Close Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
  • Competition
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • On the run for mental health
  • Taste loss for single use coffee cups
  • Release for trapped kangaroo
  • Grassy bowl clearing a borderline ‘error’
  • Record penalty for labour hire firm
  • Fatal collision in Red Hill
  • New rules may lead to NDIS housing
  • Vape warning after extreme reaction
Facebook X (Twitter)
MPNEWSMPNEWS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
MPNEWSMPNEWS
Home»News»Keeping tabs on bay’s crabs
News

Keeping tabs on bay’s crabs

By Stephen TaylorAugust 10, 2020Updated:August 18, 2020No Comments2 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Staying in touch: Dr Corey Green and Brent Womersly, of the Victorian Fisheries Authority science unit, have attached electronic tags to spider crabs. Picture: Naomi Strong – Strong Ocean Media

SATELLITE tagging research is keeping tabs on some of the hundreds of thousands of spider crabs off Mornington Peninsula beaches after their early winter moulting event.

Victorian Fisheries Authority officers, with help from others including Spider Crabs Melbourne founder PT Hirschfield, attached electronic tags to 15 crustaceans hauled aboard a research vessel last week.

The crabs were in 13 metres of water and beginning their annual migration into deeper waters after shedding their shells off Blairgowrie.

VFA director Dallas D’Silva said data transmitted from the tags would provide insight into the crabs’ movement characteristics: where they come from; where they go; lengths of time they spend in specific locations and the environmental conditions they experience.

The US-made transmitters, adapted for use on the crabs and costing $2500 each, are designed to detach from their shells over a 16-week period. It is believed to be the first time they have been used in Australia.

“We are very excited by this development,” Mr D’Silva said.

“The information gathered on both male and female crabs will help us understand more about their lives post-moulting.”

Ms Hirschfield said the VFA’s research efforts showed it was willing to engage with the community over the crabs’ welfare and not just their fishing values.

“It’s one aspect on which we agree on,” she said.

“We are also advocating for a no-take season on the crabs from April-June to prevent overfishing when they are most accessible.”

The moratorium would be similar to those already in place in Victorian waterways for crayfish, abalone, trout and salmon.

Ms Hirschfield said the SOS #SaveOurSpidercrabs petition supporting a crab no-take season now had more than 33,000 signatures.

First published in the Mornington News – 11 August 2020

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Release for trapped kangaroo

December 7, 2023

Record penalty for labour hire firm

December 6, 2023

Fatal collision in Red Hill

December 5, 2023

New rules may lead to NDIS housing

December 5, 2023
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click here to read

November 27, 2023
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click here to read

November 30, 2023
Council Watch

‘Dialogue’ terminated over flag

November 28, 2023

Transparency backed, but ‘secret’ talks stay

November 28, 2023
Letters to the Editor
Interview

Rolls Royce-driven life worth recording

November 13, 2023
Property of the Week

105 Quinns Parade, Mt Eliza

November 28, 2023
100 Years Ago This Week

Frankston shooting case – Accused committed for trial

December 4, 2023
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook X (Twitter)
© 2023 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.