CTFishTalk.com: Megalops Survey Postponed Until August '14 -Special Report 6 - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

BlueChip

The Search for Megalops – Special Report #6 – June 2014
Megalops Survey Postponed Until August 2014

The Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center
Inter-District Marine Education Programs
Capstone Project ISSP Blue Crab Monitors
Blue Crab Research in Long Island Sound 2014

I have been delaying this report in the hopes that the reports from southern waters were overly negative – apparently they are not. The reports of small 1 and 2 inch are so few here and crabbing so slow in general the Megalops survey has been postponed until we could measure the 2014 Megalops set later this summer. The 2013 Megalops set did not appear in large quantities as it did in 2010 along the shore (Megalops #2 April 3rd 2012) but a few reports from Mystic River east into the Rhode Island Salt Ponds do mention small crabs. The Megalops set observed last fall may have made it in the east. It will be interesting if eastern CT crabbers report greater numbers of small 1 to 2 inch crabs. As waters continue to warm slowly little doubt remains that our cold winter has resulted in a slow start to the Connecticut 2014 Blue Crab year. The water temperatures are warm enough, the crabs are just not there.

The impacts of our last two winters have been the discussed in several media reports – the cold and the more active Polar Vortex storm track. A long term view does support cold as impacting crab populations here and researchers are now reexamining the past negative NAO climate pattern for trends. The last extended negative NAO brought cold winters and summers with stronger and more numerous tropical systems. The 1950s and 1960s were colder and remembered for an active storm pattern. It was also a period of declining blue crab populations in the Northeast.

I do appreciate crabbers who have emailed me reports about adult crabs seen after May 19th. Some good locations to try for crabs continue to be the lower reaches of rivers and dredged marina basins. Once again these areas overwintered adult crabs and have provided some good catches on occasion. As compared to 2012 we are about 30 days late. Several Sound School students have offered to help survey shallow rivers in central CT – Branford, Guilford, Clinton and sending their reports in. I will send them out as the summer progresses.

One of the first reports is from Ceondice Johnson –

Thanks for the interest in our Blue Crab survey - Tim Visel

A Report from the Field –
New Haven Harbor Blue Crab Survey
Ceondice Johnson

Hello my name is Ceondice and I am going to be a senior next year at The Sound School. I am helping Mr. Visel with a survey with small blue crabs this summer around New Haven harbor. We are using metal hoop trap (open top) baited with a large menhaden. The menhaden is in the center in a plastic mesh bait bags called Vexer™. The first survey on June 27th and was from 10am to 2pm at The Sound School, the water temperature was 72. I had the trap in the water for about 4 hours and caught only a small spider crab, no blue crabs. The next survey was in West Haven at a boat ramp last Saturday, June 28th near Bloom Street. I caught 5 mid-sized green crabs and 4 mid-sized spider crabs. The spider crabs in West Haven were larger than the spiders near The Sound School, but no blue crabs. As I survey again I will provide updates.

The hoop trap is 18” in diameter with a 8” drop two ring hoop net metal mesh to retain the small crabs. It is a standard for recreational blue crabbers and available at bait and tackle shops. Vexer™ bait bag material and menhaden are also available at most Bait and Tackle stores. However as the blue crab season moves into August, blue crabs like chicken.

Email your blue crab reports to: tim.visel@new-haven.k12.ct.us. All blue crab observations are valuable as we learn more about our blue crab population.

The Search for Megalops is part of a Project Shellfish/Finfish Student/Citizen Monitoring Effort Supported by a 2005 grant to The Sound School from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant #2005-0191-001.

Program reports are available upon request.

For more information about New Haven Environmental Monitoring Initiative or for reports please contact Susan Weber, Sound School Adult Education and Outreach Program Coordinator at susan.weber@new-haven.k12.ct.us

The Sound School is a Regional High School Agriculture Science and Technology Center enrolling students from 23 participating Connecticut communities.

RLoutdoors · Joined: 12 Aug 2013 Posts: 74 Location: Stamford, CT

When I was fluking over by Penfield reef this past weekend, I was getting two or three blue crabs per drift chomping on the bait and taking the ride to the surface, where they'd let go. It was pretty annoying.

Surprised me too because we were moving with a really fast drift, and usually only have to deal with crabs on crawling slow drifts, and never that often.

Would have tried to throw a net under them to keep, but I can't stand breaking those things up for the 1/4oz of meat on em.