When Crabbing Becomes Fishing

Hi everyone!

At the Boston Children's Museum, we had been experiencing a bit of a fishing drought. On Monday morning, at the beginning of the week, it had been a week and a half since we had caught a fish. The expectation that the next cast would be the lucky one was as high as ever. Eager kids kept stopping by, hoping that they would be the lucky one. We set the crab trap around 10 AM in order to fill up our crab touch tank for visitors. About 30 minutes later, I walked over to see if we had caught anything. While there was one or two crabs, there was also a fish! While our intentions with the trap were not to catch fish, we were thrilled to have caught the first one in a week and a half! After a scan through our Atlantic Coast guide book, we still could not figure out what the little guy was. Many passerby's offered their opinion, but we could not seem to come to an answer. After a a quick message to our boss, he informed us that it was probably a croggie.

   

We kept our little friend in our touch tank throughout the morning (although there was no actual touching, the fish had a spiky spine!). Kids were thrilled to see not only our crabs, but also our fish, and most couldn't believe that we had caught him right here in the Fort Point Channel.

Until next time!
Jessie G.

My First Experience with Crab and Lobster Traps

Hi everyone,

This was my first week working with the kids and the rest of the Harbor Educators out in Boston. Throughout the week, I went to many sites, including Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, the Children’s Museum in downtown Boston, and Carson Beach in South Boston. One of my favorite experiences from the week was learning how to use the crab and lobster traps at some of the sites. I had never used a trap before, or held a live crab!

On Tuesday at Courageous Sailing Center, the first thing we did was try to pull up some of the lobster traps hanging off the side of the dock. Unfortunately, the traps had not been pulled up in a long time, and they were too heavy for me to pull out of the water. I was very curious about what was filling those traps, and the experience sparked my interest in learning about what happens to old lobster traps when they are lost to the ocean. I did some research and learned that fishermen call these traps “ghost traps,” and a lot of research has been done on what happens to these traps once they are lost.

Some ghost traps lose their ability to fish for lobsters over time, as the bait in the trap disintegrates. They are also equipped with “escape vents” that break free over time, allowing any lobsters trapped in the ghost trap to get out. Unfortunately, though, the escape vents do not always work correctly, and a few traps may continue catching lobsters after they are lost. 

An issue arose recently when a new regulation prohibited lobstermen from using a type of floating rope that attaches lobster traps at the bottom of the ocean. The rule was put into effect because the rope can entangle endangered whales. Lobstermen now have to use a type of sinking rope that breaks more easily, potentially resulting in more lost lobster traps. This issue is certainly complicated, and we don’t want to endanger lobsters or whales. As a science teacher and a harbor educator, I hope that some of the kids I meet will become scientists and engineers, working to solve problems like these so that we can better protect our marine environment. 

At the Children’s Museum, we used a crab trap instead of a lobster trap, and we caught a ton of crabs this week! We even caught a few crabs while fishing. 

A boy caught a crab while fishing off the pier at Children's Museum

In addition, I had fun this week learning how to pick up a crab without it pinching me, teaching children how to fish, and interacting with families on the harbor. I hope I can share some of the new things I learned this week about lobster traps with the kids, and I’m interested to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Playing a fishing game at the Children's Museum

-Grace 

Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20091127/NEWS/911270393

Piers Park!

The first two days at Piers Park Sailing Center have been amazing! I can truly say that it's going to be an awesome summer, filled with fishing, kayaking, sailing, learning about all the creatures that live in our harbor as well as tons of smiles and laughs! From what I've seen so far, our staff and kids are going to learn so much from each other and make friends and memories that will last a life time! 

Dropping down our lobster trap!

Holding a Green Crab!

Some of our kids have never been out in our harbor, so being able to see them go kayaking for the first time and going sailing for the first time was amazing. All the excitement seen in their smiles were contagious. Off our docks we even have crab and lobster traps. For some of our kids, it was their goal to be able to pick one up without being afraid and by the end of the day they were able to do so. On top of that, they were also able to identify that they were Green Crabs and whether they were female or male. 

The summer has just begun here at Piers Park and there is going to be so much to tell! And I believe pictures can always say a lot more than words can and together they will truly tell you our story at Piers Park!

- Nikita Cayabyab :)