7 a.m. reporting the best catches between 1 to 4 a.m. in the morning.

All the reports indicated the incoming tides are the best – slack tides “awful” and keeping baited traps on the bottom less problematic.  It’s about this temperature last year-- the deeper area channels and river bottoms became better for crabbers.  It was felt the warmer temperatures were not the best for crabbing on the shallows and after July 30 last year shore crabbers did better at night than those during the day.

Look for deeper water for the best catches in a few days; crabs move if it becomes too hot.  For example, the Lieutenant and Black Hall River crabbing occurs mostly from boat fishing just north or south of the bends. A local river trapper would set crab pots on the edges at the depth he would “strike (find) them” and at the bends tidal action tended to create these “holes”; (he declined to provide the location of his favorite deep sets).  Some of the best crabbing areas recently have been in dredge cuts made in tidal rivers, the one just north of Route 1 Bridge, Clinton side, on the Hammonasset River and just north of Route 1 Bridge Old Saybrook, Route 1 Bridge Oyster River.  The tidal dredge cut at Westbrook north of Route 1 has legally been posted, no crabbing.  This occurred during the 2010 crab season which saw crabbers seeking out “pole crabs” – those who were found clinging to pilings and dock floats and the increased use resulted in the postings (closures). Access to the water and crabbing spots has been the subject of many questions:  I would like to go crabbing where should I go?  One of the things that I have learned is that crabbing is hard to predict, it may be good one day and dismal the next.  The other question is access and CT DEEP has funded and built some excellent crab and fishing docks, an overall state shore guide is found at: http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/ 

Certainly a good family starting blue crabbing place could be the DEEP Marine Fisheries Dock/Pier Old Lyme, adjacent to the DEEP Marine Fisheries facility and the DEEP fishing pier at the Baldwin Bridge boat launch – Old Saybrook side slightly upriver.  Both sites are excellent for beginning crabbers and critical to providing public access to Long Island Sound.

As catches increase in Central Connecticut look for deeper access for best catches.

Western Connecticut Discouraging News – Almost no adult blue crabs!

Western CT crab reports are few and limited to sightings not catches in Western CT. Observers continue to report few if any crabs.  Aside from a few sightings in the Norwalk River the west has few blue crabs.  One observer who has been checking the Norwalk River (thank you again for all the reports) weekly has seen no crabs and no crabbers.  This is in stark contrast to the 2010-2011 seasons.   But as the summer progresses crabbing yet may improve, but it is discouraging to some crabbers nevertheless.  Key to the west aside from some salt ponds is the Housatonic River which had large sublegal populations in the salt marshes last year.  The first reports of large numbers of small crabs came this year from the east not the west which is also in opposition to the 2010-2011 seasons.  In 2011 the Housatonic River mouth was suspected in providing millions of small blue crabs that moved east and west with the tides and Bridgeport was one of the first early report locations last year, this year no adult crab catcher observation reports.  Female sponge crabs were reported earlier but soon left, perhaps for deeper water?

Any western crab reports would be greatly appreciated even if you went out and did not catch anything.  Just reporting the crabbing effort is a help.  News/observations of small blue crabs in the west, especially west of the Housatonic River would be especially important.


All Blue crabs and Megalops observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request, 1-4 catch/observation reports 1-15 are also available from last year.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for past reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator – email to: susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us
If you would like to receive these Blue Crab reports, ask to be placed on the email directory.

If you do not wish to receive these reports, please let us know.
Looking forward to hearing about any Blue crab research.

Tim Visel

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.
Watch for the Megalops Portal on The Sound School website www.soundschool.com
The Sound School is a Regional Agriculture Science and Technology Center that enrolls high school students from 23 cooperating towns.

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Population and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors 
The Search for Megalops
Report 7 – August 9, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

•   Crabbers move to deeper cooler waters – boaters seem to do better – Central CT crabbing shifts as summer temperatures rise.
•   Dipping for crabs by torchlight, Noank, CT at the turn of the century; Blue Crab Skiff Plans available soon.
•   Keep those crabs alive! The knuckle bander process. Crabbing surges in central Connecticut.
•   Regional differences become apparent – concerns for Megalops set in Western, CT.

Crabbers move to deeper, cooler waters

Most of the crab catches from shore now occur at high tides: two crabbers commented, “It’s getting too warm- water temperature.”  A couple of crabbers last year reported a change over from place to deeper areas when water temperatures hit 72⁰F; after that they used a small skiff with crab pots.

Central CT catches at low tide decreased measurably and many small crabs are caught then.  This was especially the case in the Clinton/Madison area which saw the numbers of just 5 inch crabs suddenly increase; many were still too “short”.  A Clinton Harbor crabber retained 23 crabs, but estimated he had returned over 50 small crabs.  Dozens of small 3 inch crabs were observed at both the Oyster and Indian Rivers; crabbers at the pier next to the Baldwin Bridge DEEP boat launch also commented about the dramatic increase in small crabs.  Obtaining the “bottom” temperatures seemed like a good idea, especially if the 72⁰F temperature is a border line perhaps for larger crabs.  A slight modification to an inexpensive thermometer and a crab line with a 2 ounce sinker gave me a quick way to check some temperatures at some popular blue crab locations over the weekend.

Saturday, July 28 – Temperature readings.

Essex Town Dock Deep end – 6 feet, low tide 79⁰F: 11:40 a.m.
Essex Town Dock Shallow – 1 foot, low tide 79⁰F: 11:50 a.m.
Rt. 95, Baldwin Bridge, Old Saybrook; DEEP Fishing Pier, shallow end 78⁰F: 12:01 p.m.
Old Saybrook, Sheffield St. Town Dock (North Cove) 75⁰F 1:02 p.m. (DLW)
Old Saybrook Route 1, Oyster River Dredge Cut 74⁰F 3:24 p.m. DLW+ 2hours
Westbrook Town Dock, Hammock Rd 72⁰F 3:38 p.m. mid tide
Clinton Public Crab Dock, Indian River 74⁰F 4:28 p.m. high tide
Clinton Town Dock Riverside Ave. (Hammonasset River) 72⁰F high tide

Catches in the 72⁰ to 74⁰ range were better than higher; Essex crabbers left with no crabs at low tide; I was surprised to see how warm it was.  However, high tide was a completely different matter with 7 and 8 inch crabs at high tide.

About the middle of August last year, crabbers moved to deeper cooler waters, but with this year’s heat, we may be seeing that shift earlier.  The warmer temperatures did not seem to bother the two inch crabs which surrounded shallow water baits.  Crabbers that had baits into deeper areas commented that it was better at high tides.  It’s thought that cooler waters come in with the tide, and cooler temps, higher salinities, and perhaps increased oxygen levels help adult crabs’ more than the smaller ones.  Crab respiration increases with temperature, a rise of 10⁰ C, the respiration roughly doubles; in other words, a respiration rate of 68⁰ F is twice that at 50⁰ F.  Warm water contains less oxygen so the perception (observation) that larger crabs move to deeper cooler waters has a basis in biological fact.  Seawater at near freezing can contain 12 mg of oxygen per liter of water, but at 86⁰ F can drop below 5 mg/liter.  Extremely high temperatures can kill marine organisms by suffocating them.  I see some first time crabbers trying to keep large 7 and 8 inch crabs alive in a small pail of warm water.  Occasionally many of the crabs perish in such small amounts of hot seawater, and frequently suggest a cooler with an ice pack keeping crabs cool and moist rather than in small water pails.  It’s a frequent mistake but directly related to warm water suffocation on a much wider scale; we usually call such widespread events as die offs and frequently they occur during the hottest period of summer water temperatures.  Crabs (and lobsters) have the ability to alter metabolic processes out of water if kept cool and moist can survive for many hours and if given the choice will avoid such oxygen containing water.  These warm water die offs are frequently found in the blue crab historical fisheries literature.

