Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-01
FACTS ABOUT KING CRABS
A Fish Commission Bulletin on . Curlou
Delaware Bay Industry.

A Fish Commission Bulletin on . Curious
Delaware Bay Industry.
WHEN HORSESHOE CRABS COME
w ashore to breed they seek the shadows in
pairs, the male In each case riding on the back
of the female.
This curious fact Of natural history Is men
toned in report on the horseshoe crab fishery
Of Delaware bay just issued by the United States
fish commission.
According to this authority it Is only in Del
aware bay that the capture Of horseshoe crabs
can be said to constitute well-defned indus
try, employing special forms of apparatus
although all along the Atlantic seaboard from
Massachusetts to Florida small numbers of the
animals are taken and utilized for fertilizing
and other purposes. In that neighborhood the
fishery in question is of very considerable con-
sequence. inasmuch as its product contributes
most efficiently to the enrichment of land that
has been exhausted of its natural vitality by
cropping The crabs are also largely used as
food for hogs, and. fed to chickens, they are be-
lieved to stimulate egg laying surprisingly.
Although they are not commonly thought
available for human consumption many per-
sons aver that they are exceedingly palatable
when steamed
The horseshoe. or king" crab as it is some
only for the reason that it SO closely resembles,
being in fact nearly related to. the most an
Gent known crustaceans, called "trilobites,"
which are found so plentifuily in fossil shape,
beautifully preserved in geological deposits
fifty millions of years old and more. These
trilobites were the ancestors of all the crabs
and Holsters of today. The king crabs are slug
gish animals. spending the greater part of their
existence imbedded in the muddy or sandy bot
tom. During the cold months they retire to
Anar nd roa oil, tl,rl
son that they approach the shore and are found
in the shadows. This season in Delaware bay
is from May to July /.
Upon reaching the shore the female crab digs
shallow hole in the sand in which she lays her
eggs, the male thereupon depositing his milt
over them. This accomplished the pair shuttle
back into the water and seek the depths again,
where they remain until the next year. The
eggs receive no further attention, the young
entering the water as soon they are Matched
and not returning to dry land until they have
| attained maturity.
1t appears that the abundance of the crabs
near shore at any time during the breeding
season depends largely on the tides. the infiu-
ence of which upon the movements of the ami
mails Is well recognized in the business OF catch
ing them. When the moon il full the greatest
numbers are taken. Wind also has an effect.
westerly breeze bringing them in abundantly
on the New Jersey coast, while q blow from the
east is most favorable to the fishery on the
delaware side.
About 1900. O0C horseshoe crabs we're cap-
tured last year in Delaware bay, most of them
being taken in pound nets and weirs con-
structed for the purpose. Sometimes a single
net has been known to entrap 1900 in o tide
or SO. 600 in a season, but the number caught
annually is rapidly falling off, because the fish
cry is prosecuted in the spawning season, most
of the victims being gatheredin before the eggs
have been deposited or impregnated. The yield
in 1880 was 4 1900 900 crabs, more than twice
that of 1880. 1t seems likely that before very
long the industry will on this account cease to
be profitable.
Then the use Of destructive forms Of appara-
| tus may be discontinued, SO that the crabs will
have chance to multiply unrestrictedly for
few years. Last year only 275, 900 of the crabs
were taken on the Delaware shore, against
900, 900 in 1880, although no traps or nets are
used on that side. The fishing there is confined
to the water edge and the shadows, being car
ried on with boats and wagons: but the deci-
nation Of the species on the Jersey side OF the
bay is accountable for the decrease
Three factories for transforming horseshoe
crabs into fertilizer are in operation on Della
ware bay. The usual method is to dry them in
furnace, grind them ia steam mill and mix
the product with sodium sulphate. Some of the
| material thus prepared is sold directly to
farmers and the rest goes to dealers in fertiliz-
| ers. who subject it to further treatment. 1t is
known commercially az "cancerine" and fetches
| from "a to 50 thousand pounds.