LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Crab endangerment along Soufriere/Scotts Head road

Crabs helpless to speeding traffic. Taken on Sunday evening

The crab migration to lay their eggs in the sea and young crabs migrating from the sea to live on land is clearly being affected.

The eggs laid in the marine reserve are of significant national food security interest, in that they and the billions of hatchlings form the core of the food chain for our fishing industry- an industry where thousands of Dominicans have been encouraged to enter.

Yet another extremely lucrative untapped Crab Claw Industry is being lost.

Crab migration interrupted by smooth wall

Unfortunately the smooth surfaced recently constructed sea wall did not accommodate for this crab migration. Simple solutions:

1. Stucco /roughened surface to the sea wall.

2. Sensor units to the street lights to avoid the constant disturbance to the environmentally sensitive Soufriere/Scott’s Head marine reserve.

3. Encourage the villagers to benefit/ have a stake by developing a Crab Claw Industry where the large claw is removed and the crabs released. (A multi million industry exists in the Florida Keys) the crabs re grow the claw and are allowed to continue providing for our food chain.

Pioneer of the Dive and Whale Watching industries in Dominica,

Fitzroy Armour

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19 Comments

  1. Dion Warrington
    September 17, 2010

    The migration of the crabs to the sea is not only important for their continued survival but also for our near shore fishery like jacks and sprats. In times like these some people ask where was the Wildlife Division? Well the Wildlife Division is always there. The Question should be whether or not the Division is involved at the design stage of this projects and whether their suggestions would be taken on but or vetoed by the environmentally insensitive engineers we have these days.

    When the seawall was being constructed around Gel Leon, I recommended a rough surface at intervals to facilitate the crabs. I was told that it would interfere with the integrity of the structure and since I am no Engineer I left it at that. However the Contractor, were convinced to do something to alleviate the plight of the crabs. A black textile material was stuck to the wall on the seaward side, the top of the wall and the inside of the wall to the road level. There was no monitoring to determine it’s effectiveness. Well the textile is no longer there because they were removed by the many idle hands we have roaming the streets of Dominica.

    Have we learn t our lesson? Well I am watching and waiting to see what will be done for the crabs under the Chinese West Coast road project. If nothing is done I hope that some minister some day will not ask Forestry what happen to crabs.

    Apart from the crab crushing, our black crabs continue to face immense pressure from the Quarry Industry. I guess once people making their money they don’t,care a Dame who they take money from and guess what always the masses that pay the heavier price.

    SOS, SHAVE OUR CRABS NOW OR OUR CHILDREN WILL SEE THEM IN PICTURES.

  2. Gene, Toronto
    August 29, 2010

    @a man:

    So when the crabs get to the sea and lay their eggs, what next? They may have to return across the street to climb the wall. Am I correct?
    Is there ‘a crab observation’ to view their migration, to the sea and from the sea? There are certain places in Dominica where the crabs do not get to the sea and cannot get to the sea. As I recall it when I resided in Dominica, at certain times of the year, people would go out to catch crabs, also in the bush.

  3. Gene, Toronto
    August 29, 2010

    @Anonymous:

    Do you have any other idea how they should catch crabs? There should be a government-regulated time to catch and kill them for consumption.

  4. Gene, Toronto
    August 29, 2010

    @Reading Comprehension:

    Ever thought of that? How about an underpass road for the crabs so as to avoid being crushed and killed by drivers? Too expensive and not feasible? Well, nothing is impossible and is worth a try.

  5. Gene, Toronto
    August 29, 2010

    The government needs to find a way to preserve the crabs. Drivers at nights cannot see the crabs or sway away from them.
    I love crab meat as I recall in Dominica. My mother made good crab backs for the family – hm – delicious.
    I came across some crab recipes which I will try sometime. Some may be canned crab meat. Otherwise I will have to go out of my way to get the crabs from certain stores. Due to the work involved, I would prefer the crab meat. Nevertheless, I will try them and season with garlic and onions. They should be delicious. We make do with what we have and appreciate it.

