Traps: Stone vs. Blue by Josiah

The stone crab and the blue crab are two different types of crustaceans, therefore they require two different designs of traps.  The stone crab don't swim, they crawl and climb, so they like fast moving, dark, cramped environments.  Blue crab swim, so they like shallow, slower moving water.

Blue crab traps generally have four entrances, called gates, in the sides.  Whereas, stone crab traps have one entrance on the top called a funnel.  The blue crab trap has different compartments.  It has the gates, the kitchen, the bait well, the skirts, and the bin.  The blue crab enters through the gate into the kitchen area.  He is able to pick at the bait through the wire mesh of the bait well.  When he is finished feeding, he naturally swims up through the skirt and enters the bin.

But with a stone crab trap, the stone crab climbs up the side of the trap and drops down through the funnel into the bin where the bait is stored.  Because he can't swim, he can't get out.

Blue crap traps are made of wire mesh. The traps we are using for stone crab are black plastic with a concrete floor. The weight difference is significant. The blue crab trap weighs 22 pounds, while the stone crab trap is half the size, and weighs 33 pounds.

The weight of the stone crab trap helps it stay in place during the hard pulling tides of the new and full moons.  These are called spring tides when change in level is the greatest.

The stone crab trap has an escape hatch in the event a trap becomes lost.  The piece of wood screwed in over the hatch will rot away allowing the stone craps go freely and it not be a killing machine (ghost trap).  Instead, it will become a natural environment for the stone crab.