In Alabama and even in Chesapeake Bay, extremely low oxygen in coastal waters often records blue crabs walking out of them, sometimes by the hundreds of thousands.  In southern areas this event is known as “Jubilees,” thought to reflect the ease in capturing a potential dinner.  In the Chesapeake they are known as crab wars.  When faced with extremely low dissolved oxygen, blue crabs emerge and can crawl out of the water (Blue Crab- Callinectes sapidus by William F. Van Heukelem, University of Maryland).
A mini “Jubilee” occurred in Connecticut a few years ago noticed by residents of Niantic Bay during very hot period in August.  Stagnant hot algae filled water became oxygen depleted.  Blue crabs headed for land in apparent effort to escape the low oxygen waters and died in the process.  The account is in the WTNH (Channel 18(archives with the title: “Crabs Picking Land Over Niantic Bay”.  On August 7, 2009 this was reported by Jamie Muro from the description of Niantic River algae blooms and reported air temperatures; it’s a safe bet that hypoxia killed blue crabs in shallow water.
Connecticut River crabbers (pots) now report very good catches and crab floats – pier areas have been good also.  The shore hand liners, catches at low tide here have been much lower than at high waters – Central CT crabbing has been generally good, better than last year. The large increase in small 3 to 4 inch crabs is a positive sign for even a better fall fishery.

Dipping Crabs in Noank at the turn of the century – Nighttime netters from small skiffs count crabs by the bushel.

12 ft Blue Crab Skiff Plans available soon from The Sound School

Numerous accounts from the turn of the century (pg 645, The Crab Fisheries US Fish Commission Bulletin, 1887) talk about dipping crabs by torch light in a two person row boat.  A small skiff with a forward torch and dipper with a rear sculler, a single oar mounted to a pin or leather strap.  This allowed the boat to be propelled quietly from the stern (sculling) while allowing the person forward to have a clear view to net crabs (the water must have been a little clearer back then).  The coves and shores of Noank 1920s are frequently mentioned for catching blue crabs from flat bottomed skiffs.  These skiffs were often low profile craft that could be both rowed- two oars or skulled with one rear oar.  Sculling itself was quite an art but having watched a couple of fishermen do it, it was quite effective, especially in shallow water.  You could push and direct the skiff quickly from the transom, often standing, to see what was ahead and receive signals from the “dipper” in the bow.  Several late summer dock conversations the past two years had crabbers wishing to reach the deeper and cooler waters of late summer to catch crabs, but unable to do so, for lack of a small flat bottom shallow water skiff.  When asked about it, I’m partial to the Brockway design, a flat bottom plywood skiff once produced in Old Saybrook, CT.  The Brockway skiffs originally were built to the design of the Connecticut River Duck and Turtle boats of the last century.  They were low profile skiffs, excellent for duck hunting and setting and hauling turtle traps then.

But today the design survives for many fisheries, and sports fishing is one of them. Originally built as an oak frame planked skiff, at Brockway Boat Works of Old Saybrook, it was later changed the planked vessels and gave way to the plywood skiffs wide and narrow versions of various lengths.  In the middle 1950s higher sides added to make them suitable for use in the open Long Island Sound.  I used an old low profile (1959) Brockway in high school, a 12 foot skiff built in the tradition of the successful Connecticut River Duck and Turtle Boats (also called CT River Guide Boats as for use by hunting camps in the 1920s). 

This skiff belonged to Charles Beebe, late of Madison, who continued to use it for river fishing until the 1970s.  I have it now thanks to Bruce Beebe, and should have the design plans shortly.  It is a transition skiff built in the old thwart and riser style but out of high grade marine plywood.  As it is a low profile version it makes an excellent blue crabbing bay and cove skiff- sculled or rowed.  Cost of a vessel has been a concern, especially in today’s times but this skiff can be built by a handy person requiring just a few power tools.  It can be built from higher grade exterior A C plywood and standard pine stock from a lumber yard or home improvement store.  Two larger high sided versions a 14 foot skiff and 16 foot skiff plans are already available on our website.  Plans and directions, “How to Build a Brockway Style Skiff” were first published in 1982 and reprinted and can now be found on our school website: for the 14’ Brockway, #35 and corrections #36; the 16’ skiff at #40 and corrections #41. These skiffs are the higher sided version, not the low sided skiffs for the rivers and coves a century ago.

Many people have built Brockway style skiffs from these plans and pictures /plans are available at no fee.  If you are interested in seeing what this vessel is like, one of the few surviving Connecticut River duck and turtle skiffs can be found at Essex, CT.  During the Great Heat 1880-1920 warmer winters and unusually warm springs caused a surge in game bird populations – geese, rail and brant duck (bird) hunting became big business as out of state hunters turned to local fishermen to guide them into the Connecticut River marshes.

For those interested in this unique CT River skiff design only a few survive to modern times.  The best example of this skiff I have found can be seen at the Connecticut River Museum Steamboat Dock, 67 Main Street Essex, CT. (http://ctrivermuseum.org).  It is in the small house boat exhibit room and dates from the 1920s.  This 16 foot skiff was used for bird hunting (rail and brant) in the Connecticut River marshlands was sculled allowing access to the bird hunters at the bow seats.  The skiff is on display at the Connecticut River Museum and is in outstanding condition and belonged to Captain Suter a local CT River guide (rail boat circa 1920s).

Unfortunately Brockway Boat Works closed in 1997 with the passing of Earle Brockway and the availability of these hard chine flat bottom plywood skiffs has lessened.  They did not draw much water, allowing them into the shallows, and could be beached with ease (non-extensive keel structure); rolled on planks, rowed well (coves, creeks and bays).  Having spent many hours in Mr. Beebe’s 12 footer blue crabbing, the low profile version allowed easy netting.

Years ago some crabbers will recall several Connecticut marinas had fleets of plywood Brockway’s for rent to crabbers and snapper blue fishermen.  Clinton Harbor’s Holiday Dock for instance once had a collection of Brockway’s, but no longer.  However many Brockway’s have been built from the 1982 University of Rhode Island/United State Agency for International Development (USAID) that Mr. Brockway approved for Peace Corps efforts).  Several Brockway style skiff builders have shared their experiences (and learning curves) on the Internet.  Some even built them for resale.  In 2010, United States Agency for International Development reissued the 1982 Brockway skiff construction manual and is available at: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAN485.pdf

So, if you have modest power tools and are handy at woodworking, you will find that a Brockway style skiff for crabbing is rarely surpassed.

If you would like to obtain a set of plans, let us know. We have put the 12 foot skiff plans (FFA Entrepreneurship Boat Building Kit) in high gear and they should be ready shortly.

If you would like a set of plans mailed to you for the cost of postage, or emailed to you free, please clearly print your email address and they will be sent when the plans are ready.
If you send us your home address we will send a hard copy to you when they are ready, and we request postage if mailed to you.

The 14 and 16 foot skiff Brockway plans are free on our website.  For those interested in learning more about the Peace Corps Brockway effort, please visit our publications directory at www.soundschool.com/directory.html  For the 14’ Brockway, see #35 and corrections #36; for the 16’ Brockway, see #40 and corrections #41.