  6. Who cares?
    August 24, 2010

    @fisher: When the crab population drops or is no more in Soufriere/ Scotts Head, it is the poorer folks who will catch hell. They will buy instead, who can afford, chicken breast to suck in all the growth hormones injected in those breasts from foreign. Man will never realize that they should live in harmony with the other species of this earth. So he irresponsibly tries to destroy everything that comes in his path and say is development. Man is just one specie among thousands of others. Simply roughening the surface would not harm the project, but engineers, top officials are so environmentally insensitive that they don’t care two hoots what happens to the crabs that have provided food for years. Fitzroy’s observation and recommended action is timely. But who cares?

  7. u serious
    August 24, 2010

    @Native son: did u only now drive on that road to see the crushed crabs? i am from scottshead and when the road was filled with potholes, the same amount of crabs used to be crushed. if you drive that way every single day, you would see them crossing the road in groups of about 50 or more. the concern is not the wall, it’s the drivers who take pleasure in driving over them.

  8. Anonymous
    August 23, 2010

    @Anonymous: Mr Armour, Haven’t said anything about Mr Skerrit, he just indicated that the government should consider the making of the walls, to accommodate the crabs. So Dominicans like to jump into politics about everything. So please read and make a better comment. Mr. Armour love your observations, cause others wouldn’t have said anything…

  9. Native son
    August 23, 2010

    The road project in the Soufriere/Scott’s Head area was a wonderful engineering accomplishment , and no one is taking that away from either the government or the contractors. However, Mr. Armour has voiced a legitimate concern that I too have had upon visiting the area earlier this year. I grew up in the area and have witnessed countless crab migrations across the then pothole filled road (smile), so you should imagine my horror when I noticed the unusual high number of dead crabs in the road. The reason being that the crabs are getting stranded in the roadway due to the smooth surface of the upper retaining walls and lower sea walls. Also those that make it down to the sea stood little chance of making it back to their habitat. With that said, my question is where were the environmentalist, or the wildlife division during the feasibility and planning stage of this road project? I’m sure there is an office for that and people are getting paid. Hence, this one fault has deemed this otherwise great project unsustainable in my book and far removed from a “LEED” project. One more question; “Why is the water main buried under this concrete road?” Anybody in planning thought about line MAINTENANCE?

  10. Anonymous
    August 23, 2010

    Great observation Fitzroy. However, have you taken your observation to where it matters the most or are you speaking in the media hoping to get some negative vybes rubbed-off the government. But you are right the crabs cannot get to the sea to wash thier eggs and so the frys perish and the near shore fish is deprived of its natural food – crab eggs. But that started years ago.

    Remember when in 1983, the road to Melville Hall was rehabilitated and that section between Ravine Coque and Hillsborough were fitted with huge drains (still in existence today) as part of the drasinage works, the crabs could not cross. People just sat in the drains and culverts and await the crabs. So crab killings as a result of infrastructure development did not start with Skerrit.

  11. Piper
    August 23, 2010

    Good observation Fitzroy. Now the question is, what are the authorities going to do about it and when?

  12. wisdom
    August 23, 2010

    “Fools want (starve) for lack of Wisdom”

  13. proverbs
    August 23, 2010

    Go to the ants (Crabs) and observe their ways.

  14. fisher
    August 23, 2010

    Crab population drops—->coastal Fish stock drops—>fishermen need to go farther out to sea to catch pelargic fish—->cost of fishing increases—-cost of living increases.

  15. Reading Comprehension
    August 23, 2010

    @a man: Dude nobody is complaining. All Mr.Armour is saying that the wall should have been finished in a way that would allow the crabs to climb over. That’s all.

  16. a man
    August 23, 2010

    one time people complainign about how the road bad and they need a sea wall to protect the road now the sea wall is there they complainign about the crabs cant get to the sea what an ungrateful bunch of people yuh what and ungratefull bunch

  17. Anonymous
    August 23, 2010

    I’ve noticed this for a while, but not everyone I guess is environmentally inclined. Just look at the way we behave sometimes. But indeed we need to adress this as their will be some cultural impact as well if we are no longer able to get crabs for local dishes. People also need to stop killing crabs when they try to migrate to the sea.

  18. Anonymous
    August 23, 2010

    The crabs migration have really been ignored all this time. Driving along Pointe Michel road years ago with crabs crushing like mad under the tyres! We have more to do than just the sea wall surface. I hope something will be done to solve those problems….SOON.

  19. WOW
    August 23, 2010

    This is what you get when you cut down too much of the natural beauty of the Island.

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