3" immature female crabs sold at super market

[DanielLong]

Immature females.   Positive my friend. 

[Grizzly36]

I'm glad this has been brought up.  I remember a part in Beautiful Swimmers where the commercial guy the writer was crabbing with mentioned taking some shorts home and saying they were allowed so many shorts per bushel.  It never sat well with me. I can understand a few here or there from working fast or just by mistake. Maybe they get put in a basket and sent to market or the packing house. These things happen nobody's perfect. But to take some home that you purposely set aside when culling or seperating the catch seems unnecassary and ILLEGAL.  I'm thinking in terms of intent.

If you no they are there just drop 'em back in the drink.  Why keep them? Now next time when wondering where the crabs are, instead of saying oh I kept some shorts or females that would have grown up or reproduced and so did all my other comm buddies. You'll instead blame recs and buearecrats for the lack of a public resource. Maybe a buschel or half a buschel here or there won't matter but at some point we all have to do our part.

[cedar999]

I remember a part in Beautiful Swimmers where the commercial guy the writer was crabbing with mentioned taking some shorts home and saying they were allowed so many shorts per bushel.  It never sat well with me.

I remember that too.  If I recall correctly the guy actually had them in a separate bushel, which he quietly slipped over the side of the boat when the enviro police or whatever they're called came to inspect his catch. Later he actually dove down to retrieve it.  I think you're right about "intent," and that guy's intent couldn't have been any more clear.

[jack1747]

The subject says immature females.  Are you sure they weren't mature females?  As in, Sooks?

If they are sooks, there is no minimum size in MD.  I think it's crazy to keep anything less than 5", but the law says it's OK on sooks. 

Same in VA

[TAJcrabs]

I think we are missing the point, its tough to cull a lot of crabs, I'm good about that, get off the comms back guys we want to make a buck too, as fast as we can. The issue we should be discussing is the market should not have them on the shelf.. I guess they are trying to get over on the city folks... Just dont buy them and they will stop putting them on the shelf

[Crabbyd]

Immature females.   Positive my friend. 

Exactly how are you positive?  How are you sure they were 3"?


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I would agree that a 3" crab is useless for picking.

[BirdsNestKing]

Still trying to wrap my mind around the price per bushel. Sadly another case of where the ones who actually do the work get the smallest slice of the pie, some might even say crumbs.  

[flounderpounder]

You have obviously have never been on a working boat that is catching crabs

You've caught 3 bushels so far this year.......I more than doubled your catch for this year TODAY

Sometimes things get crazy....you'll cull one crab and never see the crab that's hanging on....you gotta move to make money.   

I'm not "bashing" you or "tooting" my horn....I'm just letting you know the view from the other side

Im a REC...I can only take what is allotted    pretty sure with 4000' line Id do OK to ...Im not trying to start a war....just making a point..But 5 crabs a bushel or 10% of the catch ....c'mon now thats a lil rediculous.... I know the other side....i know liners and potters. I know what it takes and I know its hard work...But 5 crabs a bushel or 10% of ALL the crabs YOU catch is alot of small crabs

[flounderpounder]

Still trying to wrap my mind around the price per bushel. Sadly another case of where the ones who actually do the work get the smallest slice of the pie, some might even say crumbs.  

my dads buddy pots ****** river area and gets $125 a bushel for #1's..maybe he has a good retailer( he does) but its the facts.....its not as bad as they make it sound

[flounderpounder]

$18 per bushel for females....My avg with the dipper and a culler was about 10 an hour......

But, you say I shouldn't have any male crabs in those bushels

REALLY?

quote was 8$.....not 18

[flounderpounder]

$18 per bushel for females....My avg with the dipper and a culler was about 10 an hour......

But, you say I shouldn't have any male crabs in those bushels

REALLY?

so out of 80 bushels a day you have 8 bushels of 3" crabs? is my math right ?    8 hrs....10 an hour....10% undersized allowance....     who cares about males.....you can keep males !!!

[Mr. Ray III]

Your math would be all well and good except MD doesn't allow 10% illegal...its 5 crabs to a bushel.

[flounderpounder]

Your math would be all well and good except MD doesn't allow 10% illegal...its 5 crabs to a bushel.

ok sorry.  so who gets the 400 3" crabs?  this is where it gets tricky 

[flounderpounder]

ok sorry.  so who gets the 400 3" crabs?  this is where it gets tricky 

crickets

[mdjohn]

the little ones were called soup crabs

[Mr. Ray III]

ok sorry.  so who gets the 400 3" crabs?  this is where it gets tricky  

Find me a boat in MD that gets 80 bushels first.

[flounderpounder]

Find me a boat in MD that gets 80 bushels first.

Anthony says he  catches 10 bushels an hour   an honest workday is 8 hours right?

[Mr. Ray III]

Anthony says he  catches 10 bushels an hour  an honest workday is 8 hours right?

Commercials have a little thing called female harvest restrictions.....

[flounderpounder]

Commercials have a little thing called female harvest restrictions.....

can only keep sooks under 5" ?

[flounderpounder]

I get it

[Dreampixels]

K I can say this - a year or so ago I spent a day on the water with Mr breeze of Coveside Crabs. I must say I saw no crab which was undersize kept on his boat - fact is as many or more went back to the bay then were kept.

Mr Breeze at Coveside runs a personal operation - he sells his crabs at his resident - so I figure his face and his place is on every crab that leaves his resident - any thing less then Top Quality would darken his name and business  - when you go to a mass marketer they will be selling on the profit zone alone - not their personal reputation - if you dont buy - some other Tom, Dick or Harry will.

Again I will say this - there are crab eaters - and there are Crab Connoisseurs - don't expect to get Caviar for the price of Tilapia. Yugos were always cheaper the Cadillacs.

[BirdsNestKing]

Waiting for someone to mention 14' fluke in the markets. 

[flounderpounder]

Waiting for someone to mention 14' fluke in the markets. 

yeah....lets not even go there

[antman]

i know liners and potters. I know what it takes and I know its hard work...

If you've never done it....you don't know what it takes or how hard it is.

Watching a boxing match is a whole lot different than slipping a jab....

[antman]

K I can say this - a year or so ago I spent a day on the water with Mr breeze of Coveside Crabs. I must say I saw no crab which was undersize kept on his boat - fact is as many or more went back to the bay then were kept.

Mr Breeze at Coveside runs a personal operation - he sells his crabs at his resident - so I figure his face and his place is on every crab that leaves his resident - any thing less then Top Quality would darken his name and business  - when you go to a mass marketer they will be selling on the profit zone alone - not their personal reputation - if you dont buy - some other Tom, Dick or Harry will.

Again I will say this - there are crab eaters - and there are Crab Connoisseurs - don't expect to get Caviar for the price of Tilapia. Yugos were always cheaper the Cadillacs.

DP, he has set his bar....if you buy crabs from him you KNOW what you're getting....buying from some others will depend on what they have to sell