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TRANSPORTING BLUE CRABS
Transporting crabs is where many crabbers lose much of their catch because a few simple measures are not followed by first preparing them for the trip. Before anything else, make sure you pour water over your catch to get them as wet as possible for the trip. All your hard work in catching crabs is of no consequence if you do not get crabs home safely and alive.
If the crabs are going to be in the sun, such as in
the bed of a pickup truck, put a wet towel over the basket. Do the same for
ride in the trunk of a car. However, you may want to place plastic sheeting
in the trunk or on the seat to keep it dry.
Under NO circumstances
should you fill a cooler with water and put crabs in it for the trip home. They will drown because the water will not have enough oxygen for crabs to breathe. You can get a few frozen water bottles with the tops on and place them in the cooler or you can put ice over them, but keep the crabs out of the water as the ice melts. Once home, let them warm up and see which ones are moving. The ones that do not move are dead and should be thrown away.
You can also ice them down at the dock until they are no longer moving. Remove the carapace and clean them. Wrap them in a plastic bag and put them on ice for the trip back home.
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