Crabbing Fun!
Crabbing is a fun, family activity.
Come and give it a try at Mudeford Quay,
Poole Quay or in the rockpools along our beaches.
Top Tips for Crabbing Success
When to go
- Best time of year – You can go crabbing all year round!
- Best time of day – High or Low Tide (Slack Tide) when crabs are looking for food.
Where to go
- Choose a safe place and take an adult with you.
What equipment do you need?
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- A crab line – Make your own with string and a small weight or buy a crabbing line at a seaside shop.
- A large bucket so you can study your catch.
Half fill the bucket with seawater and a little seaweed. Keep you bucket shaded and change the water once an hour. - A net – to help put your catch into the bucket before they scuttle away! Put it under the crab just as you pull it from the water.
What is the best bait?
- Crabs are greedy and have a strong sense of smell. They love bacon and smelly fish like sardines.
- Make sure your line drops down to the bottom (or is against the seawall) and not in too much seaweed.
Look after your catch
- Crabs hate crowds! Don’t put more that 10 crabs in each bucket.
- If they start to fight, put them back in the water.
- You cannot eat shore crabs – pop them back into the water or tip them close to the water as the tide comes in and watch them run sideways into the sea!
Mind your fingers & toes!
Even tiny shore crabs can give you a nip! Pick them up gently:
- Holding both sides of the shell, or
- Picking them up from behind with one finger on top of the shell and one underneath.
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Fab Crab
Facts
Where do crabs live?
- Most crabs live by the coast in salty, fresh or brackish (slightly salty) water.
What do crabs eat?
- Crabs eat meat and plants making them omnivores.
How many legs do crabs have?
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- Crabs have 10 legs – they are decapods (ten-footed).
- The two front legs are their claws.
How do crabs communicate?
- Crabs communicate by drumming their claws and flapping their pincers.
How do crabs move?
- Crabs walk and swim sideways.
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The Crab Family
- Crabs belong to the crustacean family
- Crabs’ shells are their skeletons. They are on the outside of their body – exoskeletons!
- There are more than 4,500 species of crabs.
- Smallest species: The Pea Crab – between 7mm and 12mm long.
- Largest species: Japanese Spider Crab with legs stretching up to 4 metres!
- Crabs are super old!
They first appeared in the Jurassic period, 200 million years ago. -
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Win a Crabbing Kit!
We have Crabbing Kits to give away to the first 8 crabbing fans to send us the correct Crab Codeword:
- Collect the six Crab Codeword Letters from the three pages on this website:
There are 2 letters to collect on each page.
- Use the six letters to work out the Codeword. Clue – Is this a lonely crab?
- Enter your Codeword in the Entry Form along with your name and an email address*
*Please ask permission from your parent/guardian to enter the competition and use their email address on the Entry Form.
Entries close on 17th February 2023. Winners will be notified via email by 24th February 2023.
