By David Goodman
I&M Contributing Writer
What I’m about to address isn’t really fishing, though it is fun and the reward is some great eating. This summer we and the Cape are experiencing an explosion of blue-claw crabs. It could be cyclical, or the product of a fairly mild winter. When the harbor ices up for weeks, it seems there are less blue-claws the following summer.
I have found that late summer until the end of September is the prime time for crabbing. We’ve all seen the families out at the two bridges on the way to Madaket, chicken legs and all. The first point I’ll make is that the crabs in that area came up the Madaket Ditch from Hither Creek.
Taking any shellfish out of the creek is banned and furthermore foolhardy to one’s health. The reason behind the closure in Hither Creek is due to heavy metals polluting the muddy bottom. Decades of boats moored in there have shed their bottom-paint and most of it has remained in place. Beside that, there’s oil and gas residue.
Bottom-paints contain lead, copper and tin, not to mention some other toxic metals and poisonous compounds. Shellfish, such as clams, oysters and crabs, are scavengers. Dead fish are what make up much of a blue-claw’s diet. Oysters and clams are filter-feeders, though the results work the same way. It’s just smaller pieces of detritus.
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