Cute Little Rascals!

  The Bayou seems to be the source of never-ending discoveries.  Whether it be from the life found within or from that washed ashore by a storm, new things can be found each day.  This morning, those new things were truly "new".  Mark and I were checking the crab traps and soft-shell boxes when I found something far more interesting.  Baby crabs!  Yep, teeny, tiny crabs were clinging to the boxes.  They had obviously just molted into their true crabby form and sought safety from the wooden boxes.  It was quite the amazing and humbling sight to see something so tiny trying to survive in this wild (and sometimes cruel) world.

  Blue crab eggs hatch into something that looks far different than the shape we all know.  This larvae sort of floats around with the waves for a month or so.  It munches pretty much on a diet of plankton until its next molt which makes it look a bit more like its parents but is rather elongated.  This tiny tot rides the tides into places like the Bayou where it food is plentiful.  Once there, it eats and eats until it molts again and this time, it is a miniature version of its parents.  At this stage, it is only about twice the size of a pin head!  The wee crab must find lots more food in order to continue to grow and molt but it also has to keep a wary eye out for predators!  Just about every other critter in the Bayou is bigger than it at this point!

  While it was fascinating to observe the tiny crabs, it was also very reassuring.  If the Bayou and surrounding Bay area is home to millions of baby crabs, the waters must be healthy.  The Bayou is flourishing with the cutest, little rascals ever!

 

Its a hard life...why make it worse?

  We are constantly reminded of the dire state of the waters of the world.  Industry has polluted seemingly beyond repair and are making no strides in amending their ways.  Pop always use to say "Take care of the waters for without the seas, there will be no way we can survive." He took great care not to contaminate the Bay or Bayou.  I remember a time when he worked diligently to deter a building project north of us because contaminants were being dumped into the creek that fed the Bayou.  Weed killers, insecticides and fertilizers were being poured onto the ground and then washed into the creeks with every rain.  His efforts went unheeded and soon things were a huge mess!  It took a good while for the Bay to filter out such filth.  Even folks using the waters for recreation are constantly tossing their garbage overboard.  It angers me.

  I was pondering this the other day while on the pier.  Now we are dealing with flesh-eating bacteria among other undesirable things in our waters.  How can any creature live in such water?  As I was sitting there, I was presented with a ray of hope.  On one of the crab trap ropes, a baby blue crab clung for dear life.  She was hoping that no fish saw her before she was strong enough to defend herself.  Poor baby. What a life she faced! I gently pulled up the crab trap.  I knew of a much safer place for my little friend!  The box Mark made for soft-shell crabs sat empty.  Its webbing was plenty large enough for the little crab to come and go but small enough to protect her from larger predators.  I caught a menhaden and cut it into pieces.  This and the baby crab were put in the box and gently let back into the water.  Hopefully, the little crab can feast upon the minnow and not worry about being feasted upon by some fish.  

This baby Blue Crab is smaller than a dime!

  In a few days, I will go inspect the box.  If the baby is still inside, I will once again catch a minnow for it to eat.  This tiny female crab could make the world of difference in the Bay.  If she lives to maturity, she will reproduce and help replenish the Bay with blue crabs.  She can have up to eighteen broods in her expected life span of two and a half years. One healthy female crab can lay up to eight or so million eggs with each brood.  Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  You would think that the waters would soon be overrun with crabs but consider only one or two out of each million make it to maturity and you will understand that it is important to protect little ones.  They have a hard enough life with natural predators.  Pile on a bunch of chemicals and you create a near impossible task for them to even survive past the larva stage.  If I helped one tiny crab along its way, I am happy.  Eat hearty, Little Crab. Grow and be healthy!