CAPE MAY, NJ – Usually when I go crabbing, I end up throwing most of them back because they’re not big enough. Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s just the way things have been going these past couple of years.
After my latest empty bushel adventure, I began to wonder, does anyone catch big crabs in New Jersey anymore? So I decided to look at what crab was the biggest ever caught in New Jersey.
It turns out there’s a bit of a controversy when it comes to this.
Officially, a local fisherman, the record was held by Frank Springfield in 1980 with a crab measuring 9 inches, caught in the Delaware Bay.
Also, officially, the current record crab is 8.75″ caught in 2008 by Raymond Ponik in Bayonne.
But, how can there be two records?
It turns out somewhere along the line New Jersey retired Springfield’s record. It’s not sure why, but his crab is still the largest one officially recorded, ever.
Officially, however, Ponik’s 8.75″ crab remains the current record holder despite being a full quarter inch smaller than Springfield’s.
The blue claw crab, also known as Callinectes sapidus, is a species native to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The crab is a key species in both commercial and recreational fishing in New Jersey. It is especially popular among local and visiting crabbers during the summer months.
In New Jersey, the current catch limit for the blue claw crab is set at one bushel per person per day during the season, which typically runs from March to November. The minimum size requirement is 4.5 inches from point to point.
John Peters caught the record-breaking crab using a simple crab pot in the waters off Cape May.