Got Crabs?

$5 or $50 Reward for Tagged Crabs in Chesapeake Bay

If you crab in Chesapeake Bay this summer or fall you might run across a crab with a pink or white tag like the ones pictured here. Reporting them is worth $5 or $50 for each tag. My lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD has tagged nearly 15,000 crabs since June 2014 and 1 out of every 20 is worth $50. If you catch a tagged crab, please help our study by recording the information requested on the back of the tag and calling the number or visiting the website listed on the front the tag.

The tags are on both male and female crabs. Tagged crabs have been released at sites throughout Maryland and Virginia. We've had a lot reported already but we know there are quite a few more out there. We've even had a couple that were caught as far away as North Carolina.

If you've already reported but haven't heard back from us, please be patient. We're working as fast as we can but a hundred or more reports each week it's hard to keep up.

Aw. come on Matt, at least give them some kind of link for a contact, like maybe your email, or phone number, or a link to the page on the SERC website where they can report a tagged crab.

I worked with these guys for a long time, and they're good people and do good work. If you should run into one of these crabs, turn in the tag, get your reward, and help science too.