My previous attempts to make homemade crab traps for the small crabs I'm using (Thalamita crenata) did not work. Today Hi'ilei (the executive director of Paepae o He'eia) showed me how to use crab nets to catch them. We used chopped up uku head (though awa'awa skins are the best because they have a strong smell and are easy to tie down) and tied the pieces of fish into circular crab nets. Once we dropped the nets into the water, it took about 15 minutes for the little Thalamita to start showing up. I removed each crab from the net, measured the width of its carapace, took one of its claws, and released it. Their claws grow back, and one claw contains more than enough muscle tissue for stable isotope analysis.
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