This season, Lynn has managed to get us 26 cups of crab! He went out with one of the other Board members, Don Schleuse, here at Latitude 49, who has a boat. Although one can crab from the Blaine Pier, it’s not very productive.
Lynn’s a good one to take out because of his upper body strength; he can easily pull up the crab pots. He’s also great at the guillotine, and cleaning. They are dropped out past the point beyond Semiahmoo; Don has spots picked out. On one trip, they threw out as many “keepers” as they caught.
Each licensed person is allowed 5 crabs. They have to be male, and at least 6.25 inches, which is larger than the size limit designated by Oregon and California. Care has to be taken, because the pinchers can wreak harm! Last year one man on the pier showed grandson Grason how part of his finger had been pinched off by a crab. Before returning to the pier, the crabs are recounted, guillotined (chopped in half), and cleaned. The shells have to also be returned to the pier to prove that the crab were indeed caught.
Don quips that “any passengers in his boat without a license are of no economic value.”
The majority, if not all, are dungeness, with the occasional Red Rock. Red Rock are considered sweeter and therefore more delicious, but they are few and far between and if caught, are almost always undersized.
Here is a YouTube that depicts the activity that occurs after a pot is dropped:
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