How the Blue Crabs Got Their NameMoral: It takes teamwork to accomplish your goal

Not a long time ago, when the pollution in the Chesapeake Bay was worsening, a crab named Shelly was getting nervous. Shelly feared the crab population would be wiped out by the contamination in the water. After some thought, she decided to go to her friend, Candon for help. After all, Candon was very understanding.

“Candon, I need your help.” Shelly said.Candon replied, “Why do you need my help?”“I have been noticing signs that the Bay is unhealthy. I have heard stories about

animals caught up in trash. Also, all the wild rice is dieing, and that is a sign of the Chesapeake Bay’s pollution! I need your help, and fast!”

Candon said enthusiastically, “I’ll go get my friends, and we will help clean the bay.”

The next few days Candon and Shelly gathered crabs to help clean the Chesapeake Bay. They cut pieces of trash up with their pinchers, and disposed of the decomposable garbage in the compost pile. Old crabbing nets lay around everywhere and lots of crabbing cages too, so they carried them to the docks for the people to see. They needed to let the humans know how much harm they had caused in the past twenty-five years. Since then, the crab population had gone down more than 50%! The crabs couldn’t get rid of the PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) because it was a chemical that was widespread. They would need people from all over the Chesapeake Bay to work together to get rid of the PCBs.

One day a puffer fish came up to Shelly and the crabs. “Thank you so much for cleaning the bay. My cousin was recently choked in a piece of trash, and died. It means a lot to me that you are cleaning the Chesapeake Bay. I know! You and your group of crabs should be called the Blue Crabs! I will encourage others to “go blue”!”

The crabs continued to clean up the bay. They promoted others to help them and restore the Chesapeake Bay’s health. The Blue Crabs continue to fight against pollution. That is how the Blue Crabs got their name.