Crab Pots

Crab Pots. . , Hard crabs are caught in bated wire-mesh traps called crab pots. Knowledge of crab behavior led to the highly effective design. Bait is placed in the center cylinder, known as the bait pocket. Crabs enter the opening in the lower half of the pot (called the downstairs) seeking the bait, but are unable to reach it. When crabs are confused or afraid of their tendency is to move upward. In this way they move to the upper chamber (called the parlor), where it is difficult for them to exit., Commercial and recreational crab pots in Maryland are required to have cull rings so that undersized crabs can escape, and a turtle excluder devise (TED), which is the rectangular frame embedded in the pot. Turtles, like crabs, are drawn to the bait in the crab pots, and may drown when they become stuck inside. The TED allows them to escape., Most crabbers working the Chesapeake Bay today use crab pots. Crab pots were invented by Benjamine F. Lewis of Virginia (pictured to the right) and patented in 1928. A waterman works hundreds of crab pots at a time. A crab pot only lasts a year or two, so there is a constant need to repair and replace them, work that the waterman often does in the winter season. It takes several hours for an experienced craftsman to construct a crab pot. Crisfield is home to several commercial crab pot manufacturers., Crab pots are made of steel wire treated with zinc. Pots are also fitted with a sacrificial anode, an ingot made of zinc that chemically attracts corrosive action to itself, to minimize corrosion of the crab pot. The anode is usually referred to simply as a zinc. The waterman uses a hydraulic or electric pot puller to help hoist the crab pots out of the water to empty them. The colorful buoys indicate the crab pot's owner.