Bait for the Commercial Fisheries

     The harvesting of horseshoe crabs for conch and eel bait has increased greatly in the past few years. To catch a conch, a horseshoe crab is attached to the bottom of a shallow screened container with an opening at the top. The conch (Channel mostly) are attracted to the bait and climb up and into the pot. Once they get in, they can not get out. The pots are checked every 24- 48 hours.

  
The commercial whelk pot fishery says that horseshoe crabs are the best bait for whelk pots, and the female is better than the male. There has been some experimenting with using bait bags that use a smaller portion of crab and a large piece of bait filler, but they are not widely used at the present. Also, some researchers are working an alternative bait for conch. The knobbed and channeled whelk, commonly called conch, are sold to be eaten with salads, sauces, and pasta.
     Female horseshoe crabs are a popular bait for eel potting, too, but in some places they are not the only kind of bait used. The crabs may be cut into halves, thirds or quarters for use in the eel pots, just as they are in the whelk pots.   But, the eels prefer female crabs. The eels are caught in a kind of trap, like a one way funnel.  Mr. Oates, the man who made the video "Dollars on the Beach", brought an eel pot to our class and explained how it works. He said  that there are  holes on the side of the trap.  When the eel goes in one of the holes to get the female horseshoe crab it gets stuck in the trap and can't find its way out. Then the waterman comes along later, opens a door on the top, and takes out the eels. There is a brick inside the trap that weighs down the trap so it will stay on the bottom. There is a marker that floats on top of the water to show you where the trap is. The eels are then sold for eating and for bait.
  

     The Delaware Fishery Regulations include the following:
             License fee: $1,000 for non-resident; $100 for resident
            Hand collectors: limited permits issued; season is May 1 – June 30 – Port  Mahon
            Dredge collecting: 5 permits issued each year by lottery; 1,500 per day limit;
                         closed May 1 – June 30
            Reporting: Harvesters must report by the 10th of the following month.
           Non-commercial limited to 6 crabs.

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