Keeping of Female Crabs

[Luna Sea 3]

I noticed the last tread is locked, so I am going to give my $.02.

Yes, its legal, but you should still throw them back.  Each female crab can sponge up to 4 times per season and with a life expectancy of about 3 years, if not harvested, thats 12 times in a life time.  Each time they spawn thousands of eggs.  Only a small percentage makes it, but still a lot of crabs. 

They mate only once and store the sperm which is why they can sponge many times.

Now.. My opinion... law or no law.  A law is made when the species is at risk.  If we do our part and throw them back, we will never have to worry about the regs changing.  If the regs change for the crabbers, that means its already to late.  Being proactive is key here.  Its call ethics. 

If you love the sport and want it to continue, everyone do their part.  If very simple and logical.  You do not need the law to do the right thing.  Why not do the right thing NOW, before the law and reg change tells us to?

Every kept female is throwing away about 100,000,000 potential crabs.  Keep in mind how important it is to throw them back.  Its bad enough that the commercial guys keep them because it a pay check for them, and thats understood...  So us recreational crabbers have to do our part.

[r_ventura_23]

I noticed the last tread is locked, so I am going to give my $.02.

Yes, its legal, but you should still throw them back.  Each female crab can sponge up to 4 times per season and with a life expectancy of about 3 years, if not harvested, thats 12 times in a life time.  Each time they spawn thousands of eggs.  Only a small percentage makes it, but still a lot of crabs. 

They mate only once and store the sperm which is why they can sponge many times.

Now.. My opinion... law or no law.  A law is made when the species is at risk.  If we do our part and throw them back, we will never have to worry about the regs changing.  If the regs change for the crabbers, that means its already to late.  Being proactive is key here.  Its call ethics. 

If you love the sport and want it to continue, everyone do their part.  If very simple and logical.  You do not need the law to do the right thing.  Why not do the right thing NOW, before the law and reg change tells us to?

Every kept female is throwing away about 100,000,000 potential crabs.  Keep in mind how important it is to throw them back.  Its bad enough that the commercial guys keep them because it a pay check for them, and thats understood...  So us recreational crabbers have to do our part.

Good stuff.  Hopefully everyone reads this and at least a few people will throw some females back that they normally would keep.

[Wallco99]

OH??    This silly argument again?? Let me guess where this goes. Some will argue that females are the ONLY factor in crab population, while those of us who understand it will side with "NOPE". Then, this thread will take an ugly turn for the worse, with both commercial and recreational crabbers blaming each other for the depletion (a depletion that does not even exist, I might add). Then, some annoying individual will bait me with a stupid comment and I will bite. An extensive back-and-forth will ensue, resulting in the thread getting locked, any post that isn't "kissy [arse]" being deleted, and me being banned from the site. I opt to sit this one out, especially since this topic has reached the pinnacle of boredom so many times already. Not to mention, I was unnecessarily disciplined in the past for REOPENING a locked topic under the same name. That is a big "NO-NO" around here apparently, so I expect the same disciplinary action to be taken with this individual. Now I think I may do some crabbing in Jersey or Delaware, just so I can fill up on some lady crabs.

[Capt. Debbie]

NOT sure why this topic comes up over and over again.

I guess in these PC days everyone is told what to they should do... I miss the good old days where the reply would be a punch in the face followed by "don't tell me what to do AND mind your own F'ing business."  Men were real men back then.  Not the wimpy sensitive worms of the millennium...   LOL

OH??    This silly argument again?? Let me guess where this goes. Some will argue that females are the ONLY factor in crab population, while those of us who understand it will side with "NOPE". Then, this thread will take an ugly turn for the worse, with both commercial and recreational crabbers blaming each other for the depletion (a depletion that does not even exist, I might add). Then, some annoying individual will bait me with a stupid comment and I will bite. An extensive back-and-forth will ensue, resulting in the thread getting locked, any post that isn't "kissy [arse]" being deleted, and me being banned from the site. I opt to sit this one out, especially since this topic has reached the pinnacle of boredom so many times already. Not to mention, I was unnecessarily disciplined in the past for REOPENING a locked topic under the same name. That is a big "NO-NO" around here apparently, so I expect the same disciplinary action to be taken with this individual. Now I think I may do some crabbing in Jersey or Delaware, just so I can fill up on some lady crabs.

[evinrude 130]

NOT sure why this topic comes up over and over again.

I guess in these PC days everyone is told what to they should do... I miss the good old days where the reply would be a punch in the face followed by "don't tell me what to do AND mind your own F'ing business."  Men were real men back then.  Not the wimpy sensitive worms of the millennium...   LOL

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[Ron]

I noticed the last tread is locked, so I am going to give my $.02

When a thread is locked, it's because it's been determined that it's run it's course.    Once that happens, we don't open up new threads to continue the same locked conversation.