Tag Archives: crab dredge season

Winter Blue Crab season starts

Fresh blue claw crab is available for retail purchase at the Belford Seafood Cooperative in Middletown. The commercial dredge season for blue claw crab started Thursday and the first harvests have been reaped from crab grounds in Sandy Hook Bay and elsewhere. The Dutch Girl returned about noon to the co-op dock with its haul of about a couple dozen bushels of crab — a mix of females, small and large males. About eight co-op boats in total crabbed on opening day. While a portion of the crab harvest loaded at the co-op will be trucked out to other markets and restaurants, plenty will be kept for retail sale at the Belford seafood market counter. The crab dredge season goes from Dec. 1 through March 31, (except in Delaware Bay where the season is Nov. 15 through April 15). Short video, Read the story here 19:48