Will crabs die if the water gets too warm?

[bowman316]

What would happen if the water temp got in the 95 degree range?
It is already 90, even thou wjz says the bay temp is 85.
Is there a water temp that crabs just can't handle? I guess they would just go deep where the water is cooler.

like 40 ft deep.

I suppose eventually they would die if it got really out of hand...?

[Dana]

The SURFACE temp may be pushing 90, but the temp will drop with depth. Even in 5' of water you will notice that your feet are in cooler water. Wouldn't take much for a crab to drop to 10 or 15' of water and find more appropriate temps if need be. I think more critical is the DO level at higher temps.

[crabby and son]

Crabs are constantly on the move to adjust to water temperatures. They are in the shallows during the night and early mornings. As the sun rises they move to deeper water and come back shallow as the sun goes down. If you are to be successful in harvesting any game you must learn their movements, patterns and feeding habits..........Gary

[Tom Powers]

The real problem with the hot surface water and crabs is the lost of sub aqueous vegetation (SAV). We had a big eel grass die off back in 2003 after a similar summer. Virginia is the southern end of the range for the species.

With global warming it may soon be time to start thinking about cultivating a "non-native" species from NC, SC inside the Chesapeake Bay. I have talked to some folks at VIMS regarding the matter and they are already thinking about species selection. That being said it is nothing more than talking and thinking at this point in time.

[uno]

The real problem with the hot surface water and crabs is the lost of sub aqueous vegetation (SAV). We had a big eel grass die off back in 2003 after a similar summer. Virginia is the southern end of the range for the species.

With global warming it may soon be time to start thinking about cultivating a "non-native" species from NC, SC inside the Chesapeake Bay. I have talked to some folks at VIMS regarding the matter and they are already thinking about species selection. That being said it is nothing more than talking and thinking at this point in time.

I guess I'm going to have to asume that you're talking about grass "species"? Since blue crabs range substantially further South then VA. If the process is anything like oysters, introducing a non-native species of anything is a no-no, I don't care how beneficial it MIGHT be, too many risks.
For the original question about crabs and water temps - ask the guys in Florida and the other Gulf Coast States how they do crabbing. Same species of crab - substantially higher temps.

[rgminer]

I was crabbing this weekend, surface temp was 87. Water depth was 3-4 feet, we caught 8 dozen Friday and 4 more Saturday (less time).

[bowman316]

So if it gets real hot, my guess would be that the crabs would be deeper.

the warmer the water, fish a little bit deeper is what I would say.