Council killjoys warn children of dangers of crabbing – the CRABS get distressed!

For generations youngsters have lined up on seawalls and quaysides to dangle a hook and line in the water in a bid to tempt a crab to take the bait.

But now the harmless waterside pursuit has fallen foul of the health and safety brigade amid claims that the crabs may be distressed if they are kept for too long in small buckets in the sunshine.

Warning: Leaflets issued along the North Norfolk coast said not to keep more than 10 crabs in a bucket.

One council is now handing out thousands of advice leaflets to children planning to catch a crab at Wells on the North Norfolk coast.

The move follows a study by zoology students at Cambridge University who discovered that over-crowding in buckets could cause stress for smaller crabs and lead to fights among them.

Graduate Will Pearse said: ‘We are not saying people shouldn’t go crabbing which is fun – but there are concerns at the way in which they are treated.

‘We want people to learn about crabs and understand their captive needs. If you are going to spend the day with something that is naturally beautiful then show it some respect.’

The leaflets – 10,000 have been printed and may be handed out at other resorts and harbours along the North Norfolk coast – warns crabbers not to keep more than ten crabs in a bucket.

Mr Pearse added: ‘One of the main problems is that people put too many crabs in a bucket which results in some at the bottom asphyxiating through lack of oxygen in the water and males damaging each other in fights.

‘In the sea, males grapple with each other and the weaker one retreats. But they cannot run away in a bucket and keep fighting leading to limbs being torn off or shed as a defence mechanism.’

According to the leaflets, water should always be sea water, not fresh water and should be changed every hour to keep oxygen levels up.

In addition, buckets should be kept in the shade – crabs naturally head for the shadows in estuaries and shore pools.

The crabby health and safety move has surprised the organisers of the British Open Crabbing Championships 50 miles along the coast at Walberswick, Southwold Suffolk.

Committee member David Webb said: ‘It does seem rather extraordinary that they are having to do this. They must treat crabs more harshly in Norfolk.

‘Here when we hold the championship – which attracted a record 760 entries last year – we insist on a maximum of two crabs in a bucket. We have a vet in attendance who measures the temperature of the water in buckets to ensure it is not too warm.

‘All the crabs are put back in the water after they have been weighed – the longest they would have been out is around 90 minutes.’

Last year’s winner was eight-year-old Oscar Kane from Kent. He won the £50 first prize with a crab that weighed just five and three-quarter ounces.

Mr Webb added: ‘If this continues, I suppose we could be in trouble for not measuring the crabs in metric grammes.’

The £200 cost of the leaflet has been met by the Norfolk Coast Partnership and the Wells Fields Study Centre and the scheme is likely to be widened to include neighbouring resorts.

Local crab fisherman John Davies said: ‘Caring for crabs is a good message to send out – but this could be a little over the top.

‘The crabs the youngsters catch are tiny and much more resiliant than the edible ones we catch, besides which they must benefit from the extra food that they get from the crabbers.’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk