Tag Archives: Jonah crab
Jonah crab
As the story goes, the prophet boarded a ship to get as far away as possible from the city of Nineveh, where God commanded him to go and preach. In anger, God sent a storm to threaten the ship. His shipmates decided that Jonah was to blame for the storm and threw him overboard. We know where he ended up. It was a whale of a tale. For mariners, Jonah’s name became synonymous with bad luck. In more modern times, bad luck for lobster fisherfolk meant that they found a certain crab in their lobster pots, one that ate their bait before a lobster could get it, leaving the trap empty and, them, empty handed. That crab was called a Jonah crab because at one time it was a nuisance for participants in this fishery, an unfortunate and unprofitable catch. Oh, how times have changed. Jonah crabs have gone from pest to plate and are an up-and-coming trash to treasure species. At one time, these crabs were considered bycatch and often thrown back or discarded. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:24
New Rutgers Study Confirms Hypoxic Event Last Summer off the New Jersey Coast by Jim Lovgren
In a scientific report released in December 2023 by Associate Professor Grace Saba, and Professor Josh Kohut using underwater robots, called “Gliders” to track ocean water quality, specifically, oxygen concentrations and PH levels, the researchers discovered that large areas of the New York Bight suffered a hypoxic event last summer. The study suggests that any of a number of factors could have caused these conditions, including a change in normal ocean stratification, increased input of nutrients which increase phytoplankton production, increased sea temperatures, and a few more. Conveniently missing from the possible causes of this hypoxic event is the impact of the offshore wind research vessels that have been extensively using high powered sonar and seismic devises throughout the New York bight area for over a year now. Also ignored was any outreach to the scallop fishermen along the coast who have been reporting unusual amounts of “clappers”, which are dead scallops, in their tows. In an article posted in the spring of 2023 in Fisherynation.com, “Is the Great Fishkill of 1976 About to be Repeated?“, I suggested that the New York bight could see an environmental catastrophe that could rival or surpass the great fish kill of 1976 and would be caused by the decomposing bodies of the dead sea creatures killed by the seismic and Sonar assault on the ocean bottom by offshore wind research vessels. Links, more, >>click to read<< 19:46
On-Demand Lobster and Jonah Crab Gear Testing off Massachusetts and Rhode Island Gets Underway
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center Gear Research Team is collaborating with up to 30 commercial lobster vessels to test on-demand (also called ropeless) fishing gear in state and federal waters that are otherwise closed to lobster and Jonah crab fishing with static vertical lines. Participating vessels will fish trap trawls without any surface gear marks in the “potential on-demand testing areas” shown here. The fixed gear involved in this research will not be visible at the surface since it has no surface buoys. links, more, >>click to read<< 12:01
Kittery woman, owner of Southern Maine Crabs, creates seafood niche
Twenty-three-year-old Jillian Robillard is the owner and founder of Southern Maine Crabs, a processing facility based out of Kittery that specializes in Jonah crabs and lobsters. Growing up on the docks, Robillard noticed lobster fishermen were catching crabs in their lobster traps and throwing them back or crushing them up for bait. When Robillard noticed the price of lobsters increased and the crab prices remained the same, she saw an opportunity in the market. photos, >click to read< 13:27
How eating sea bass and crab can help Maine lobstermen
A group of Rhode Island fishermen who witnessed southern New England’s near-shore lobster fishery evaporate and its offshore fishery diminish dramatically in their time on the water came to last month’s Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland to give lobstermen here a bit of seasoned advice: Embrace ecosystem change while you’re in a good position to do so.,,, “As the poster child for a fisherman who has had to adapt to sea change, I can tell you that black sea bass represents a huge opportunity,” said Norbert Stamps, a Barrington, Rhode Island-based offshore lobster fisherman. Even if fishing for black sea bass is only done on a small scale, Stamps said, it can make an impact. >click to read<09:58
As Southern New England Lobster Decline, Fishermen Switch to Jonah Crab
The lobster industry in southern New England has been on the decline for decades. As waters warm, some lobster fishermen are adapting by switching their catch to Jonah crab, a crustacean once considered a trash species. Mike Palombo is captain of a 72-foot lobster boat, but his main catch is crabs. He leaves from the Sandwich Marina for three-day fishing trips, going out over 100 miles to haul traps in the Canyons. One day this fall, he and his crew returned with around 23,000 Jonah crab and 2,000 lobsters in big saltwater holding tanks. “It was a good trip, very productive,” he said. >click to read<10:41
How New England’s Jonah Crab Turned From Garbage To Delicacy
Ten years ago, the Jonah crab was basically garbage: a bycatch that would turn up in lobster traps and, usually, be tossed back into the cold New England water. That’s all beginning to change.
The Jonah crab is a medium-sized crab, ranging from brownish to reddish to greyish, boasting big claws tipped with black. During the winter, when most of the year’s crabs are caught along the Atlantic coast from Maine down to Rhode Island, it has an exceedingly hard shell, requiring a hammer or a saw to open. It’s mostly served as a plate of the large claws, with someone else taking care of scoring and cracking them open for the customer. >click to read<15:47
New Jonah crab rules for East Coast fishermen
Fishing regulators say there will be a new limit on how many Jonah crabs fishermen will be allowed to harvest. East Coast fishermen’s catch of Jonah crabs has been growing in recent years as the crustacean grows in popularity. They are used in processed products and as an alternative to the more expensive Dungeness and stone crabs. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has set a bycatch limit of 1,000 pounds of crabs per trip for trawl and net fishermen. Fishermen who unintentionally catch Jonah crabs using certain kinds of traps will face the same standard. Bycatch is incidental catch by fishermen who are seeking something else. The commission says the new standards will prevent increases in proliferation of traps. AP
Catching Jonah: Could an overlooked crab break Maine’s lobster dependence?
Tina Gray of Deer Isle recalls when picking and selling crabmeat was a prevalent cottage industry along the Maine coast. She and other lobstermen’s wives routinely picked and packaged crab meat at their kitchen sinks, she said, but many got out of the trade years ago when new federal rules for seafood processing went into place. Gray, who’s going on 33 years picking crab meat for a living, remains one of just a few in her area who keep up with the work. She bills herself as “ The Crab Lady.” Read the rest here 08:22
Jonah Crab Hearing – Portland, Me. tonight, 18:00 – Portsmouth, NH, 19:30, Tuesday
Interstate fishery regulators are holding hearings in Portland at Casco Bay Lines Conference Room, 56 Commercial Street, Portland, tonight, 18:00, and at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth 19:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Regulators with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission say the interstate management plan would regulate issues such as minimum size. 12:07
Rhode Island Seafood Scene: Make room calamari, crabs are moving in
Another ocean-dwelling species, crab, has scuttled into a prominent position in the Rhode Island seafood scene, providing a welcome boost for beleaguered southern New England lobstermen. Brownish, with large, often black-tipped claws, Jonah crab are most abundant between Georges Bank off of Cape Cod to the North Carolina Outer Banks. They are caught mostly by lobstermen in the same traps used for lobster. Read the rest here 08:23