For fishermen wanting to learn more about the Brockway boat yard, Brockway Boat Works or the Brockway style of construction, the Branford Adult Education Program will hold an evening workshop on Building a Brockway Style Skiff on Thursday, November 15th at Branford High School.  Please enroll at www.erace-adulted.org or call 203 488 5693 for more information.  There is a fee of $39 for the presentation and includes a discussion of the Brockway boat with PowerPoint slides of the Brockway, (the boat yard no longer standing); additionally copies of the 14’ and 16’ Brockway plans are included with the registration and will be given out during the class.  The last presentation had former and present Brockway owners exchanging accounts of both Mr. Brockway and the Brockway skiff uses.

As August temperature approaches, look for the deeper cooler areas for the best crabbing. Shoreline hand liners should look for higher tides.

Keep those crabs alive! Crabs are valuable as seafood. Catches surge in central CT.

I have seen several pails of blue crabs likely wasted this summer in the high heat.  Blue crabs will attack each other in a bucket and in the water for that matter and if crushed or cut can quickly bleed to death in high heat and absent water (which helps clot the blood).  It is easy to miss because it is not red blood and had therefore hard to see but claw loss is visible and a sign of injury. This has occurred when very large 7 and 8 inch crabs mixed with smaller sizes.

Dead blue crabs and lobsters spoil quickly in high heat and out of oxygen containing water (thus the extensive live lobster retail trade today and dropped claws and separated abdomen will “fan out” exposing the once covered thorax exoskeleton.  If the crab is limp and appendages dangle, it is most likely spoiled.

What works is a cooler with some of those pre-frozen ice packs and a series of wet cloth towels – one ply so that the cloth can “breath” – cloth dish towels work great.

Crabs covered in moist cool cloth will be relatively motionless (if not disturbed) and can be kept alive for many hours.  Sometimes I see crabs buried with bags of ice, but the fresh water (if not drained) can kill crabs, and super chilling does bring the crabs’ metabolic rate to very low levels.  Such cooled crabs may appear dead, but given some time to warm up, (not hot) will become active again.

One of the ways to reduce post capture mortalities is to reduce the fighting and killing capacity of the crabs themselves; similar to the lobster industry, by banding them.  My son Willard and his friend Dave Krug in 2010 came up with a system that worked for them.  Willard took his old lobster banding tool and those small lobster rubber bands and after a few trial and error attempts, banded the knuckles (elbow) joint, but not the claw, which is very different from the lobster banding/industry.  With the knuckle banded (using the scissors like lobster bander) which still required rubber gloves the crushing and tearing capacity was greatly reduced if not eliminated.  No longer could the crabs reach out on foot and leap to attack other crabs in a pail/bucket or crabbers for that matter.  After banding a few crabs, it’s a relatively quick process but it immediately cut down on crab waste.

At Clinton Harbor, I watched a bucket transfer which consisted of one mass of tangled and biting crabs clinging in dead grips.  Because the shells were so hard, the shells were not mangled but claws were sliced and crushed in the process only attending to the blue crabs “bad temperament.”   It’s a little more effort to band and requires a banding box, (six to eight inch high plastic tub) a lobster industry bander (we discovered that a wider tap helped spread the band a little better.  (Some of the jumbo crabs in 2010 were so big it was an effort with the standard size lobster band) Blue crabs are placed in this large shallow plastic tub banded and then cool stored.  One word of caution, several crabbers have given excess catches to unsuspecting observers, perhaps not knowing crabs can bite, but in my mind (and 15 years of inshore commercial lobstering experience) lobsters are much safer to handle then blue crabs.  The public expects lobsters to be banded at commercial fish markets etc, and they are much slower than blue crabs.  This probably is the reason the live lobster market has accepted (banding) and live blue crab market never established banding (to my knowledge).  I have heard too many horror stories of people sticking their hand into a “gift” of blue crabs only to emerge into 2 or 3 clinging to hand/fingers.  This will most likely leave the gift recipient with a lifelong memory and a not to pleasant one at that.  Although few crabbers use them I always used rubber gloves when banding; once banded they are quite easily grabbed from the rear.  They can still pinch but cannot fight.  In summation, blue crabs are hard to handle and the larger the crab the worse it gets.  The very hot weather here has led to some significant loss of crabs and there just too delicious to waste.  I have sent a description of the blue crab knuckle band process to Blue Crab Info at http://www.bluecrab.info/forum/index.php and CT Fish Talk at http://www.ctfishtalk.com/ and the blog Blue Crab Forum run by Dr. Matt Ogburn at http://bluecrabblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/2012-connecticut-blue-crab-report-6.html
If you are interested in this process please look at the sites.  They also have crab reports, crab industry discussions and crab research information.

The central Connecticut crab fishery has surged with large crabs.
Late reports mention only a few crabs in western Long Island Sound but Niantic Bay and Thames River, Mystic River have isolated reports of blue crabs. Some Mystic River catches reported from other sources have been “good.”

Regional Differences in late July become apparent – concerns for the survival of the western Connecticut Megalops set.

Regional differences became apparent – central sections now see many small crabs, western areas report few to none; and concerns for Megalops set in western Long Island Sound has been the mention of many crabbers.

The continued absence of post Megalops blue crabs in western areas is becoming more than a question – is now a concern with extremely warm April and May temperatures, small post Megalops crabs (those inch crabs) should have been noticeable by July 1 – July 15, at the latest.  Instead it has been very quiet as per crab catches/observations.  This is at the same time the central sections finds a good supply of overwintered adults (mostly males) in late April and numerous smaller females – June to July.  Reports of western CT blue crabs have been very few so far this year.

The west is apparently missing in the adults’ overwintering size – 5 inches and up, the 3 to 4 inch year class (overwintering 2011 Megalops); the 2 inch size (spring/summer 2011, Megalops sets – and most likely an early Chesapeake drift set and a possible later fall native Connecticut set).  And now a possible Chesapeake Bay early Megalops that set this spring and now is about a 1 inch across (suggested post Megalops growth starting May 15).  We should see another surge of 1 inch crabs this fall from a “native” sponge crab hatch in August-September.  These could make 2 inches by December while the inch size crabs at present (in central sections) could grow to 3 to 4 inches before colder temperatures set in.  All of these growth patterns are dependent as reported by numerous blue crab researchers upon water temperature water quality and food availability.

Why the disappearance of western CT crabs?  That remains an open question; certainly the 2011 crab year was greatly reduced in the central and eastern sections after the somewhat harsh cooler 2010-2011 winter.  However, 2011 saw the west with dense blue crab populations early in the season that appeared to move east as the summer progressed.  This was especially the case in the Norwalk and lower Housatonic Rivers.

With the recent information, barring only sudden changes most of the western crabs did not make it for a number of possible reasons- making observations of this area very important.

If you go crabbing west of the Housatonic River and don’t catch anything, the observation is important.  The appearance of small blue crabs post Megalops set, would be a great sign for next year.  In general best blue crabbing by far appears to be between West Haven and East Lyme at the present.

Thank you for all the reports – every observation is valuable as we learn more about our blue crab population.  Email blue crab reports to tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us
 
The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

The Sound School is a Regional High School Agriculture Science and Technology Center enrolling students from 23 participating Connecticut communities.

Program reports are available upon request.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

[Natureboy68]

Thank you for posting, very informative! Now I want to build a brockway skiff...

[tattoo]

good stuff, thanks

[Professor_Leakey]

great info, thanks for sharing that. 

