CTFishTalk.com: Blue Crab Report #11 - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

BlueChip · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:03 pm Post subject: Blue Crab Report #11

The Blue Crab Year -
The Search for Megalops – July 27, 2011- Report # 11
You do not need to be a scientist to report!

Reports 1 to 10 are available – email Tim Visel at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us

• Eastern Crabbers – Hope that moon tides will bring more crabs – no reports;
• Summer flounder/fluke abound at several central Connecticut crabbing sites;
• Central Connecticut catches are low, but crabs are present in all areas; western reports are good to excellent;
• Winter die off appears larger than anticipated- cold fresh water took its toll in many CT Rivers;
• Why study blue crabs and not lobsters? Questions about climate.

Thank you for all the observations and even photographs. I appreciate them very much. I try to answer them within a day or two, but some days I cannot respond but will as quickly as I can. It may take a few days but please be patient, and it’s nothing about the reports. The reports have been great and extremely helpful.

What a week to be writing about climate change and its impact upon fisheries. A couple of crabbers here reported it’s too hot to go crabbing. It has been very hot at the beaches, concern is beginning to increase from some crabbers that the very hot weather and ample nitrogen/plant nutrients will create conditions for massive plankton blooms. I’m not certain how the very hot weather will impact crabbing but it’s taking a toll on the crabbers! Stay cool/careful everyone.

It seemed for a few days last week every dock stop included someone landing or unhooking summer flounder/fluke; most were around 13”, still too small for keepers. Two Clinton Harbor fishermen caught over 20 fluke all between 13 and 15 inches. But one Niantic Bay fisherman commented that this was an indicator for him, no blue crabs. Last year he was catching them with his fluke rig, often not hooked – the crabs simply refused to let go of the bait. Last year he caught several “messes” of crabs while fluke fishing. He had today caught several short fluke, but no crabs. This is almost identical to a Clinton Harbor report several weeks ago that crabbers could not keep fluke bait on hooks last summer for the blue crabs.
The eastern sections remain slow, I visited the usual Groton Poquonock River blue crab sites and no crabbers. So I was unable to ask about crabbing because at three locations no crabbers. I guess that is the report. As for the central sections, crabs are present, but you really have to work for them. One of the most consistent reporters in the Guilford/Madison area had caught 10 legal crabs for 10 hours of hard crabbing. Blue crabs are in Oyster River and North Cove and at the DEP Baldwin Bridge fishing dock (Old Saybrook). One conversation at the DEP Baldwin Bridge Pier told me that the blue crabs made it to the dock on July 3rd, but several inches of rain pushed them out (back) again to return about a week later. Several crabbers have mentioned the moon tides as moving the small crabs and it’s something that comes up often. If the moon tides move crabs (and at this point I think there is some merit in this theory), this July serves perhaps as the last hope for eastern crabbers. I guess it’s possible but we would need to see that 1.5” to 2” inch small blue crab population soar and soon.

According to area marinas, large blue crabs did survive the winter and huge blue crabs are reported in the Black Hall River, Old Lyme. It’s just that there is only a few of them. Some of the more experienced crabbers have stated that the colder spring temperatures and huge fresh water outflows brought the eastern crabbers back to reality. 2010 was a great year; we had 1.5”crabs and 2” crabs early April-May; a large influx of 3” to 4” crabs in June and some surviving adult males in dredged areas. It wasn’t one factor, it was three: water temperature, low rainfall (at critical periods) and a quiet, relatively storm free winter. Large numbers of small crabs were all along the Connecticut shore last April-May; this year there were few. We had an “old fashioned winter” which killed many blue crabs. Winter kill was reported many times, but not the reason first though. The eastern crabs, many of them it was felt, starved; they died because stored food reserves ran out, favoring those larger hard shells that had time to store up food. The water did not warm fast enough and they died on the bottom. That is what several marina workers reported. When the water was clear, they saw dead (large) blue crabs on the bottom. I’m looking into this now—the length of hibernation period and about how many days’ crabs can store food for the winter. As for the fresh water theory, I think that has much merit, the Connecticut River for example the flows this spring were high and there is no way crabs can live for months in fresh water. North Cove might be an interesting study site, it has a dredged federal anchorage area and functions more like a deep salt pond. It might hold a pocket of cold saline water, in fact, North Cove is one of the few eastern sites to contain a sizeable number of 1.5” and 3” crabs. They could have made it here while other areas could not. I think it will be a few years before we can conclude exactly what happened – all we know now is that large population of eastern and central crabs are missing.

Much more survival in the west, but even with last winter’s cold the western sections warmed soon enough to allow these crabs to end hibernation and begin feeding in March. Crabs up our way were killed although it’s called “winter kill”; some crabbers report that the crabs just starved to death, ran out of stored food and reserves and marina workers in Westbrook, CT putting out the docks (the water is remarkably clear then) noticed all the crabs dead in April. Dead crabs were also observed in Norwalk Harbor and Westport areas. It is thought the waters did not warm fast enough and they starved. Fresh water is also a concern and it appears in the east that dredged navigation areas resemble to some extent salt ponds, crabs dug in and made it in many of these locations. The Connecticut River not so and fresh water toxicity is suspected to be the chief cause of mortality. Very few females were caught in the east this spring, almost 100% were males. Some crabbers report females leave the coastal areas for deeper water. I do have reports from a Guilford fisherman, John Walston who worked on an eastern rig trawler out of Guilford CT in the 1960s. He told me of huge blue crab “bedding areas” between Kimberly Reef and Faulkners Island. Mr. Walston was trawling for winter flounder at the time and would pick up two to three bushels of female blue crabs from December until the 3rd week of February, every fishing day, when, according to Mr. Walston, the starfish came in and ate them all. He called the area then the “blue crab graveyard of Connecticut”.

