Long Island Dungeness Crabs?

[LongIsland23]

I've been fishing and crabbing Long Island waters my whole life. Every summer I catch bluefish, stripers, blue claws, etc. Today I decided to throw a bunch of old chicken in a hotel trap and dropped it into the lagoon I live on. I wasnt really expecting to catch anything, but it was close to 70 here today so I felt like doing a little fishing for flounder and try crabbing lol. I pulled the trap up a few hours later and realized there was a dungeness crab in the trap. It's the first time I've ever seen a live dungeness crab. I took a few pictures of it and tossed the trap back in. I pulled it up 2 hours later and there was a second one that was much larger holding on to the side of the trap, but it fell off before I could get to it. I was shocked I was catching them (considering they're a NW Pacific crab) so I did some searching online. I found an article from 2006 about MIT scientists confirming a fisherman caught one a few miles off the Massachusetts coast and the worry about a possible invasion, but nothing since then. No mention of them being caught anywhere in the atlantic...nevermind the Great South Bay of Long Island. I'm 100% postive they're Dungeness Crabs. Has anyone else ever seen or captured one in the Northeast

[LongIsland23]

Im trying to get pictures up, but it seems they're to larger or something.  I'll keep trying.

[LongIsland23]

Here's a picture.

[Dreampixels]

Check this out


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sindrinn/6689633581/

[LongIsland23]

Check this out


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sindrinn/6689633581/

Now that makes a lot more sense, lol.  Thanks for that.  I researched for awhile, but couldn't come up with anything.  I might as well leave my hotel trap in for a few days and see how many I can get. 

[danielmancari]

Not 100% positive anymore?

[Ron]

Not 100% positive anymore?

 

[LongIsland23]

Lol, yea I guess not.  I've never tried crabbing in the winter here before.  I checked this morning and there are 5 decent size ones and 2 small ones in there. If I get a couple more I'm thinking about making them for dinner tonight.

[mdjohn]

might want to check first
toxins do not die in hot water - cannot be sterilized in steam

The warning states it is currently not safe to eat lobster, blue claw crab, conch, and other shellfish, because they could be infected with a fatal neurotoxin, due to problematic seasonal algae blooms in the water.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/25/nydec-warns-against-eating-shellfish-from-li-waters/

http://www.savingseafood.org/safety/new-york-don-t-eat-shellfish-from-closed-long-island-fish-2.html

just an FYI
 

[LongIsland23]

Thanks.  I looked into it a bit and all the warnings seem to be for north shore waters (besides south hampton which is about 50 miles east of me).  I'll see what else I can find about my local waters.  Has any here tried these crabs before?

[ziggypup]

Has anyone tried these crabs before?

I get a lot of those in my crab traps as well. Never tried eating one, but the smaller ones are great for bait. Where on Long Island are you crabbing? Boat/shore ?

[LongIsland23]

I live on a lagoon in massapequa.  I just dropped it out toward the center with my kayak.  I usually go crabbing all over the place though boat/shore, bayshore, captree, etc. I've never caught one in the summer/fall before.  I have at least a dozen good sized ones so I might try cooking a few.  What do you use the small ones as bait for?

[ziggypup]

I live on a lagoon in massapequa.  I just dropped it out toward the center with my kayak.  I usually go crabbing all over the place though boat/shore, bayshore, captree, etc. I've never caught one in the summer/fall before.  I have at least a dozen good sized ones so I might try cooking a few.  What do you use the small ones as bait for?

I use the small crabs for Blackfish and Striped Bass. I catch the Rock Crabs in my traps all the time. In the early part of the summer I find a lot Spider and Rock Crabs in my traps with the Blue Claws. For some reason, as the summer moves along I get less and less Spider Crabs mixed in. Last summer b4 the Hurricane I had 2 nice keeper Fluke in my overnight crab traps.

[mako20cc]

I used to lobster with my Dad and Brother in the winter months in Long Island sound off Darien Ct.  And we would catch these all the time. As soon as the water warmed up they would be gone. Never anything over 5 inches though. However, sometimes there would be more than 50 in a pot.Claws were never really big either, just the bodies. When I first saw Dungess crabs they reminded me of these also. And I am talking over thirty years ago. This does not surprise me at all. Good Luck.  MAKO.

[crabbywaters]

Once again the BCA teaches me something new. That rock crab does look like a dungeness crab.

[Ron]

 

[Robm1093]

Here's a picture.

This is, Atlantic rock crab.