[king crab 48]

Awesome report on the crabbing in ct.  I have seen the change over myself  in the Blackhall river .  Small  crabs started to show last weekend. Still plenty of biguns then,,,,, I will find out Sunday if it has changed much

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Population and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors 
The Search for Megalops
Report 8 – August 16, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

•   Megalops Hatch underway -females shed sponge eggs and head up estuaries to join males – “Time of the Doubles” soft shell catches increase.

•   Connecticut’s First Crab Fisheries – Did Native Americans leave a history book for species and climate shifts?  Developing a Connecticut habitat history may include The Blue Crab.

•   Western areas must rebuild populations – Megalops set key to the Western CT 2013 Crab Year.   2012 Megalops set could be huge.

•   Public asked to look for Chinese Mitten Crab – a potential invasive species for Connecticut.   DEEP and Connecticut Sea Grant ask for your help.


Megalops Hatch Underway; Females Shed Sponges and Head Upriver – “Doubles” Appear in Central Connecticut

Crabbers were pleased to see very large jimmies with sooks or doublers after August 10th.  Soft shell crab catches greatly increased in central Connecticut.  One Old Saybrook crabber termed it “time of the doubles.” Female crabs are leaving the mouths of rivers and creeks and moving up to join with the males.  Expect some of those 4.5 inches crabs now to shed into legal sizes.  The changes in Central Connecticut were dramatic and widespread. 

The number of “doubles” at Essex Town Dock jumped over the weekend with about half of the legal crabs now protecting a pre-shed female.  Reports from Old Lyme, Clinton, Madison, and Guilford all mention the change.  The lower estuaries are now filled with 2 inch and 4-inch crabs – making certain the fall fishery will be a good one.  “It’s not like 2010, but better than 2011” commented a veteran crabber at Essex.  In 2011, crabbers languished with catch rates fewer than 3 crabs per hour while 20 crabs per hour this year was not uncommon.  After 5 hours of crabbing, he had 65 large blue crabs – a mixture of sevens, some eights; he felt he had broken the state record with a 9.25-inch crab (he had pictures) from a recent trip.

Hand liners except at the highest tides are catching mostly sublegal crabs, sometimes two or three at a time.  Hookups occur often but in deeper holes or river bends on the outgoing tides.  The line feels heavy and crabs frequently can be coached to the shore or dock floats but as soon as they are lifted off the bottom, they let go of the bait.  This happened to me in the Indian River, Clinton and could be related to a water temperature difference.  The hole at which I had the bait in was 71 degrees, a perfect temperature, but at the dock it was 76 degrees at the surface and brackish.  After about a dozen hookups with serious resistance pulling them into shallow water and lifting only to have the crab let go was somewhat frustrating.  One theory was as soon as they felt the warmer fresher water on top they let go.   Another crabber said those are big males with a female and to protect the female, they won’t leave the bottom during the day.   Not certain which one was correct, but it was frustrating none the less.  After an hour of crabbing I left with 2 legal (barely) crabs and returned 22 shorts.  The change in population composition the past week was quick and many conversations mention a tremendous change in smaller crabs at river mouths and an almost simultaneous increase in the doublers upstream. 

Shoreline crabbers at high or moving tides have done well the past seven days with very large crabs but the still and low tides prove the most challenging.  The best crabbing continues to be in Central Connecticut at high tides – of the 17 crabbers I spoke with during this period, all of them had caught crabs – (Central Connecticut Coast).

Western Areas Must Rebuild Populations – Megalops set key to 2013 Crab Year
2012 Megalops set could be huge

2012 Megalops set from female crabs here is now thought to be significant- perhaps with intensity not seen since 2009, Western Areas must rebuild populations that have been lost.   People will remember the summer of 2009 as very hot, sometimes so hot to reflect upon water quality and habitat sustainability- (reference report #7 “Blue Crabs Pick Land over Niantic”).   We had a hot summer (2009) algal blooms occurred and intense bunker (menhaden) fish kill happened from low oxygen in the Branford River, but the Megalops set must have been intense because the number of 2 inch crabs that next April was tremendous, something not seen here for nearly a century.   This summer we may have another great Megalops set- we had a record number of sightings for female “sponge” egg carrying crabs in mid June, especially in Bridgeport/Fairfield and the Clinton Harbor areas.   The prevailing winds have largely been from the southwest, perhaps adding to a potential Chesapeake Bay drift set, courtesy of the Gulf Stream.

With the warm temperatures the west sections may see a huge set of blue crabs- which should be about an inch across now- and could possibly reach the 3 to 4 inch size by October- setting up for another huge 2013 crab year.   It would take a huge set for the west to replace all the year classes apparently missing- gone for some reason (see report #7).  It seems, the west has to start all over again.  It is still too early to say what happened, but some of the crabbers reported the signs of a major blue crab die-off last August and I minimized it, believing it to be just fresh water poisoning from thunderstorms.   Now I believe I was wrong.  I reviewed the reports from last year and the crabbers who were very concerned, and in several reports repeatedly said they saw huge numbers of dead crabs, might have been reporting on a much larger and serious event- a major blue crab die-off- several weeks before Irene. 

From the Megalops report #12 of 2011 Western CT Blue Crab Observations  from crabbers

July 27th- 15 keepers, 3 soft shells; observed about 75 crabs total, 80% 1.5 to 2.5 inches; 10% 3 inches and 10% legal size;  The bottom dropped out of catches turning sharply negative then followed by reports of dead crabs on July 26, 27, and 28th.   Even the run distribution changed after positive numbers: western 50/50 about half of the catch was now legal and even in central sections for the first time it had dropped to 75% legal and 25% sub legal, western and central reports count/keepers surpassed the teens, had climbed into the 20’s and some even higher.   Eastern Reports are so few I can’t comment about catches in general, then the heat and heavy rains hit with one/two punch and catches/reports dropped and turned negative.   If reports continue to mention dead crabs especially that 1.5 to 2 inch crab that could impact the remaining blue crab year, I’m not certain.

Some reports mentioned a 50% drop in catches compared to the last trip and some after catching a few crabs simply gave up.   Just a few days before these areas were good to excellent.   Several reports mentioned the dramatic difference in water temperatures and clarity.    The water near shore felt “hot” or the area was full of brown water.   Three veteran crabbers report of seeing whole dead crabs the following two days.   After heavy rains two other in central areas expressed concern for what had been relatively quiet tidal areas, were now for a period a “rushing torrent of brown water- hot brown water no less.”

“Water was really warm for the first time in 10 years of crabbing here or better, I saw a good number of dead crabs.”

Something happened to these crabs and it is in the millions- what we catch with a string and chicken leg is just a small portion of the total population.  I don’t think anyone would argue that the methods we use in CT can be termed as highly efficient, and in dense concentrations of crab it is effective, nevertheless.   The population of Blue Crabs in western CT long Island Sound was significant in 2011 but now are gone- they have been lost.  Why? I can’t guess but this only signifies how important user groups (crabbers) observations can be- and I missed it.   About 10 reports mentioned dead crabs after rains, some crabbers, one in particular, said he had never seen such numbers of dead crabs in many years of crabbing in western CT and was very concerned about the fishing for next year- he was correct.   It is a poor year to date in the west.

To the crabbers that were concerned about seeing so many dead crabs last July and August, your fears and concerns were apparently justified.   It’s been a century since Blue Crabs were prevalent here and we are just beginning to learn what that means- habitat wise to have them.  That is why I often mention that every observation, every catch report, every survey is important.   The above observations illustrate the significance of these reports. 

If the Megalops set survives in the west this summer that would be a great sign for western CT crabbers, perhaps not for this year, but for next.

Connecticut’s First Crab Fisheries – A History Record from Our First Fishers?  Could blue crab be an indicator species for climate change.   A Science, History, and Archeology – Research Project for High School Students.
   
