Newspapers / The Shore Line (Pine … / Aug. 1, 2016, edition 1 / Page 19
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Fishing and Hunting (Continued from page 18) harvest (see procedure described below); and 4) Harvest claws and get the crab back in the water ASAP. Harvesting claws. There is a lot of controversy about not only how many claws to harvest, but what is the best way to harvest claws. As you can imagine, with the economic values cited, a lot of research has gone into these crustaceans. I have spent time studying the research reports going back to 1913 (Bert) with other reports in the 1970s and the 1990s. I have applied these historical studies to some of my own personal trials, and have found that it is very important that the stone crab be left with a claw stub that can quickly form an abscission layer that protects the crab’s lungs and body internals and that provides the nucleus around which a new claw can be quickly regenerated, which in itself is pretty remarkable. The stone crab is a very powerful animal. The tip of its pincer claw, the smaller claw, can generate about 19,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Its crusher claw has similar tip end high pressures and crushing pressures that can break human finger bones. So although great eating, harvesting stone crab claws is not for the fainthearted. The only way I have found to reliably harvest stone crab claws, while providing the crabs what they need to survive the ordeal, is to snap the smaU section of shell that is between the body and the main claw “upper arm” section with strong needle nose or cross cutter pliers (see photo on previous page). Some literature suggests breaking a claw off by holding one claw and twisting off the other claw. My tests indicate this usually leaves an open wound and the crab is very prone to dying. So how do you snap pliers closed with one hand, while holding the big crusher claw with your other hand to move it into position for removal, and still keep that 19,000 PSI pincer claw from nailing you? I keep a loosely fastened top board on the cleaning table. I can wedge and jam the pincer claw under this so I can safely concentrate on proper removal of the crusher claw and keep out-of-water time to a minimum. Quite a few of the stone crabs released end up back in the traps the next day. Crabs I have used the above procedure on all seem very healthy and all have a black abscission seal where the claw was removed. The reports say that the stone crab tvill grow a new usable pincer claw in about 60 or 70 days and convert the existing pincer claw into a crusher claw in the process. How aU this is done is not reported. There is reasonable evidence that proper removal of both claws in a timely manner does not produce death rates significantly different than single claw removal. Clawless crabs become scavenger feeders rather than predators. Octopuses are the main predator of stone crabs, and they seem to predate with equal ease on clawed or clawless crabs. Stone crabs live, mate and reproduce like our blue claw crabs do. Males protect and mate the female when she is a soft shell. The female is able to store viable sperm for long periods of time and release eggs and sperm allowing for several batches of fertilized eggs to be produced. Each egg release can total from 500,000 to 1,000,000 eggs. The eggs hatch in a few days into a larval zoea stage, which undergo five molts after which the larvae morph into a megalops stage, which lasts just one molt. The megalops morph into baby crabs, which survive by hiding under rip-rap piles of shells or in grass beds. Stone crabs must shed to grow, and when in the soft shell stages are heavily predated. Mature stone crabs tend to dwell in cavities in grass beds. Stone crabs are only "walkers” and thus their migratory range is pretty limited. Our blue claw crabs, Callinectes sapidus, (which means beautiful swimmer), are swimmers and traverse from North Carolina to Florida. In any event, we are most fortunate to have these delectable crustaceans seasonally dwell in our Bogue Sound, so please treat them with consideration. After all, not all that many animal food sources can regrow what we have harvested from them. PKA. News ByAmiy Cox The Pine Knoll Association’s 2016 annual meeting held on June 24 had a great turnout, with a larger number of HOA homeowners and members than in recent years. One characteristic of a healthy and robust organization is that people like coming to meetings and donating their time in other ways. It is rewarding to see neighbors, gratifying to meet new members/homeowners and it definitely dials up the pride meter to listen to all of the accomplishments of the past year. We welcome and appreciate all forms of participation in our homeowners association. The business meeting started with a brief review of the many accomplishments, and included the budget for next year along with projections and expenses for the year ahead. As a reminder, the PKA fiscal year is June 1 to May 31, so we are already in fiscal year 2017. All current directors were introduced, and Doug Browne and Susan Phillips were recognized as outgoing directors and given a token of appreciation, PKA polo shirts. A special thank you is extended to them for their service. Standing committee reports covered the many activities of Audit (clean report). Nominating (people willing to run for director). Architectural Control (over 40 site visits). Parks (new Ocean Park shower and more), and Waterways (spotting trouble areas and working with the town of Pine Knoll Shores). The PKA Advocate attended both the Pine Knoll Shores Board of Commissioners meetings and PIKSCO monthly meetings. Publicity wrote monthly Shoreline articles and drafted email messages. The Harbormaster reported 100% of the boat slips are rented. Members’ vsTitten comments submitted with their annual assessment included topics ranging from sidewalks to our annual assessment being too high. All written comments will be posted on the PKA website, pineknollassociation.com. All comments that cover town of Pine Knoll Shores responsibihties will be referred to the town for consideration and action. Some members’ comments from the floor covered budget questions, expressions of appreciation, and out-of-place channel markers. Election results were announced during the business portion of the meeting. Elected to the PKA Board were Amry Cox (re-elected for a second term), David Harvell and Shannon Smylie. Each of these individuals was elected to serve a three- year term in accordance with our Bylaws. The Monday after the annual meeting, the new Board got together and elected officers for 2016-2017: Dick Belanger, president; Jim Yankauskas, vice president; John Clarke, secretary; and Don Hathaway, treasurer. Congratulations to aU. Volunteer recognition. A big thank you goes to our tellers for the annual meeting—Trish Wallace (chair), Maureen Danehy and Val Ryan, who checked us all in and conducted the vote count for budget ratification and directors. Everybody made the most of the social opportunity and enjoyed the drinks and refreshnaents. Thank you to Mary Battista (chair), Donna Belanger and Barb Yankauskas. Correction. Last month two volunteers were left off the 2016 Audit Committee, Nancy Boyle and Fran Zaik, who participated in this year’s audit. I apologize and take full responsibility for the error. Q> CO o dunnuA mobile pet spa llc Afull service, luxury grooming salon on wheels- we come to you! 252-342-5656 | sunnysmobilepetspa.com August 2016 I The Shoreline 19
The Shore Line (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.)
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