Chasing Crabs...

In the late 80's/early 90's I had a wonderful job as a promotions consultant for a tourism marketing company. One of my roles was to produce brochures for different regions in Western Australia.

I was looking through one of my old Mandurah brochures, just the other day. The population, at that time, was 26,000 people. I'm guessing it was published in about 1992. This city has now boomed to around 80,000 people, and is growing all the time!

The name Mandurah orginates from the name Australian Aboriginal word Manjar meaning 'meeting place'. The crowds down there, on any Summer weekend, shows this aquatic playground is still popular for just that..meeting, picnics, boating and family fun!

Yesterday, we decided to take our boat and a group of excited kids to go crabbing and fishing in the Dawesville Cut section of the estuary. What an amazing success that project has been!

We planned the outing for a week. We purchased a range of nets, scoops and buckets. We sourced the best bait, after much research. A picnic lunch was prepared (we had a feast of chicken, rissoles and salads with fresh bread rolls).

Nets $50

Scoops $40

Bait $10

Parking $10

Lunch/drinks $50

Boat $25,000

Children priceless

We arrived at the boat ramp early. The weather was a little bit windy, but pleasantly warming up. We piled the children, 3 adults, and our mountain of crab ammunition on to the 16ft vessel. We were going to be having crabs for dinner!

We set out across the estuary, full of enthusiasm. We admired the numerous other nets, bobbing around with their pristine little white floats. Our collection was more unique; we had a selection of orange juice cartons, soft drink bottles, chopped up blocks of foam, and our one magical brand new float. We had baited our nets with sheep necks, and we were optimistic!

While the nets were awaiting their prey, we ventured in to more shallow ground, to go scooping for crabs.

As the kids got in to the water, there were cries of ,"ewww!" and ,"yuck!" and, "did something just sting me?!?"

Dan, one of the adults, was the leader of the crab chasers. He lead the children through the weed and mud, showing them just how it was done. Just as the group was starting to become despondent, there was a shriek of glee as Dan scooped one enormous blue creature out of the water. The children all followed him, excitedly, back to the boat, ensuring this thrashing crustacean was impounded in the empty bucket. Success!

The chasers continued for a while, without any luck. There was the occassional crab, but all were sadly undersized, and put back to grow for next season.

The nets were then lifted and checked, but the bait was hammered by feasting blow fish and other small creatures, but no crabs!

We made a few further attempts, then pulled the boat on to a secluded, shaded beach, and feasted on our lunch basket, while the kids played around in the shallow water. What a beautiful day! the wind had dropped, the sun was beating down, and the kids were having a ball.

At the end of the day, 4 sizeable crabs were caught by the crab chasers...not enough for a feast, but enough for everyone to have a taste.

Now, you can buy crabs at the local markets for about $16.95 a kilo, but our crabs were boutique crabs for a pricely sum. The taste of crabs you catch yourself, mixed with the joy and enthusiasm of small children?...well, there is no price you can put on those!

photo from http://www.shadesofgray.org.uk/Pictures/Medium/Crab.jpg