A couple of fishermen have asked about the blue crab/lobster relationship and some lobstermen have asked for information about them. It’s not been a part of the blue crab study, but I did commercial lobster with my brother Raymond from 1966 to 1981. So, with the records and reports with modest experiences, I have put together a short response for the people who have asked about lobsters, both commercial and the 10 potters which includes my son Willard, the latest DEP marine fisheries report for lobsters do not appear to be good in fact, they are very bleak, I’m sorry. DEP Marine Fisheries puts out a newsletter and frequent lobster resource assessments. It is an excellent source for up to date information. My research is how habitat conditions have changed using historical records, climate reports and current conversations with fishers. It is a long term study looking at energy, climate, temperature and resource abundance. It’s connected to the blue crab study but not its focus.

Why blue Crabs? Why Study them now?

It’s becoming clear that the low point for crabbing in Connecticut may have occurred between 1968 and 1973. After 1974 crabbing seems to have increased and our winters became milder. More good year than poor but in 1998, recruitment started to improve. In 2002, it really started to increase and from 2005 on it’s been much better than the late 1960s. The year 2010 everyone has agreed has been the best blue crab year in recent memory; some say much longer than that, back a century.

For long time fishing trends we need to know more about habitat conditions and habitat quality for Long Island Sound. Key to this apparent increase in crabbing has been to some extent dependent upon our crabs’ ability to survive our winters and young crabs- and even the Megalops, to grow each spring. The truth of the matter is, it’s getting hotter, and a warm or climate condition favors the blue crab, and does not favor the lobster. While our blue crab population appears to be increasing, our lobster population is now at very low levels. Recruitment in the 1950s and 1960s for lobsters was highest in the kelp/cobblestone near shore habitats along the beach. That habitat matrix likes storms to clean the cobbles along the shore for the kelp. Winter flounder fishermen in the 1960s and 1970s will recall catching the kelp hold fast the stem of kelp that grips the cobble and the rock to which it was attached, that is why. Kelp prefers a clean habitat and somewhat cooler temperatures and so do lobsters and winter flounder. With today’s higher temperatures and lack of a good cleaning (storms) that habitat has failed, and lobsters here have declined. At the same time warmer temperatures and few storms is what blue crab habitats need and as our lobster population declined, blue crabs increased. This has happened before in Connecticut and also Rhode Island, a century ago during the so called “The Great Heat” 1890-1920.

If climate conditions now resemble that of Chesapeake Bay, soft shell clams and oysters should also show increases and they both do. In 1972, the Connecticut oyster industry was declared a federal fishery disaster and grant in aid funds made available. It had declined 98% from 1910 levels. It was at the end of the cold period that oyster sets were then infrequent and weak. A century ago, during the 1890s, it was hot here in Connecticut and the 1898 oyster set was the set of the century, only matched five or six years ago. The past few Connecticut oyster sets have been very strong. The blue crab may therefore be the best indicator organism we have to monitor heat driven shallow water habitat changes in our state. It is perhaps the beginning of a species shift, more fluke, black sea bass, oysters and soft shell clams, while colder preferring and energy dependent species are collapsing such as the lobster, bay scallop, tautog and winter flounder.

Why Blue Crab Megalops?

The blue crab Megalops is perhaps the new Long Island Sound canary in the coal mine. As we try to understand what climate/energy driven habitat shifts means for our fisheries, our near coastal habitats and the fish themselves. I don’t’ think at this point I can say blue crabs have displaced lobsters but I can say that habitat conditions today may favor the blue crabs and not lobsters. If we continue to warm (and most researchers agree that this is the case) then the age of the blue crab is upon us, in fact the reproductive capacity may show it is already here. That is why the Megalops is so important to research, so that we may be able to answer so many habitat questions. Looking at blue crab habitat and where it is can help with the issues of global warming and sea level rise – so important to Connecticut fishermen.

Thank you for all of your reports; each contribution is processed and appreciated and becomes part of our history. Observations this year will help guide the survey methods for next year.

Every observation is important you do not need to be a scientist to participate!

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

All observations are valuable; please email them to me at tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us.

Program reports are available upon request.
For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

Passinthru Outdoors · Joined: 22 Feb 2011 Posts: 142

great report as always. Bad news for my week in Clinton though. No crabs and short fluke.....Oh well that will sure beat WORK!!! Very Happy

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“Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.” Mark Twain

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bowhunter095 · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 392 Location: Berlin, CT

went crabbing in clinton today. Ended up with 5 keepers and lost 4 that were probably keepers. A lot of shorts though.

Passinthru Outdoors · Joined: 22 Feb 2011 Posts: 142

At least you didn't get skunked. What time of day?
_________________
“Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.” Mark Twain

Visit my Blog at: www.passinthruoutdoors.blogspot.com

bowhunter095 · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 392 Location: Berlin, CT

11am-2pm