UK NEWS

TOURIST TOLD: TAKE CARE WHEN CRABBING, IT UPSETS THE CRABS

Crab: Concerns at how they are treated

Tuesday June 10,2008

By Tom Morgan

Crabbing has been a favourite seaside pastime for generations of children.

But it is under threat from the health and safety brigade, who claim the crabs may be distressed if they are kept for too long in small buckets in the sun.

One group is handing out leaflets to visitors planning to catch the tiny creatures at Wells in Norfolk.

The move follows a study by Cambridge University zoology students who found that over-crowding in buckets could stress smaller crabs and lead to fights between the males.

Researcher Will Pearse said: “We are not saying people shouldn’t go crabbing but there are concerns at how they are treated.”

The leaflets – which may be given out to tourists at other resorts – warn crabbers not to keep more than 10 crabs in a bucket. Mr Pearse said: “When there are too many crabs, some asphyxiate through lack of oxygen and males damage each other in fights.

We are not saying people shouldn’t go crabbing but there are concerns at how they are treated

Researcher Will Pearse

“In the sea males grapple with each other and the weaker one retreats. But they cannot run away in a bucket and keep fighting, leading to limbs being torn off or shed as a form of defence.”

“We did a survey and found that far more had missing limbs in the area where people were crabbing.” The leaflets advise that the water in the buckets – always sea water – must be changed every hour to keep up oxygen levels. And the buckets should be kept in the shade.

But the move has surprised the organisers of the British Open Crabbing Championships along the coast at

Walberswick in Suffolk.

Committee member David Webb said: “It does seem rather extraordinary. When we hold the championship – which attracted a record 760 entries last year – we insist on a maximum of two crabs in a bucket.

“A vet attends and crabs are put back in the sea after they have been weighed. The longest they are out is 90 minutes.”

Mr Webb added: “If this continues, I suppose we could be in trouble for not measuring the crabs in metric grammes.”

And Norfolk crab fisherman John Davies said: “Caring for crabs is a good message to send out but this could be a little over the top.”