Projects

Crab Trapping

The collection of shore crabs for fishing bait is a traditional activity in West Country rivers, which provide the most prized (and valuable) 'peeler crab' bait. 'Peeler Crabs' are collected throughout the year, but mainly in the summer season by private individuals, angling associations and commercial collectors.

Increased activity on neighbouring estuaries (notably the Plym/Tamar/Tavy complex) had led to the introduction of restrictive bye-laws. As a consequence, the collection effort was being focused on other estuaries, east and west of Plymouth. The perception on the Dart was that there were a few hundred crab tiles in the estuary, not all of which were actively tended.

Crab trapping

© Stephen Ley

DEEM commissioned an undergraduate research project to look at the issue and suggest management options. A landmark study was the result which was so thorough in its comprehensiveness that it became the standard methodology for surveys of this type in what is now recognized as a regional/national issue.

The Dart study revealed that there are in fact some 12,000 crab tiles on the estuary. All these crab trapping areas have now been catalogued and assessed to provide a database against which changes and impacts can be monitored. The work on the Dart Estuary, and other estuaries in the South-West, has led to the adoption of a Code of Conduct advising bait collectors on best practice. This will encourage the practice to be conducted in a sustainable way, so that our grand-children will be able to collect crabs as abundantly as our grand-parents did.