Editing Crab fishing (section)

==Catching crab by boat==
A medieval fisherman catching crabs with pots would have used methods and materials that were available to them at the time. While modern, wire-mesh crab pots are a relatively recent invention (patented in the 1920s), the concept of using a baited trap to catch shellfish is ancient.

Here’s a breakdown of how a medieval fisherman would likely have done it:

===The Pot Itself===
'''Materials:''' The pot would have been constructed from natural, local materials. The most common choice would have been woven wood, like willow or hazel branches, similar to how baskets were made. Some may have used reed or other pliable plant fibres. This style of pot is sometimes called an “inkpot” trap due to its shape.

'''Design:''' The design would be simple yet effective. The pot would be woven into a dome or cone shape, with a narrow opening at the top or on the side. This opening would be a funnel, allowing the crab to crawl in after the bait but making it difficult for the crab to find its way back out. The pot would be weighted with stones to ensure it sank and stayed on the seabed.

===Baiting and Setting the Pot===
Bait: To attract the crabs, the fisherman would use bait. Crabs are scavengers, so almost any type of animal remains would work. This could include fish guts, other smaller fish, or leftover scraps of meat. The bait would be placed inside the pot, likely secured in a small bag or tied to the bottom to keep it from floating away.

'''Location:''' The pot would be set in areas where crabs are known to live and forage. This would be in shallow, coastal waters, often in rocky areas or near seaweed beds where crabs seek shelter and food.

'''Deployment:''' A rope made of natural fibres like hemp or nettle-hemp would be attached to the pot. This rope would be long enough to reach the surface at high tide and would be secured to a buoy or marker made from a piece of wood or a gourd. The fisherman would lower the baited pot from a small boat or from the shore and leave it for a period of time, often overnight, to allow crabs to enter.

===Retrieval===

'''Lifting the Pot:''' The fisherman would return to the location, locate the buoy, and carefully pull the rope to bring the pot to the surface.

'''Checking the Catch:''' Once on the boat or shore, the fisherman would open the pot and retrieve any crabs that had been trapped inside.

This passive form of fishing, where traps are set and left to do their work, was a common and efficient method in the Middle Ages, allowing fishermen to focus on other tasks while the pots collected their catch.

===Retrieving the pots===
A medieval fisherman would not have had any “special equipment” in the modern sense. The process of raising the pots would have been a manual and physically demanding task, relying on muscle power and some clever use of basic tools and boat design.

Here’s a breakdown of what that would have looked like:

'''Rope and Buoy:''' The most important “equipment” was the rope itself, and the buoy. The rope, made of strong natural fibres like hemp, would be attached to the pot, and the buoy (often a piece of wood or a gourd) would mark its location on the surface.

'''Hauling by Hand:''' To retrieve the pot, the fisherman would simply locate the buoy and pull the rope by hand, coiling it into the boat as they went. Depending on the depth and the weight of the pot (with its stone ballast and any crabs inside), this would have required considerable strength.

'''Boat Design:''' The design of the fishing boat itself would have been a key factor. Medieval fishing vessels would have been relatively small, and fishermen would have needed a stable platform to stand on and a clear gunwale (the upper edge of the side of the boat) over which to haul the pot. The boat’s design might have incorporated a low side or a specific section for this purpose.

'''Simple Leverage:''' For particularly heavy pots or in deeper water, a fisherman might have used a simple form of leverage. This could involve wrapping the rope around a sturdy wooden post or a section of the boat’s frame to give them better grip and a mechanical advantage, but this would still have been a manual process.

In contrast, modern commercial fishermen use motorised “pot haulers” or “creel haulers” to raise lines of traps, a piece of equipment that simply did not exist in the Middle Ages. The medieval approach was one of brute force, simple mechanics, and a deep knowledge of the local tides and seabed to make the process as efficient as possible.

===Tides===
Medieval fishermen would have been highly attuned to the tides, as they dictate the movement and feeding patterns of marine life. When it comes to raising crab pots, the most productive time is slack water, which is the period of time around both high tide and low tide when the water is moving the least.

During slack water, the strong currents of the incoming or outgoing tide are not pushing the crabs around. This is when crabs are most likely to be actively foraging for food and moving about, making them more likely to enter a baited pot.

Strong tides can make it difficult to set and retrieve pots, as the current can drag them and cause them to get tangled or lost. Strong currents also make it harder for crabs to navigate and hunt, so they often seek shelter.

Therefore, a medieval fisherman would aim to retrieve their pots during the slack high tide or slack low tide to maximise their catch and ensure a safer and more efficient operation.