One of the things I have experienced this vacation and dozens of conversations with blue crabbers is a large influx of new crabbers – some have lived in Connecticut for many years and this is their first summer crabbing. 

A few conversations have pointed to Connecticut’s fishery history – and knowledge about blue crabs, including everything from “I didn’t know blue crabs lived in Connecticut” (a frequent statement) to a surprise of the extent of the current blue crab population (It is huge).  Some were even shocked to see the numbers of blue crabs in a given area such as the Clinton, Madison, and Guilford shores. 

The Clinton Harbor area within the Indian, Hammonasset and Hammock Rivers, the present blue crab population (all year classes) is estimated in the tens of thousands.  The smallest crabs are rarely seen, so the true extent without shallow surveys is difficult to estimate, but a dense blue crab Megalops set can be millions. 

Clinton has several productive crab fishing locations and its one of my frequent stops this vacation.  Questions eventually include Long Island Sound, its relative health, and the many years of news reports about the lobster population declines which is currently at very low levels.  How could blue crabs be so abundant and lobsters so scarce?

When you examine Connecticut’s fisheries history, you do see patterns of fisheries abundance related to climate, temperature, and energy.  It is thought that for blue crabs and lobsters 1998 is a key transition year.  (Fishery production statistics for climate change see paper “Blue Crab Great Years – and Then None?” September 8, 2010)..   

Clinton Harbor is a good study area as it contains both a “core” history in its salt marshes and evidence of Connecticut’s first fishers – a local Native American people called the Hammonassets.  Coastal Native Americans were very aware of New England’s coastal marine resources “seafood” and the first clam bakes are attributed to them.   The shad bakes (roasts) still celebrated in the Essex/ Old Saybrook area is another direct descendant of earlier fishing practices.  They appreciated nature’s bounty and we know that fish and shellfish were important food sources.  Therefore, Native Americans may have left a historical record for us about long term climate, temperature, and energy system impacts to fish and shellfish populations.   The resource use record therefore may mirror habitats, a “habitat history.”  We call those records today shell middens - heaps of discarded shellfish shells, oyster, clams, and bay scallops, but also blue crab remnants, conch shells, and fish bones.   Blue crabs might be a good indicator species of climate change or pronounced habitat shifts.

In times of great heat (which we are presently experiencing) shell heaps (middens) might contain greater numbers of blue crab claw tips, soft shell clams, and oysters – all do better in dry and high heat periods.  Layers of lobster beaks, hard shell clams, and bay scallops could signal colder, more energy filled periods.  These species do seem to change prevalence (positions) in more recent habitat histories.  At the turn of the century midway into The Great Heat (1880 – 1920), the soft shell clams sets following the 1898 Portland Gale are legendary in Clinton Harbor.  Bay scallops had long since disappeared from the much colder and stormier 1870s.  It is hard to believe Greenwich, CT being a huge producer of bay scallops, but it was in 1872 – when it was brutally cold here.  As the temperatures warmed after 1880, bay scallops and lobster populations retreated north and collapsed in the late 1890s.   Blue crab, oysters, and soft shell clam abundance then soared.

Bay scallops would return to Connecticut and in record abundance during the New England Oscillation (also termed the North Atlantic Oscillation) when colder winters and powerful storms raked Connecticut’s coastline (1950 to 1965).  The 1950s saw record cold, a huge increase in powerful storms but bay scallop production soared.  Bay scallops like cold and energy – it helps maintain their habitats.   If these climate and energy relationships have a habitat/ prevalence or connection they might be apparent in those shells heaps.  When hot, blue crabs, soft shell clams, and oysters become abundant.  In cold periods, lobster, hard clams and bay scallops reign.  Coastal Native Americans so dependent upon seafood would observe changes and perhaps left us a history of their seafood use as long-term environmental fisheries history – hopefully the alkaline shells have buffered our acidic soils so that such a habitat history record still exists.  Even the process of dipping (netting) blue crabs at night so productive here today appears to be an old one, and related to spear fishing.

In a 1958 National Geographic Story of Man Series – Indians of the Americas, Matthew W. Stirling refers to torchlight fishing on pg.  50 – mentioning the importance of seafood to the Algonquin culture.

“In summer, the usual spear fishing method was for two men to out in a canoe at night.  The man in the stern paddled while the other speared fish attracted by the light of a bark torch in the bow.”

If this sounds familiar to the early turn of the century blue crab dipping, it should.  Fishing by light at night is an old practice but an abundant supply made the practice worthwhile (it was productive).  It is the change in abundance and assemblage relationships that midden remains may provide. The study of middens may answer some of our questions about climate change and habitat conditions for both cold and warm water species.

Taking this concept forward will involve high school students reviewing the available scientific records (fisheries) and archeological studies of the past century.   This would include a full review of Colonial fishing records until present.

Most of our Connecticut fisheries history is currently stored at the DEEP Marine Fisheries loft in Old Lyme, CT.  It represents the largest continuous fisheries records from the first legislative acts of the 1870s to the State of Connecticut Fish Commission to the formation of the State of Connecticut Department of Fisheries and Game to the present DEEP Marine Fisheries Division.  In a recent meeting it was asked that this proposal be sent to other scientists, historians, and archaeological practitioners in Connecticut in support of perhaps a much larger environmental habitat history project for the state.  That process is currently underway.   One of the species proposed as a key habitat history indicator is blue crabs.
   
It is a multiyear project that has enormous environmental study benefits from monitoring climate habitat shifts, global sea rise, and contains fisheries management implications. 

I would be pleased to respond to any questions at Tim.Visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us

Public asked to look for Chinese Mitten Crab – a potential invasive species for Connecticut.   CT DEEP and Connecticut Sea Grant ask for your help.

Press Release:  On August 3rd, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Connecticut Sea Grant issued a press release asking for the public’s help in identifying a potential invasive crab species.  The Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) looks to be larger than the green crab (Carcinus maenas) also an invasive species and similar looking to the Purple Marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum) found consuming salt marsh vegetation on New England marshes. 

Distinctive in appearance are its claws (although I have never seen a live specimen) which have hairs on them that look like “mittens”.  This is a species that grows to enormous densities and travel in “pods”.  With the body carapace it can be 12 inches across including the legs. 

The press release is reproduced here for any crabbers that have seen some of these crabs- please, a “do not release” request is in place.  Directions for reporting if you catch one is included in the Press Release. Look to this website for detailed information including photographs:  http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?Q=509026&A=4174

A few key paragraphs are below:

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) and Connecticut Sea Grant today confirmed that a juvenile Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) has been found in Connecticut waters. In late June, the crab was collected from the Mianus Pond fishway on the Mianus River (Greenwich) by Joe Cassone, Conservation Assistant for the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission. The crab was first delivered to CT DEEP’s Marine Headquarters in Old Lyme, and following examination by CT DEEP and CT Sea Grant biologists, sent to the Marine Invasion Research Lab of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center for a confirmation of the initial identification.

“This discovery is of some concern,” said CT DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette. “In high densities, these crabs can damage fishing gear, clog pumps and intake pipes, cause riverbank erosion through their burrowing activities and out compete native species for food and habitat. However, these crabs are relatively new to the Atlantic coast, and at this time it is unclear as to what their effects will actually be.”

“It’s important that people keep an eye out for these crabs and report them,” says Nancy Balcom, Associate Director of Connecticut Sea Grant at the University of Connecticut. “Early detection of new species in our marine or fresh waters can help lead to more options for control and spread prevention. In 2010, there was a reported sighting of a crab in a pond near the Mill River in Fairfield that may have been a mitten crab. Unfortunately, we were unable to catch that crab to confirm its identification.”

Chinese mitten crabs’ claws are of equal size; all but the very smallest (<1 inch shell width) appear to have dark fuzzy growth on the claws with whitish tips (hence the name “mitten crab”). The smooth shell or carapace is brownish to greenish, up to approximately four inches across, with four spines on each side and a notch between the eyes. Total crab size, including legs, can be up to 12 inches. Individuals finding a crab that they suspect to be a Chinese mitten crab should keep the crab on ice or freeze it (please do not release the crab), note the exact location it was found, and contact CT DEEP Marine Fisheries (860-434-6043), CT DEEP Inland Fisheries (860-424-3474) or CT Sea Grant (Nancy Balcom, 860-407-9107). Any crab found in fresh water should be investigated, as there are no freshwater crabs in New England.


Thank you for all the reports – every observation is valuable as we learn more about our blue crab population.  Email blue crab reports to tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us
 
The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

The Sound School is a Regional High School Agriculture Science and Technology Center enrolling students from 23 participating Connecticut communities.

Program reports are available upon request.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

[BlueChip]

The Connecticut Blue Crab Population and Habitat Study 2010-2015
The Sound School – The ISSP and Capstone Project Proposal
Building a Network of Citizen Monitors
The Search for Megalops
Report 9 – August 30, 2012
You Do Not Need To Be A Scientist To Report!

Reports 1 through 8 (2012) available upon request:
email susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us
Reports 1 to 12, 2011 also available on Archive Section http://www.bluecrab.info/
and both years on the Blue Crab Blog  http://bluecrabblog.blogspot.com/
Program Reports 1 to 5 are also available from Tim Visel at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us

•   Back to School – Thank you for all your comments and suggestions.  A review of our CT Blue Crab season to date – future student Capstone projects in 2013.
•   Keep Those Crabs Alive – The Knuckle Blue Crab Banding Process – Regional Bait and Tackle stores will demonstrate the technique – and carry supplies.
•   Large Hard-shell Crabs Move East to Connecticut River.  Crabbing surges in Central Connecticut-again!
•   Special Report, The Connecticut River Trap Fishery --  A Trotline Experiment from 2010.

Back to School – Thank you for all your comments and suggestions –
Our CT Blue Crab Season To Date

It’s the end of August and beginning of another school year.  We have a new freshman class entering the Sound School this week, but will try to get at least one report out in September, October and November.  It’s been an interesting blue crab season quite different than 2011 but similar to 2010.  A large difference was the absence of crabs in western Connecticut but the central section including the New Haven Harbor area had the largest populations – eastern populations are just showing up now and crabbing generally has been good in the central and eastern towns the past two weeks.

It’s been however, a disappointing crab season for the western Connecticut crabbers, as very productive areas last year had little or no crabs this year.  While central sections in 2011 had a poor year when compared to 2010, this year the place to crab was between West Haven and Old Saybrook.  Later it appears as if a very large group of crabs (thought to originate in New Haven and adjacent offshore areas) moved to the east to the Connecticut River the third week in August.  Last year it was thought that masses of crabs moved east from the Housatonic River.  During the second week of August, large hard shell crabs were detected in Branford then Guilford, Clinton Harbor on August 18, Old Saybrook and Oyster Rivers, 18 -20th then into the Connecticut River on the 21st to 24th.

Adding to the mystery was the age and condition of these crabs (see next section).  They did not resemble the bright blue and white shells of the earlier spring and summer blue crabs; instead these crabs were larger and had very hard shells, brown colorations and showing numerous wounds and re-grown claws.  Crabbers between Branford and Essex noticed the difference and a brilliant yellow faced crab was caught off the Essex Town Dock Sunday on August 26 by William Doane of Essex.  Yellow face crabs were mixed in with this population and crabs over seven inches spike to spike were common.  Reports of catching crabs 9 inches or more were frequent.

Many crabbers have asked about the dramatic increase in female sponge crabs, in Bridgeport, Fairfield and Clinton Harbor this spring.  We just don’t know why they select these areas but several crabbers have suggested the dredged channels might be providing habitat refugia from more saline predators including starfish and conch species.

The best indication of the fishery for next year came from Steve Joseph (an aquaculture teacher here at Sound School) and his son Kelly who over the weekend filled a small minnow seine with post Megalops crabs off Branford CT.  He was able to catch some for a short video and photograph these small crabs in the palm of his hand only a half of an inch long (you can see the crab waving two fully formed claws around).  Steve noticed that predation on these small crabs was already intense. Fish were actively consuming them in large numbers along the beachfront. Steve Joseph remarked the whole shore area was full of small crabs, too numerous to even estimate the amount.

I want to thank all the crabbers who sent reports and provided observations this summer; they are important and add to our understanding of our blue crab population.  I have altered my position on overwintering, believing once that all blue crabs are eliminated by our cold winters –fresh water runoff and salt water predators.  This latest migration of older crabs has changed that perspective.  That is not happening, I still believe the CT River fishery is unique and nearly all the crabs are subject to the spring freshwater runoff and believe that to be true except for perhaps North Cove in the federal dredged harbor area.

To be honest, from past fishery reports we just haven’t seen blue crab populations this large since the 1908-1918 period.  The number one environmental concern during this previous warm period was malaria spread by mosquitoes during that climate segment known as The Great Heat.  Many coastal communities in Connecticut started during this period (1880-1920)and journals from the early Groton Long Point Community campers contain accounts of escaping the city heat to go blue crabbing.  The best blue crabbing it seems was in the coves and bays surrounding Noank a century ago.

The 2012 fall crab fishery looks to be a good one for central and eastern CT with the number of large crabs now, it seems we may see new state records.
Attention will next focus on the extent and survival of the Post Megalops crab populations in western Connecticut.

This fall, the Search for Megalops will be divided into several Sound School Student Capstone and ISSP research projects – even the writing of the Search for Megalops Reports should have student governance.  Some Sound School students have already started collecting data on Blue Crabs during the summer – please look for those reports in the spring of 2013.

Thanks again for all the reports this summer.
Tim Visel

Keep Those Crabs Alive – The Knuckle Banding Process

Several Central Connecticut Bait and Tackle stores have agreed to demonstrate the Crab Banding procedure and carry the industry lobster banders and lobster bands.
These are the stores cooperating to date (no trade or product endorsement implied)
Captain Morgan’s Bait & Tackle
3 Boston Post Road, Madison CT
Captain Morgan has a bander kit available, the kit consists of a lobster bander, leather gloves and bands.

Tidewater Bait & Tackle
362 Boston Post Road
Westbrook, CT
Peter Palmieri will demonstrate the banding process for crabbers.

Dick’s Marina, Beach Nut Sports
314 Boston Post Road
Westbrook, CT
Tim Swain has sold out of lobster banders but still has bands available.

Rivers End Tackle
440 Boston Post Road
Old Saybrook, CT
Pat Abate is ordering a few banders and bands.

Ted’s Bait & Tackle
35 Clark Street
Old Saybrook, CT
Ted Lemelin reports he has sold out of lobster banders but still has bands and is reordering.

Several crabbers have tried the process and it does take some time to master the tool, but the bander will last years and the bands can be reused.  A couple of crabbers who like lobsters had a supply of bands who now said they will be putting them to “good use” again.

