Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
8-1962
Journal
Commercial Fisheries Review
Volume
24
Issue
9
First Page
1
Last Page
10
Abstract
During the 90-year history of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab fishery, many types of fishing devices were tried, but only pots, trotlines, and dredges proved suitable, and they emerged as the primary types of gear for catchfng hard crabs. In the early years of the fishery, trotlines with their various modifications were used princip~lly for catching hard crabs in the summer. The Chesapeake Bay crab pot, patented in 1938 and modified only slightly since, gradually replaced the trotline. Pots now account for two-thirds of the Virginia hard crab catch and more than half of the Maryland catch, The dredge, first used about 1900 and relatively unchanged with time, is still the primary winter gear.
Publication Statement
Contribution (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) no. 121.
Recommended Citation
van Engel, W. A., The blue crab and its fishery in Chesapeake Bay Part 2 - Types of gear for hard crab fishing (1962). Commercial Fisheries Review, 24(9), 1-10.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/1768
