We surveyed 2 beaches in Indian Cove, Guilford, CT. We did the survey a total of 27 times during April, May, June, and July. We counted a total of 151 crabs.
Indian Cove Public Beach:
Single males- 4
Single females-1
Pairs- 30
Female with 2 males- 2
Female with 3 males- 0
Total crabs- 71
Indian Cove Private Beach:
Single males- 13
Single females- 4
Pairs- 19
Female with 2 males- 3
Female with 3 males- 4
Total crabs- 80
We counted the most crabs on the night of May 25th. during the full moon. The peak of the spawning season was May 25th. through May 29th.
Our volunteer group tagged a total of 370 crabs. 130 crabs were tagged in Indian Cove and the rest were tagged at Great Harbor, Jacobs Beach, Grass Island, Tuttles Point,Chaffinch Island, and Chittenden Park.
We reported 26 recaptures ( crabs which have been previously tagged ). One of the most interesting ones was found by Nina Ellison. It was a male which had been tagged in VA in 1999.
Thanks again to all of the Project Limulus volunteers. I will contact everyone in the spring. Now that we have such a dedicated and well-trained team, I'm looking forward to tagging even more crabs next year. I would like to try adding some extra sessions which would be just for tagging crabs at other Guilford beaches.
