Re: NANFA-- blue crab growth

Moontanman_at_aol.com
Fri, 13 Feb 2004 01:10:53 EST

We have a couple of populations of blue crabs here that are land locked as
adults. The young get drawn into the cooling lake at very high tides and then
can't return and live out their lives in freshwater (black water) and they get
much bigger than blue crabs that live in salt water. I have personally measured
crabs 13 inches across the carapace and not just one or two but bushels of
them in that range. I have never seen a blue crab raised in salt water even
close to that big. I talked to a marine biologist at UNCW a long time ago and he
said they got bigger due to living in freshwater. They can't breed and every
time they shed they get bigger due to the lack of salts in the water. I thought
someone on the list might know if they grow faster or slower or the same under
those conditions.

Moon
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