Mike Mixon, another project participant and commercial crabber for the past 22 years, says the water has been saltier than normal this year. Researchers donвЂ™t know what causes these variations, but some say weather and changes in salinity may be the culprits. Bond, another crabber on the project, says lately he hasnвЂ™t caught as many females as usual near the mouth of the Perquimans River.

This year, Bridges has noticed a larger catch of hard blue crabs, but only half the normal catch of peeler crabs - those about to shed their shells - compared to years past. This project investigates crabs in Currituck and Albemarle sounds, where data on blue crab migration and catch is especially limited.Дo all females travel the same direction? Do they travel in a straight line? How much does salinity affect their movement? How fast do they move? No one knows. Projects often pair crabbers with scientists or mangers who analyze data. General Assembly and administered by Sea Grant. The blue crab research program is funded by the N.C. Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan indicates the need for tagging studies to identify how many crabs are caught during their different life stages, and how females move in relation to where they spawn.Д«ell is one of four commercial crabbers participating in a mature female blue crab tag-and-release study led by Kristina Bridges of Endurance Seafood Company. The Spawning Stock Management section of the current N.C.

Blue Crab and Shellfish Research Program. вЂњSometimes crabbers will know where the crabs are and be sitting right on top of them, but the crabs wonвЂ™t potвЂќ says Marc Turano, North Carolina Sea Grant blue crab specialist and coordinator of the N.C. Most crabbers know to expect a large influx of female blue crabs into fresher water in the late summer to fall, but yearly variations in timing, frequency, and quantity of these migrations make North Carolina blue crab whereabouts anything but predictable. Yet many details about crab habits remain elusive. Mysterious WaysДЄs North CarolinaвЂ™s most profitable fishery, blue crabs receive a lot of attention from fishermen, researchers and resource managers alike. вЂњShe could shed,вЂќ Miles says, throwing her back in the water.ДЄs the boat moves up North River towards fresher water, fewer and fewer females turn up in the pots.

He also indicates an immature female and the narrow inverted вЂњVвЂќ on her belly instead of the Capitol-building shape characteristic of a mature female. вЂњYou can tell the females because they have red nail polish,вЂќ Miles says with a chuckle, pointing out the bright red-tipped claws. No speed limits.вЂќД®very basket they fill with an upside-down lid, then set aside for tagging and release back into Currituck Sound as part of a state-funded research project. вЂњI like the freedom out here,вЂќ says Hastey, BellвЂ™s brother-in-law and crabbing partner since 1990. Heading down the channel into North River, which forms the border between Currituck and Camden counties, the three men start their rhythmic routine: hooking each red-and-green-striped buoy pulling up the attached pot shaking the blue crabs into the culling sink separating them into baskets by size and sex baiting the pot with fresh menhaden and throwing the pot back into the water with the buoy trailing behind. BellвЂ™s boat, вЂњBusted,вЂќ is stocked with bait for a day of pulling crab pots. Fred вЂњFritzвЂќ Bell and deckhands Mark Hastey and Bob Miles set out from Midway Marina in Coinjock at sunrise.

Tally seafood market and crab house