One word of caution however, use the gloves these hard shell crabs are strong and crabbers have sent in reports pointing out the difference.  The banders also have a small hole in the handle and people have commented about it when I demonstrated banding at several locations.  I attach a piece of twine to a small float, or a cork and this has saved a bander many times at a dock area etc. that fell overboard.
Once you get the process down it will save time re-handling them and your catch.

Many of the bait and tackle stores listed above have offered to also demonstrate the process.
Large Hardshell Crabs Move East to The Connecticut River

Central CT crabbers during the period of August 16, 17, 18, 19, picked up on a second wave of adult crabs moving east reinforcing a previous wave of just sublegal crabs  three weeks before.  Large adult crabs hit the Branford River first and one of the noticeable features of this group is again the yellow faced crabs, a super hard shell with a splash of brilliant yellow around the mouth (see report #10 July 20, 2011).  These crabs were super hard shells and had numerous injuries and older looking shells. 

On Saturday, August 18th three yellow face crabs were observed at 1pm in Clinton, the first one at lower harbor Town Dock and two more shortly later were caught at the Indian River Crab Dock at 2pm.  They had a brilliant patch of yellow and you could tell these crabs were packed, rock hard shells and their shells showed some algal growth, nicks and scrapes not the clean, not the new shells of bright white and blue shells earlier in the season.  The Clinton Harbor crabber had about 35 large crabs after 3 hours of crabbing and hadn’t noticed the yellow features.  The Indian River Crabber had about two dozen large crabs and you could really see the difference in shell condition and color.  At 2:38pm the Indian River dock water temp 72degrees. 

Crabbing has surged again in the central areas and night time netters have reported catches from 70 to 100 crabs, doubling the average catch rate of 10 crabs to 20/hour and more from the DEEP Baldwin Bridge Boat launch pier.  So I wanted to see what crabbing was like during the day and at night.  I visited the Essex Town Dock at 11:10am Sunday on August 19th.  Six crabbers were on the dock it was an incoming tide 11:19am the bottom water temp was 780 degrees Fahrenheit sunny and a light breeze.  One crabber had returned 6 females and had seen no sponge crabs.  They started crabbing at 7:30 in the morning and had about 45 crabs at 11:30.  The Crabbing had increased and between 11:19 to 11:29am caught 11 crabs (a few two at a time) with the incoming tides at slack low the crabbing had stopped to almost nothing.  But what really caught my attention was two young crabbers from Ivoryton, Kai and Christian Konstantino; they were right in the middle of the crabbing – darting back and forth between one trap and one handline – two 5 inch crabs and one 7.25 inch and one 7.5 inch crab were quickly placed in a small bucket.  The two seven inch crabs were giving the smaller crabs a fight so I offered to band the crabs with my lobster bander and lobster bands.  They quickly agreed, showing them how to band the knuckle and replaced all four crabs in the bucket – no more fighting and after saying thanks were back to the lines and trap, no time for small talk, they were having a great time!  About 10 to 15 crabs an hour seemed about right.  No yellow face crabs were observed; next it was the evening test.
I usually crab in Essex or Clinton:  Clinton early in the season and then the Essex (CT River) later, at least since 2002.  In our area of the Connecticut River the eel population is extremely high so a full chicken leg can be stripped to the bone just in a few minutes.  Crabbers may see an eel from time to time during the day but at night they swarm the baits, providing that characteristic jerk at the line.  Willard my son started using some of his old lobster Vexar™ bait bags (gave up on the 10 lobster pots – lobstering was terrible) left over from lobstering off Madison and Guilford years ago.  He placed a pebble in each bag to hold the bottom – currents can be hard in the river so by 2007 he had a method to prevent the eels from taking the bait on a hand line, he used his lobster bait bags.

Essex Town Dock August 19-20, 2012

I must say the Vexar™ at night has certain advantages but not during the day in shallow “bright” areas, the bait bag seems to scare the crabs in bright light, however at night when the largest crabs leave the bottom it is a completely different story and they are very, very effective.  Most of the crabs at night grab the Vexar™ mesh not the bait, so they do not tear off with a piece of the bait when they grab the bottom, instead now the crabs tend to “sail” into the dock with both claws clinging the Vexar™.  In fact they grip it so hard you don’t need a net, you can lift them out of the water and shake them off, but we use a net still; we hit the Essex Dock about 11:15pm (flashlights a necessity). 

My son Willard, his friend Josh and I put the Vexar™ bait bags on the hand lines; each bag had a chicken leg and piece of cut mackerel or bunker (menhaden).  The problem was, as soon as we put out two hand lines – they hooked up with big crabs so I pulled them in and reset – same result two more large crabs at four lines out until by 11:30pm all four had crabs so I didn’t get all 6 lines out until midnight and fished six lines to 1am.  About 75 minutes of full crabbing I hauled- Josh netted- Willard banded- yielded 67 crabs – frequent doubles and Josh only missed four (because of the Vexar™) sizes of crabs were broken into 3 categories:

   21         5 to 5.5 spike to spike
   27    5.5 to 6.5 spike to spike
   19    6.5 to 7.5 spike to spike

For a total of 67 crabs

The largest crab was 7 5/8 although I have met two more crabbers (Ivoryton and East Haven) that claim to have caught over a 9 inch crab.  This year I showed the largest of these crabs to Ted Lemelin of Teds Bait and Tackle, Old Saybrook and he feels he has not seen this size blue crab at this time in the CT River fishery since 1982.   

He predicted an excellent Connecticut River fall fishery.


CT River Trap Fishery Increases as Crab Population Continues to Improve –
An account of the 2010 CT River Season – A Trot Line Experience

This past month (August 2012) the number of small boat trappers at the Baldwin Bridge (DEEP Boat Launch and Public Fish Pier) seemed to increase and when launched, headed up river.  Most of the crab traps were the open end box traps but some were the older collapsible four sided wing wall traps.  The CT River Fishery consists of traps set as singles, with a small diameter line and small buoy for each. One had used those white Clorox™ jugs for floats.  A couple of conversation attempts ended quickly with “crab traps” and a reluctance to disclose locations etc.  I can understand that, I lobstered commercially for 15 years with my brother Ray of Madison CT.  When asked about how the lobstering was, we usually gave a one word response, “okay”.

One of the crabbers recognized me from last year and he knew I send out this report, so I didn’t even ask about his catches.  These were daytime trappers, many crab at night also which according to some conversations last year morning tides were even better.  Trappers head for hard or firm bottoms, moderate flows, and small coves and the Brockway Bay, west of beacon #22 CT River and Nott Island Bay north of Nott Island Essex were the 2010 locations of choice.

I had a lengthy conversation in 2010 with a local trap crabber (nighttime) who set traps below the bridges on the Black Hall and Lieutenant Rivers on the Old Lyme side.  He had re-rigged the familiar ring stand shad light (see our Connecticut Shad Fishery publication # 5 on our adult education and outreach directory http://www.soundschool.com/directory.html) for nighttime blue crabbing.  He had been crab trapping in the river since 2003 and had about 25 traps.  Once he found a certain depth or band of crabs the trapping was very fast.  He would first set a few traps on a test and if he hit the crabs deploy the rest around the productive area.  Because these traps need to be constantly checked about 20 to 30 traps is all one person could check before the bait would all be consumed.  Sometimes he went up river and other times into the usual lower marshes and rivers; that depended upon recent rainfalls.  If it had been dry, he would head up to Essex if it had rained, he headed towards the river mouth.  Early in the summer the Old Lyme Rivers were good, but by July 2010, crabs had moved far upriver.  Some reports mentioned crabs in 2010 had even reached Deep River and Chester areas.

