DEC’s blue crab tagging program was initiated to investigate the migration patterns, habitat preferences, and life history traits of blue crab (“blue claw crab”) in New York’s waters. Blue crabs are captured in various DEC field surveys and are tagged with a yellow wire carapace tag which has a specific number attributed to each crab. If you happen to catch a tagged crab, record the 5-digit tag number found on the left side of the tag, the specific location of where you captured the tagged crab, and the date of when you captured the tagged crab. Then visit DEC’s website to report the tag!
