Chinatown Crabbing - AVOID THESE MISTAKES! 

Wow that’s super awesome info, I’m going to try to put some updates in - I also spoke to NYDEC and they gave some additional background too. The traps I was using were not compliant with the Terrapin Escape Device regulations so I want to make sure other people don’t use what I used.

@@FishNY Terrapin excluders are only required on crab pots, devices that are left unattended in the water. The fear is that if they're abandoned or lost, that terrapins can enter and become trapped. Crab pots also require cull ports for small undersized crabs, as well as fast degrading escape cord which unravel over a short time period in the water, thereby opening up an escape panel for any trapped creatures to escape should the pot become derelict. Crab traps, are generally attended at all times and require human intervention to activate a mechanism which encloses the crab, thereby preventing escape. The most common are door traps which close upon retrieval. Open nets are another methodology that is tried and true, though these devices work less well in fast moving tides. Generally, most crabbers use these with a piece of lure tied to the middle of the net and periodically haul it up quickly in hopes a crab is busy eating and is pulled up along with the net. It takes about a minute to haul up, inspect and recast the net so having about five nets is a good amount of nets to deploy in rotation for a five minute dwell time for each. As for compliance with state and NYC regs, most urban fishermen, especially crabbers, seem like they couldn't care less. Especially if they don't even seem to notice the 'do not eat' signs that have been around for ages for potential toxicity of the fish. Not sure, but there doesn't seem to be hardly any DEC or NYC Park Rangers patrolling that area that I know of.

Yea I’m gonna get the normal box cage traps that open up once they hit the ground - they’re just not as portable so tough to carry around in the city which is why I thought to try to get the ones I was using. But after having almost lost one of the non-collapsible traps under that pier, I don’t think it’s worth the risk of losing one of those in the river. This is really good info, I’m just learning so much all the time and I really appreciate the insights for sure

I FREAKING LOVE NOODLES!

Thank you! I tried fishing there a few times throughout the last few years and all I got were crabs lol - I thought maybe I’ll try to trap them but… totally failed… maybe I’ll try again sometime. My attempt to try to weigh it down was to throw half a brick in it (you can kind of see it in the footage, a piece of brick in the trap). I should have used the whole brick hahaha

@@FishNY Lol

Have you fished in Chinatown before? I would love to get some tips or to try to figure it out together! Feel free to shoot me an email (in my about section).

Although I do hear about people taking these home to eat and am shocked… wonder what the state says about eating them though