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Article: SOFT CRABS, HARD WORK.
- Article from:
- National Fisherman
- Article date:
- March 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Diversified Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Scraping crabs has its ups and downs, but Binky Dize always looks forward to sunrise on the Chesapeake.
It's 4 a.m. and heavy white boots guided by a flashlight pass over rough-hewn boards along the waterfront. Coffee in hand from the local morning hangout, a waterman feels his way along the shallow wooden crab floats that hold his future.
With a flick of a switch, bright lights reveal circulating crab tanks, or "floats," that hold blue crabs ready to shed their armor-like shells. Looking around the small-boat harbor, the waterman sees other lights begin to move about the rickety old crab shanties, no doubt engaged in the same pre-dawn ritual. It's part ...