The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-09-30
Tho Grab Industry

Il il pcfhaps a"s generally kuowa, bat u =
= tsgt nsscztnrirss. lhas The Grabbing tHdss5Ty
ora tie kastrru Shnrr 81 Nan land Is > sssaFy~
q rvysuae alHos; go large A. ihC oY-isg iu,
Ggsfrs r. Wfeatnies rssauyy several hundred
sneu afe engaged ,a lhis industry iaFing ibs
aarHmrr usonibs auS ihc,r C,ieh h5tags ig
many tbus.asjs Of dollars annually. The
erahb.ux szason comes on aiirg lhr oyster
aszson hss elosed and caBfiaprs Until the
Opening og th- oyster season iH the fail.
The Importance 81 the crabhiBg isdustry la
Maryland = ,hosu 90 an Interesting report
iass tssued hy The Cnii-,i States Barraa OF
Fssheries. This rrpors = the rTsnb IT AZ ~
vr.lirasioa II the crai, industry IN Maryland
by W5atbfop A. Roberts, ngeHt Of the Barcaa
81 Fssheries Maryland furnishes by far n
larger supfIy Of erst= than any olhvr State 10,
the Union Is sroplc ucre the hrst 10 dis.
cover the edible qaalltie. q tbs crab and IT,
value a. q usarkri product
The report shows that q. go men are easaged
Ia the Maryiaud crab fisheries, employing
more than 200 boats. valued ~ Sl50.Uuu.
lnelnding vessels. haa,s. apparatus, shore
property aui cash capital the investment 10
ihe fishery was S12l. pa The catch is - 10
IS millions .uFl rgabs. valued AZ So. GO. and
50 to 80 millions hard crabs, valued al So, sSA.
The largest catches 81 sOti crabs are made
wslh scraps, the value 81 ibe catch by this az.
parstus be,ng acatly doabie that taken 10
SCOOP nets, wbich is the next important AP-
pAsatas-
Mr.. Roberts declares tina, Cyis6eld, a, the
extreme loser eud 81 Somerset county, on
the Little Annrmesssx river, a Tributary Of
Tsngier sound. IS the greatest crab shipping
pojul 10 the United States. THIS town no,
only receives the catch taken from Maryland
xAieFS Ia IT, vicinity. but also the principal
part Of the Izngirr Island catch Deals Is
lsad ranks next 20 Cristeld as a shipping
point. but has the benefit OF steamboat trans
poftaii0u only. while Crisheld has train ser
vice Ia addition. Roaring Point. on the Nan
ticoke River, and widgeon. on the Nieomico
River are also large crab shipping points.
Oxford aud Cambridge are the most impor-
,Ant bard crab centers ia Maryland, though
the industry is prosecuted extensively ia other
localities, including Cris6eld. WHERE, how.
ever, 1t i ayrrshadoWed By the more impor.
taut soft crab industry Al Oxford, with the
exception OF about one third Of the catch
shipped alive during July and August, when
the crabs are "a their best condition, the hard
crab catch Is utilized AZ factories, where the
meat IS extracted aud shipped 10 tin buckets
rhis applies also to several other localities ia
Talbot, which Is the bard crab county Of the
Stale. Al Cambridge. with the exception Of
the crabs used by one hrm which extracts the
meat the catch is shipped alive.
The larger portion OF the hard crab catch Is
made ia the Chup,auk, Tired ASou. Wicomico,
ST. Michaels. Chester and LitIlr AnnamesseN
rivers. aud Chesapeake bay. on the eastern
shore OF the State, and in Mill creek, Iribu-
tnfy of the PainXent river, Ou the western
shore The crabs are taken Ia depths OF
water varying from , feet in the rivers to 40
fee, in the open waters of Chesapeake bay.
The average depth would be about 10 feet.
They usually freqeent muddy bottoms, but at
certain seasons of the year they are found on
sand bottoms, thus differing from soft crabs,
which always seek grassy BOTTOMS.