Huge spider crab hauled from the deep near Littlehampton

Jay Hunter (L) of Browns Seafoods and Sean Hunter(R) a
Littlehampton Fisherman holding Seans large 2.8 kg Brown crab and 2.1kg Spider crab caught on the same day — Jay Hunter (L) of Browns Seafoods and Sean Hunter(R) a Littlehampton Fisherman holding Seans large 2.8 kg Brown crab and 2.1kg Spider crab caught on the same day

Fisherman Sean Hunter caught a 2.8kg (6.1lb) brown crab and a 2.1kg (4.6lb) European Spider Crab four miles south of Littlehampton recently while flat fish netting.

He said: “I was amazed when I saw them, and in a lifetime of fishing in the channel have never seen crabs of this size before.

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“I am one of those fisherman who from time to time seem to come up with the most unusual catches; I get the impression they follow me around knowing that I am a friendly character or perhaps they like the name of my Seal Islander boat called Doodlebug.”

There must be something in the water near Littlehampton, because not long ago a monstrous 9.25lb brown crab was caught off the coast recently.

Jay Hunter runs Browns Seafoods on the Riverside Industrial Estate in Littlehampton, and purchased them from Sean.

He said: “We are very loyal to our local fishermen and purchase a lot of fish from them. These two ‘beauties’ certainly attracted a lot of attention when placed on our retail counter.

“Fisherman work hard to try and make a decent living – the current times are not easy for them with the quotas, discards and rules and regulations.

“It is on special occasions like these that it makes you wonder just what is happening on our seabeds, and what will come up in our pots and nets next time our Littlehampton fishermen go out to sea.”