DNR Fisheries Biologist Bennie Williams with a tagged horseshoe crab about to be released
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Crab Biology
Horseshoe Crab
Tagging
Each year, DNR personnel work with commercial horseshoe crabbers to tag several hundred crabs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathers information from returned tags. This data allows them to learn important things about horseshoe crab migration, growth and population size. In October of 1999, DNR Fishery Biologists Bill Mowitt, Al Wesche and Bennie Williams worked with the crew of a horseshoe crab trawler out of Ocean City to tag over 500 crabs. These are some pictures from our trip.
This is another horseshoe crab trawler, similar to the one we were on, which was working the same patch of bottom.
Looking aft, we see the net being hauled back and wound up on the net reel. Hopefully we have caught some crabs!
Now the bag of the net has been brought on deck--looks like we got some!
Here's the result of about half-an-hours' tow --a mixed bag of horseshoes and skates.
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