SERC $$Tagged Crabs Expands Range

[Himself]

Seems the SERC Crab Tagging Program has expanded their release range;

Hello, my name is Robert Aguilar and I handle the SERC blue crab tagging program. I was forwarded your email from Karen McDonald concerning questions regarding tagged crab releases... We have also begun to increase the number of release locations throughout Maryland. This year, we have also released in Crab Alley, Fishing Bay, and the Patuxent River with additional sites planned in the near future. We are continuing to tag both male and female legal-sized crabs. Although the harvest of mature females has been restricted, we can still collect valuable information regarding their movements based on recapture locations.

Just thought you'd want to know. More information here.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Not every recaptured tag is reported, which can bias certain analyses of mark-recapture data. Therefore to estimate the reporting rate of tagged blue crabs a subset of crab tags are marked with a high reward ($100 high reward, $5 standard reward). Assuming a 100% reporting rate of high reward tags the overall reporting rate can be estimated.

[su2root]

What happens when the crab sluffs out? wouldn't the tag fall off?

[rj]

The majority of the tags go on mature females. which is after their final molt.

[Capt.Nick]

How do you know when the last time is? I've never read where it is the last time that a female molts is when it develops a mature apron?I think it's an old waterman's tale. BLUECRAB.INFO - Blue Crab Growth&Molting

[C-Hawk18]

How do you know when the last time is? I've never read where it is the last time that a female molts is when it develops a mature apron?I think it's an old waterman's tale. BLUECRAB.INFO - Blue Crab Growth&Molting

Here's a bit of info....from people other then "waterman"...who believe (or believed) in a terminal molt of female crabs

Sea Grant of NC ~ Magazines

Callin_sapidu

Crabbing

Project Background

Life History and Management of Blue Crabs

Depletion of the blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay can be explained by the crabbing policies of Maryland and Virginia.

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Even your link "suggests" this...

Jeffery Shields of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science says that it was once believed that blue crabs experienced anecdysis or a terminal molt (in other words, the crab would never molt again and would remain the same size.) This molt was considered the second molt after puberty for males and the only molt after puberty for females. While this is generally the case, most portunid crabs do continue to molt.