THERE’S LITTLE NUANCE behind the mind of a Dungeness crab.
Outside of finding food, eating food and avoiding becoming food, little else concerns the crab consciousness.
In the long history of the crab community, perhaps only a handful of Dungies have stood outside a crab pot and thought, “It’s a trap!”
Even if they did, I’m guessing the accompanying assessment, “But that fish head smells delicious!” eventually won out anyway.
That’s one of the many advantages we humans have over our crustacean counterparts.
Not only can we spot subterfuge, we can usually overcome whatever enticements are attached. (Except, of course, when those temptations involve money, sex or the L.A. Dodgers.)
Give crab a chance to eat their own, however, and they’ll take it.
Thus, it falls on us, the superior species, to protect the crab from themselves.
And that brings us to the whole point of this long-winded nonsensical rant: biodegradable escape cords (aka rot cords).
All crabbers are required by state law to use biodegradable escape cords to tie up escape holes on their crab pots.
That law has been on the books since 1989.
Yet state Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer Rich Phillips estimates 50 percent of all recreational crabbers fail to follow it.
That’s an alarming number for anyone who cares about crab.
Why? Because any derelict pot that doesn’t have one could continue catching and killing crab for up to two years.
Any crab trapped inside such lost pots invariably end up serving as bait after they die for their equally ravenous brethren.
As a result, non-compliant derelict pots end up killing approximately 30 crab per year before being deactivated, according to data compiled by the Northwest Straits Initiative.
(Pots rigged with escape cord kill only about 10 crab per year.)
Given that approximately 8,500 recreational crab pots are lost each year — the annual total is 12,000 including commercial pots — that leads to thousands of dead crab that will never be dipped in melted butter.
“Compliance with that rule is not great,” Fish and Wildlife biologist Don Velasquez said. “This is one of a number of issues that we’re really trying to get compliance.
“The foremost ones that the Fish and Wildlife Commission [is emphasizing] are how to measure your crab, how to record your catch and how to report your catch.
“In addition to that there is this escape cord biodegradable device.”
An escape cord is simply a piece of string that is 100 percent natural, no larger than 120 thread count and ideally no more than 1/8-inch in diameter.
Such cords — cotton, thistle, hemp or jute all work — can be purchased at stores throughout the North Olympic Peninsula.
Most new traps will come equipped with one, but not all do. The important thing is making sure whatever replacement cord is used will rot over time.
Several groups began outreach programs the past few years trying to educate the masses on the importance of escape cord, including Puget Sound Anglers, Coastal Conservation Association, Beach Watchers and the Northwest Straits Commission.
And in recent years, a larger percentage of derelict pots recovered by Northwest Straits Initiative — the group has collected more than 2,000 since 2002 — have been equipped with escape cord.
That suggests that ignorance of the issue has been at least part of the problem in the past.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions in the crab community about regulations,” said Joan Drinkwin, program director for Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative.
Still, there are others who willfully ignore the law, according to Phillips.
Part of it, he said, is crabbers wanting to make it difficult for other people to steal their catch.
As for other reasons?
“We’ve had a tough time getting that issue out for a variety of reasons,” Phillips said. “I’ve been in the business long enough that I can no longer guess people’s motivations.”
Crab season begins Friday throughout much of the North Olympic Peninsula, including Marine Areas 4 (east of Tatoosh), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and (12 Hood Canal).
Each area will remain open Thursdays through Mondays until Sept. 5. The coast is open to crabbing year round.
For more information on escape cords, visit www.escapecord.org.
________
Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
