- Date: May 15, 1987
- Location: Homoe Bay, PNG
- Subject: Sharks and Mud Crabs in Homoe Bay
Dear WaterFairy:
So, we are winding our way back to Samarai to meet up with Toni and Craig of Mollemok, with a few quick stops along the way. We are all very excited to catch up with them and show them around, and have someone else to talk to other than each other. Capt is in contact with them through the radio, so we know about where they are. Yesterday we made it to Hemoe Bay which is on the island of Basalaki. There was not much wind so we motored there with the mainsail up. The bay is a very protected spot surrounded by mangroves. I want to tell you about what happened when we anchored.
About an hour before we were going to anchorage, the wind kicked up so we unfurled the heady, set the sails and turned the engine off. It is so much quieter when the motor is off. So we were sailing into the bay and-yes, we dropped our anchor while under sail-which is one of Capt’s FAVORITE things to do. Capt loves to do this because it is difficult and takes skills, and a bit dangerous because things could go wrong, but as Capt says, “It’s real skill and real sailing and good practice.” Mom hates dropping anchor under sail because it is dangerous, and things could go wrong and the motor is not on to get us out of potential trouble!! She says it’s a bit like showing off. Anyway, Capt only does it when conditions are perfect and when Mom is right by the start button to the motor-just in case.
We dropped and set the anchor. The water was very murky and not clear at all. Mom said the scientific word for murky is turbid, meaning cloudy. The water is cloudy because there are very small particles of stuff suspended in the water. Mom said the stuff that makes the water turbid is organic material that the animals in the mangroves need to eat and survive. I definitely like the clearer water of the reefs better, but cloudy waters help all the other animals who live in the swamps. As Capt says, “That’s your nature, right there!”
Anyway, I noticed not too far from the shore, by the roots of the mangrove trees, a school of fish jumping out of the water, all at the same time. It was cool to see a 7 foot wave of little fish jumping all together. They also made quite a bit of splashing noise. We watched this happen a few times and realized that a big fish was chasing the little fish. We got the binoculars out and saw that the big fish were in fact sharks, ranging in size from 4 to 8 feet long.
“Adventure,” called Capt. So, of course we all jumped into “Dingdong” and rowed over to the action, as fast as we could. When we got close to the mangroves, we just waited for the new burst of feeding frenzy. We were not sure where or when this would happen, so we were all on the lookout. Somebody, (who I will not mention by name, but it was not me or Mom) thought it would be a good idea to bang on the bottom of “Dingdong” to try to get the attention of the sharks. Believe me when I tell you–this got the sharks’ attention because three of the sharks changed their course and headed directly over to “Dingdong”.
One of the sharks banged into the side of “Dingdong” and I wanted to scream, but knew that would not be helpful. Mom had the spare oar in her hand, ready to bonk the shark on its nose if necessary. In a split second, the sharks left and went back to chasing the little fish so they could eat. It was very exciting adventure and a bit scary. We rowed around a bit more to watch the sharks eating-but at a safer distance and just like that-they went away and there was no more action!! We went back to Sacha-B and had a BIG pot of tea.
SOme of the local kids came paddling out to Sacha-B and wanted to know what we needed so we could do some trading. Capt requested some mud crabs, Mom requested tomatoes, beans, potatoes and any other fruit. I requested some shells.
A little bit later, some older boys came back with a HUGE mud crab, bigger than any serving platter I have ever seen. We traded an old sheet, 3 fish hooks and a handful of rice and a handful of sugar. This village is so far away from a town that has a store that when the villagers run out of stuff, that’s that, until they can find a boat to get to town, or trade with a yachtie, like us. The kids said they only see a yacht every couple of months. I got some beautiful shells, two beautiful tiger cowries and 6 olive shells about the size of my index finger. Mom got her veggies. Tonight will be a steamed bean and tomato salad with shredded cheese and mustard vinaigrette, and of course fresh mud crab on homemade bread. For breakfast we will have fresh pawpaw.
The mud crab boys were telling Capt that they have a boat with an outboard motor, but the outboard was “dead finished”, which means broken in pidgeon English. So Capt said he would take a look at it tomorrow, if the boys would show us the creek with the crocodiles. Guess what our next adventure is going to be!?! We will hang out here for a few days before we head back to Samarai.
Here is my drawing of a mud crab. I finally finished my research on mud crab using the saltwater research book we brought with us.
Animal of the Week
| Mud Crabs -Mud crabs live in the mangrove swamps and other estuaries. -Their outer shell of their body is called “carapace”. -Mud crabs nickname is “muddy”. -Females are called Jennies and males are called bucks. -A mature crab’s shell can be about 30 cm (12 inches) and weigh 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). -Mud crabs can swim and their last pair of legs are flattened like paddles, which help them swim. -They have two huge front claws, which could break your finger if you aren’t careful and get it caught in their claws. If your finger gets snapped in the crab’s claw it is almost impossible to get it out-even if you rip the claw off the crab’s body. OUCH I stay away from live crabs. -The front claws are full of yummy delicious sweet meat and is Capt’s absolute favorite. -If you catch a Jennie, that has eggs, called “berries” attached to her belly, you should always throw her back into the water. If you kill a crab that has eggs, you are also killing all the eggs that might grow into crabs and eventually the mud crab population will decrease or eventually disappear. NOT GOOD. Plus, it is illegal to keep a Jennie with eggs. -As the mud crab muscles grow inside the shell, the shell gets too small, so the mud crab has to shed or moult its old, hard shell, it is like taking off a sweater. Underneath is a new, larger shell that is soft. -The new shell is called a “cuticle”. Once the old shell has split and shed, the new soft shell gets quickly gets real hard. Sometimes, before the new shell gets hard, the mud crab can be eaten by another crab! Cannibalism. -Mud crabs like to live in and around the roots of the mangrove swamps and can bury themselves in burrows during the low tide. -They like to hide during the day and come out at night to forage (hunt and gather) their food. -Mud crabs eat almost anything, but they particularly like to snack on mollusks, smaller crabs, worms and plant material-their favorite being mangrove leaves. -They can travel up to 500 meters looking for food. -Most people catch mud crabs by setting crab pots with fish bait. In the late afternoon, the pots are dropped in the mangrove swamps. The pots are pulled up a few hours later after dark. -The mud crab pots are not really pots, like a spaghetti pot, but made out of two hoops and a bunch of fish net. There is a pouch inside the crab pot the bait goes in. The crab pot is tied to a long rope that has a float tied to the other end. We use empty yellow plastic clothes detergent bottle, with Sacha-B written on the bottle in permanent marker. -The crabs are attracted to the smell of the dead fish and wander into the crab pot through one of the few openings, called windows. Once they are in the pot, it is very difficult for them to find their way out. -Sometimes there are two or three crabs in one pot, and sometimes those crabs don’t like each other and have big fights. And sometimes the stronger crab wins and he or she will eat the weaker crab. When we are done using the crab pots, we fold them up and tie them to the back side on the radar tower that is on the aft deck. |
