Record #:

8345

Author(s):

Lee, E-Ching

Abstract:

Elaine Logothetis, a Wilmington-based biologist, leads a project to tag mature female blue crabs in the ocean to track their movements and determine migratory patterns. The project is supported by the North Carolina Sea Grant Blue Crab Research Program. Tags are bright pink. Each contains a phone number or mailing address to report the capture date, location, and fishing method. In 2005, around 1,250 female crabs were tagged and released in the waters off Caswell and Holden beaches, as well as the Long Beach part of Oak Island. Almost half the tags were returned. Most crabs were recaptured within ten miles of the release point, although some made it as far as Myrtle Beach, SC. Among the findings from the 2005 release were that the crabs moved south and southwest; none ever traveled north of the Cape Fear River; and crabs returned to the nearest estuaries as they moved south.

Source:

Coastwatch (NoCar QH 91 A1 N62x), Vol. Issue , Holiday 2006, p18-21, il, map

Subject(s):

Blue crab--Research