Greg Velzy and Adam Staples love Richmond's oddball blue crabs.

Velzy loves watching them.

Staples loves eating them.

And that is a point of contention these days along the otherwise soothing waters of the James River.

In a phenomenon that has fascinated many Richmonders, crabs that normally inhabit the salty Chesapeake Bay and lower James have swum into the freshwater rapids and rocky pools of the river downtown.

Experts say crabs occasionally swim to Richmond when the James is unusually low, as it is now, apparently in search of clams and other food. They usually move back downriver by October.

On Saturday and Sunday between the Mayo Bridge and Brown's Island, numerous adults, teens and children waded into the clear water to marvel at the crabs that scooted across the bottom or tucked themselves between rocks.

At the same time, several people methodically moved up and down the river, catching the crabs in nets and plopping them into coolers or buckets.

"You hate the idea of steaming them alive, but there's not much choice in the matter if you're going to eat them," said Staples, 42, of Aylett. He caught about 10 crabs Saturday afternoon.

While Staples was catching crabs, Velzy, 46, of Chesterfield County, and his son, Jackson, were snorkeling and following the crabs underwater.

Velzy, chairman of the Falls of the James Scenic River Advisory Committee, said he feared the crabbers would decimate the crabs that managed to swim this far.

"It's more of a novelty than a thriving population," Velzy said.

"Let the crabs be," said Jackson, 9.

State officials say it's legal to catch up to a bushel of crabs a day as long as you are not selling them. There are enough crabs in the river for people to notice, but apparently not enough for anyone to find a bushel.

Staples and Velzy spoke by the river.

"He asked me if I was taking them home," Staples said, "and I was like, 'Well, yeah.' And he says, 'Well, that's too bad, because they don't come here very often.'"

Did Staples feel bad about taking the crabs?

"With a little Crosse & Blackwell cocktail sauce," he said, "I'll feel just fine."

Daniel Bruce, 21, of Mechanicsville said crabbing is a cheap way to get the food he loves. "I'm a poor man; I do construction work."

He and some friends caught four crabs Saturday in four hours, Bruce said yesterday. "I was hoping to catch a couple more, but we had a blast." nbca
Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or rspringston@timesdispatch.com.