.38 Special

The girls (Sarah, left and Annah Belle, right) went to New Bern, NC with me yesterday to paint the bottom of the boat.  And, they actually got some of the paint on the boat.  We used a copper based ablative paint which is design to wear off gradually as the boat moves through the water.  Kinda like soap.  This makes it hard for mollusks, sea grasses, and barnacles to stick to the hull.

Josiah and I went out to check traps after church today.  Last time we were out, the crabs had moved on us.  The question was did they go offshore, or inland? Of course, Capt. Dad, in his vast experience as a crabber, decided to move the traps inland, and ... jack pot! We caught 38 stone crabs. Of course, Capt. Dad is also hoping you don't remember that he didn't have the option of chasing them offshore because our boat is too small. Details! Details!



Many of the crabs were much larger than we had been catching prior. Maybe the big ones had been inland the entire time.  We'll find out as our research year wraps around to the season in 2011.

We are hoping the new, bigger boat will be ready the first of May. Then the entire team, including Jas, the brainless border collie, can all be aboard.  Until then we are collecting data the best we can and practicing our craft. 

One special treat we saw today was a stone crab regenerating his claw. We should see many more of these in the latter portion of the season (October / November) as the claws we are harvesting now begin to re-grow.

Josiah harvested two claws from the harbor pots and two claws from the Folly Island pots. These will be cooked, cracked and eaten to see how the meat is filling out the shell. "It's a tough job, but we do it for the love of science."