Photography Kevin Fleming on 09 Aug 2007 10:06 am
blue crab jubilee
Sunrise was beautiful today with the August haze diffusing the light. I was hoping to photograph deer and wading birds along the edge of my favorite salt marsh but none were to be found. And then the sun disappeared behind a cloud. That’s when I found a large cluster of blue crabs in shallow water. Hundreds had gathered and were grouped together in lines and in piles. At first it seemed they were mating but it was really a very rare occurance that Chesapeake Bay watermen call a “crab jubilee.” During hypoxic and anoxic conditions, almost all underwater creatures are affected. Perhaps the most dramatic reaction to low oxygen conditions is when oxygen starved crabs crawl out of the water onto land in search of oxygen. Hot weather like yesterday’s record-setting temperatures reduce the amount of oxygen in the water. August 9, 2007
on 09 Jul 2008 at 1:14 pm 1.Jeff Lundstrom said …
Ok, my question is, where was your net!
I love photography but nothing is better than a cold beer and some hot crabs!
on 09 Jul 2008 at 1:56 pm 2.Kevin Fleming said …
Hi Jeff,
Would have been easy pickings but these crabs were all a bit too small. I can tell you it was an August day and they were hot!
Thanks, Kevin