The babies are here! The babies are here!

We have been amazed at how long we can set-back on the same plot of river real estate and continue to pull crab. The blue crabbers have moved in into the area and moved on while we continue to harvest healthy amounts of stone crab. But a couple of weeks, ago we started seeing fewer big males, more females, and a larger number of small juvenal crab  (those with claws 1 1/2" to 2", legal size is 2 3/4").  However, we do not yet have our larger boat so we can not afford to follow the crab further out into larger water. Aside from that, afternoon thunderstorms have kept us 'on the hill' (on dry land).

This morning the forecast called for more storms, but a break in the weather allowed AnnahBelle and me to venture out and check the traps. The harvest was typical, and minimal as we had suspected. Mostly females too small even if we wanted to harvest.

Then AnnahBelle pulled a pot with absolutely nothing inside but all the bait was gone. Octopus? Blue crab? Dog fish? Nooooo !!! Baby stone crab. The mud in the bottom of the trap was seeded with baby stone crab. Most about a 1/4" across the carapace ( outer shell across the back ). We didn't disturb them, but, later AnnahBelle did spot a larger baby stone crab ( about 3/4" ) that we felt comfortable handling.


What a neat blessing, if we had moved on we would have completely missed the hatchery.

Our pots have been shanghaied and convert into daycare centers!