ELC Video
By Sarah Rhodes-Ondi, ELC Naturalist
While fishing, kayaking, or wading in the Indian River Lagoon you’ll notice white crab trap buoys everywhere. The blue crabs are paddling away, seeking their next meal and snagging the prey left by fishermen. The Latin name for blue crabs is Callinectes sapidus ("Calli" - beautiful; nectes - swimmer; and sapidus - savory). Blue crabs are always a favorite catch by seine or dip net here at the ELC. The kids are captivated by their bright blue coloration and their cantankerous personality.
Blue crabs play a vital role in the Lagoon as both benthic omnivores and as food for many animals including fish, raccoons, mergansers and the Great Blue Heron. They use a variety of different habitats in and around estuaries depending on their life stage. Their lifespan is between 3-6 years and they mate all year in Florida.
Blue crab survival is related to habitat quality. Since 1965 the commercial harvest of blue crabs in Florida dropped to historic lows in the early 2000’s on both coasts. This decline was possibly due to loss of habitat and overfishing. The number of blue crabs caught by commercial fishermen in Florida seems to be showing an increase according to a 2007 report to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
From 1987 to 2001 the Indian River County blue crab harvest was reportedly worth $225,273 which only accounts for 0.9% of the total blue crab population in the Indian River Lagoon. The entire hard-shelled crab harvest in the five counties surrounding the Indian River Lagoon for this same period was 39.2 million pounds and valued at $25.1 million.
If you do decide to Go Crabbin’ this season it is important to remember that collecting females with eggs is illegal. To help the slowly increasing population of blue crabs limit your own catch, even though there are also no size limits for recreational fishing. Commercial fishermen are required to release crabs with a carapace (top shell) less than 5 inches wide to decrease the number of crabs taken out of the population prior to reproduction. Female blue crabs can carry between 2-8 million eggs! That is an incredible number of future crab dinners for you and your friends in the wild.
Blue Crabbin'!
By Sarah Rhodes-Ondi, ELC Naturalist
While fishing, kayaking, or wading in the Indian River Lagoon you’ll notice white crab trap buoys everywhere. The blue crabs are paddling away, seeking their next meal and snagging the prey left by fishermen. The Latin name for blue crabs is Callinectes sapidus ("Calli" - beautiful; nectes - swimmer; and sapidus - savory). Blue crabs are always a favorite catch by seine or dip net here at the ELC. The kids are captivated by their bright blue coloration and their cantankerous personality.
Blue crabs play a vital role in the Lagoon as both benthic omnivores and as food for many animals including fish, raccoons, mergansers and the Great Blue Heron. They use a variety of different habitats in and around estuaries depending on their life stage. Their lifespan is between 3-6 years and they mate all year in Florida.
Blue crab survival is related to habitat quality. Since 1965 the commercial harvest of blue crabs in Florida dropped to historic lows in the early 2000’s on both coasts. This decline was possibly due to loss of habitat and overfishing. The number of blue crabs caught by commercial fishermen in Florida seems to be showing an increase according to a 2007 report to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
From 1987 to 2001 the Indian River County blue crab harvest was reportedly worth $225,273 which only accounts for 0.9% of the total blue crab population in the Indian River Lagoon. The entire hard-shelled crab harvest in the five counties surrounding the Indian River Lagoon for this same period was 39.2 million pounds and valued at $25.1 million.
If you do decide to Go Crabbin’ this season it is important to remember that collecting females with eggs is illegal. To help the slowly increasing population of blue crabs limit your own catch, even though there are also no size limits for recreational fishing. Commercial fishermen are required to release crabs with a carapace (top shell) less than 5 inches wide to decrease the number of crabs taken out of the population prior to reproduction. Female blue crabs can carry between 2-8 million eggs! That is an incredible number of future crab dinners for you and your friends in the wild.
