Category

Atlantic Blue Crab

The Atlantic blue crab is found along the marshes and bays of coastal Texas, and is a critical food for wintering whooping cranes, along with other creatures. The crab catch has declined since peaking in 1987, evidently due to overfishing, shrimp trawl bycatch, and reduced freshwater inflows and habitat. The state has limited bay shrimping, reduced crab licenses and removed thousands of abandoned traps to help with restoration.

Interviews

Narrator: Ronnie LusterTitle: Catch and KeepDuration: 00:02:02Date: August 14, 2023Ronnie Luster was an insurance broker by profession, but spent decades dove hunting and saltwater fishing. Involved in the formation of the Coastal Conservation Association, he was deeply engaged in the effort to remove derelict crab traps left behind in Texas bays. Here he tells how crab traps were often built in violation of state law, in ways that trapped small crabs, finfish and turtles, many of which died when the traps were abandoned.Narrator: Art MorrisTitle: Trap RemovalDuration: 00:04:38Date: February 25, 2023Art Morris recalls the origins and impact of the abandoned crab trap removal program. Begun in 2001, the program has successfully removed over 40,000 traps from Texas bays, reducing an unsightly trash problem, and also protecting the many species of creatures caught in the traps, including red drum, trout, flounder, turtles, otters, and other vertebrates and invertebrates.