European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Stories by Jules Loh associated press Amerl i loom covered the City Dock at Ocean City  recent morning but it was clearly inappropriate for this special time of year at this special spot on the planet. I going to try a Peeler run tomorrow what s the use pulled 200 pots this morning and got half a Basket of jimmies and two baskets of Sooks. Not enough to pay for the  the conversation muttered from boat to boat was Between men who do the Noble work of harvesting the mid Atlantic Seaboard of its incomparable treasure the Blue crab. The Blue crab is to Maryland what the lobster is Tomaine the shrimp to Louisiana the abalone to califor Nia. No other Waters yield a substitute or an equal  an average year Chesapeake Bay alone produces More than 200 million crabs 70 million pounds. When the first crab boats tie tip in late april it is the annual time of Joy and  year. A half Bushel of jimmies male crabs and two bushels of Sooks females out of zoo crab traps that in Normal limes deliver a Bushel a trap represents asocial if not economic disaster. This Spring up and Down the coast the hundreds who watch eagerly at Baltimore s wholesale fish Market Washington s Maine Avenue wharf Philadelphia Market Center Boston s pish pier new York s Pulton fish Market will just have to stay Home and wait Hope. No crabs. Not yet. We knew the hard Winter was going to do a lot of damage. We did t know How much said wellington1kitcnins. Whose boat North wind took aboard those pm Ful two and a half  a this Bay Assawoman Bay was Frozen hell the i Chesapeake was Frozen. I m 39 and i be been on1 since i was 14 and it was the first time i saw ice u Well know by summer. If we dont Haw june or july you can kiss this year s catch goodbye the shellfish director at Maryland s department natural resources William Outten a Chen Ptake native is More guarded. The first catch of the season is adult crabs that have overwintered. We knew the mortality would be High. To just too soon to know whether the immature crabs twy�1 been  to understand the problem it is helpful to Taew Caby what Miracle this exquisite Ducai winds up on the newspaper covered tables of those who cherish it. Crabs male in summer. In fact the Way you