After a long sunny day at the beach, the sky turned pink and Aled, eight, went to the pier in Whitstable, Kent, for crabbing. Knowing that crabs like bacon best, he lowered his net and felt a twang of excitement. When he pulled it back up, three crabs were clinging to it. He plucked them off and put them in the bucket.
Catching shore crabs with bacon bait
The crabs came in different sizes, and most were emerald green and rusty red. They scrambled around in the bucket fighting for leftover bacon. The most caught in one go was five, and in the end the family caught about 30.
Afterwards, Aled looked in his I-Spy book and identified them as shore crabs, which come in lots of colours – green, red and brown. They scuttle sideways quickly and eat things like molluscs, small fish and worms. When shore crabs lose a leg after a fight, they can regrow it after a few shell-moults, ready to use again.
Releasing the crabs and ending the day
When they finished, they took the bucket to the old wooden jetty where the lifeboats came down to the sea. Aled tipped the bucket on its side and the crabs scuttled out. A couple got stuck between the planks of wood and had to wiggle out, but the big one got stuck and had to be rescued.
Once all the crabs were gone, Dad ordered fish and chips to eat on the beach and they watched the sun set. Aled called it the end of a perfect day.
