Environment
State enlists citizen scientists to collect data from crab tags
The work of citizen scientists will help biologists with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources study local blue crab movement.
“We’re kind of killing two birds with one stone,” said Pamela Corwin, the saltwater recreational fishing outreach biologist with DNR. “It allows people to be able to get that experience crabbing and understanding regulations while also getting to do a citizen science project.”
What set DNR’s recent crabbing clinic at Oyster Landing in Murrells Inlet apart from others is that attendees were able to attach a tag before releasing it.
“It’s a very good spot. When the tide is low, this place will be packed,” said Gary Ramsey, a junior volunteer fishing instructor with DNR. “Anywhere along the shoreline here is good.”
The crustacean group with the Marine Resources Research Institute had extra orange tags, and DNR needed some extra hands, Corwin said.
“This adds a new level of excitement,” she said.
Once a blue crab was caught, the attendees had to determine its sex, maturity and molt stage to be tagged. They used chicken drumsticks to bait the crabs. Only mature crabs are tagged.
The molt stage is especially important. Crabs close to molting, or shedding its shell, can’t be tagged because the tag will fall off. Crabs that recently molted aren’t tagged because of its soft shell and potential harm to the crab.
People who catch a tagged crab can report the tag number to DNR, and Corwin will be able to notify the person who tagged it where it was next caught.
“They actually become really involved, not only in crabbing, but part of a lot of DNR studies,” Corwin said.
The crustacean group recently completed crab tagging in the Charleston Harbor area.
They want to see how many crabs are harvested, Corwin said.
“If you tag a certain amount of crabs and then only a percent are reported, that kind of gives you an idea of the pressure on the crabbing industry,” she said.
It also helps to study the movement of blue crab.
“Do they stay in home base? Do they spread out? If they do spread out, how far do they?” she asked. “We’ll be able to tell from that report.”
“If DNR can understand more about them, then we can better manage them for South Carolina residents,” said Sage McGill, a saltwater fishing educator with DNR. “We’re just trying to do as much as we can.”
Corwin said it would be interesting to see a crab reported in freshwater that was tagged in the Murrells Inlet saltwater estuary.
“That’s a big movement. That’s the information that biologists want to know,” she said.
Corwin said she would like to see the tagging clinics happen once or twice a month in each part of the coast.
She has been in contact with Mike Walker, interpretive ranger at Huntington Beach State Park, to eventually get him and his staff equipped with gear and data to host crab tagging clinics.
Getting ordinary people involved in projects like these may give them profound sense of conservation as well, Corwin said.
“They actually put their hands on this crab. They have investment in it,” she said.
“It kind of helps them understand a little bit more why we make decisions with management and regulations and things,” McGill added. “It’s more of a collective effort.”
