Estuaries are important habitats for crabs and we want to find out more about the crabs living here in the Fowey Estuary, in terms of their species type and population sizes.
So, if you’re crabbing or rockpooling, we’d like to know more about what you find!


Crabs are common in estuaries and can be found hiding under rocks or seaweed and can be easily enticed by a baited crab line dangled in shallow waters. They are scavengers and will feast on most things they come across, including fish, shellfish, smaller crabs and the bacon scraps which are often used as crabbing bait.
We think the crabs populations in our estuaries might be changing and this could be because of variations in food, habitats and water temperatures, but we need to collect more data to find out more and how to protect them.
What do we want to know?
Complete our online form to tell us about:

  • the types of crab
  • the numbers of crabs
  • how you found or caught them
  • how long it took
  • anything else you caught

Please remember to look after the creatures you find and return them to the water afterwards, for more information, see our Crabbing Code.


(Please note – Your data will remain anonymous and will be used in this citizen science project and also in future crab population studies).