Life Of The Blue Crab
Blue crabs are found in abundance along the eastern seaboard but prefer waters that range from ocean saltiness to fresh--thus the Chesapeake Bay provides ideal conditions. Life begins in the Lower Bay, where female or "sponge" crabs deposit their eggs between the first of June and the end of August. The baby crabs look very unlike the mature crab and more like a swimming question mark. This "zoea" sheds its shell several times, and when it begins to resemble the adult, it is called a "megalops".
Typically, crabs hatch in late June, pass through the larvae stage by August, and start to move up the Bay during early fall or until cold weather halts their migration. In the spring, their journey is resumed and full maturity is reached when they are twelve to fourteen months old.
In order to increase its size, a crab must molt (shed its outer skeleton). As it approaches a molt, it is called a "peeler." As it actually sheds its old shell it becomes a "soft" crab. It is then velvety in texture and roughly a third again as large as the discarded shell.
During their struggle for existence, crabs frequently lose legs and claws. Within a week of such loss, a new appendage begins to form, but it takes at least two moltings to fully restore the limb.
For some reason, the crab population is very variable and a plentiful season may be followed by a lean one.
Gift Certificates