After a few minutes he pushed off the launch dock and headed up river.  On the way out he suggested I check the population just north of Nott Island and gesturing, gave him a ‘thumbs up’.  That was in 2010.
Later that week July 2010 crabbing surged at the Essex Town Dock and I remembered the suggestion directed to me at the Baldwin Bridge, to see it myself the incredible crab density.  I was curious every day; the CT River crabbing seemed to get better – where did all these crabs come from?  To investigate the population purchasing 20 crab traps for a one day test seemed a bit too expensive so I thought of a small trotline. 
I had gone on a series of day trips in the early 1980s in Maryland to help with some Peeler Tanks recirculation systems see publication titled “Gravity Fed Self Regulating Bio-Suspended Solids Pillow Filter for Crab and Lobster Tanks” #21 on our Adult Education/Publications Directory and had seen trotlines set and hauled.  I felt I could put something together and at much smaller cost than purchasing a number of traps.  I started to plan out a crab trotline similar to the hook long lines used in offshore fisheries.  My son Will was going to help me but at the time he was first mate on an historic schooner (Mary E) operating out of Essex, so I turned to an old Daniel Hand High School friend, Brian Sullivan of East Lyme who I had promised to take out blue fishing weeks before.  Would he help me with a blue crab experiment before we went blue fishing?  Brian responded yes, of course.

A trotline is simply a very long hand line with a series of line drops (snoods) from the mainline with a series of baits.  It was the fishing gear of choice a century ago for blue crabbing in Connecticut.  A line of continuous baited snoods is set on the bottom and then under run with a roller to lift the baits to the vessel while underway.  A “dipper” nets the crabs hanging on the baits before they can break surface.  A 40 bait trotline is a lot easier to fish than setting and pulling crab traps and a lot cheaper too.

Trotlines for blue crabbing is an old practice for catching hard shells in CT. Soft shell production however, that was sent to Fulton Fish Market, was mostly a nighttime dipping method *(see report #7). I had gone on some trotline trips down south years ago, so I tried to duplicate the roller and pipe extension used then.  I purchased a roller from Jeff Wilcox of Wilcox Marine Supply (not trade or endorsement implied) along with 600 ft. of braided line about 3/16” diameter and made a horseshoe from threaded pipes and bolted it to the side of Willard’s 14’ Brockway skiff (middle seat).  This device allows the line to be brought up to the surface for hand netting and can’t be unattended which is the whole point it must be attended to work.  The trotline I used down south was a soft 3 strand line with snoods woven into the strands like a splice and a slip loop for the chicken necks.  I can remember what an effort it was baiting the line.  In our waters I felt the chicken neck would not last that long so I took some of Will’s Vexar™ lobster bait bag material (which I use in warm weather with bait hand lines) and made bait bags.  A hog ring pliers and two sizes of clamps (the ones used to make wire lobster and eel pots also purchased at Wilcox Marine Supply) and made 40 draw string Vexar™ bait bags and clipped them to the main line about 12 feet apart.  The draw string bait bag allowed me to put in a chicken wing or piece of cut bunker (menhaden).  Making the bags took awhile but they can last a long time, etc.  In baiting I wanted to also test bait preference so some bags got a chicken wing and piece of bunker, some just bunker and some just chicken.  It was not only a test but an experiment as well.

I baited the trotline coiling it into a large plastic circular laundry tub; I put about 80 feet of blank overrun line on each end that is for the overruns to the anchor lines, which we connected two small mushroom anchors. (To keep the line on the bottom I placed a small stone in every five or so bait bags).  I put the entire tub in the refrigerator the night before.  When Brian arrived, I grabbed the tub two anchors and two anchor lines and buoys, everything fit into the laundry tub.

We launched at the Essex Town Boat ramp, dropped off the trailer, came back and headed for Nott Island in mid August 2010.

We caught just before high tide and dropped an anchor off the northern end of Nott Island (10 feet).  The bottom was firm sand, the type of bottom mentioned a few weeks before as good, and prepared to set the line; the line is set between two anchors, fastening at the beginning of the baits a “grab float” this is hauled up and placed over the roller.  Setting out was quick we had a slight breeze and tide making the setting quick.  We waited about 10 minutes and pulled a grab float lifted it over the roller and put the engine to forward slow.  The first bait bag broke the surface with three large jimmies holding on, but before Brain could react the bait bag hit the roller and the three crabs became airborne, the crabs were coming up too fast, I slowed down but the next two crabs also hit the roller but on the third bait bag Brian was ready and netted a large Jimmie.  Then I remembered my trip down south and the chicken wire nets, how they could slice into the water and how easy crabs (large ones) fell out.  On the fourth netted crab Brian was frantically shaking the net which now resembled more like a blue crab mop than a net with large crabs hanging on and in every direction.  I carry two nets and he passed me the full one and he continued to net, but the second net also quickly filled, same problem trying to slow the line and the crabs were still coming up too fast, so we just suddenly stopped (unplanned) and we looked down. 

The surface had crabs everywhere, and the outboard had stopped.
I know that some of the southern crabbers are laughing now but at a certain point I lost maneuverability and the trot line was under the boat which had satisfied the outboard motors desire to eat it, which it did in great gulps. While I unwrapped the bait bag, angry crabs and line from the propeller, Brian scooped up all the crabs he could see on the surface and incredibly they refused to let go of the bait bags!  The bait bag material Vexar™ allowed them to grip the mesh tightly so even out of the water they wouldn’t let go.  So after awhile, Brian would just bring the bait bag into the boat and shook it sometimes with 3 crabs on a bag.  We looked at each other and said, why use the outboard at all?

This was not a prime time video moment and our discussion a critique of each other’s performance was somewhat loud (apparently) and had alarmed hand liners who came over in their boat to see if we were okay.  I explained what we were trying to do but the crabs were just coming up too fast, etc.  The absence of the chicken wire net made a quick retrieval with power (outboard) now impossible.  Some of the bait bags had more than one crab so I hauled the line by hand so Brian could net better; we checked the line 2 times for 84 crabs.  This was better due to the multiple crabs per bag.  We spent the next hour or so banding them and set off for blue fishing.  As for the bait, the mixture of bunker and chicken wings worked the best.  It took awhile for what we saw to sink in, but both of us were awed by the density of crabs we had two five gallon buckets of crabs but we could have fished for hours in 10 feet of water if we had the correct chicken wire nets.  We did try a shallow four feet set but got only 2 crabs; they were most definitely in the deeper areas.  In 2010 Nott island Bay and towards Essex had thousands of crabs most likely hundreds of thousands of crabs.  We never set the trot line again but after that experience I had a new understanding for the amount of blue crabs our coast now contained, and what shore crabbers see is just but a fraction of what was in the Connecticut River.  The crabber I talked to was correct: you did need to see it to believe it; we did and it was incredible.

Watching more boats launch with crab traps last weekend means the CT River fishery in 2012 is still improving.  The evenings of August 17 and 18 had the shore crabbers at night having trips into the 80 and 90 crab counts.  Small crabs continue to increase from Old Saybrook to Essex, helping the catch rates to rise.  At this rate we may approach or surpass 2010, other than an overwintering population in North Cove these crabs in the CT River arrived here from other areas.  It seems they continue to arrive, more and more every day, excepting any weather events the October fishery in the CT River may surpass that seen in 2010.

Thank you for all the reports – every observation is valuable as we learn more about our blue crab population.  Email blue crab reports to tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.
The Sound School is a Regional High School Agriculture Science and Technology Center enrolling students from 23 participating Connecticut communities.

Program reports are available upon request.

For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us