For the hordes of children with buckets and the armies of north sea crabs that they catch every summer, it is the equivalent of the Geneva Convention.

A group of zoology students from the University of Cambridge are trying to impose a code of conduct on the summer sport of crabbing in an attempt to end cruelty to the creatures.

They plan to leaflet ten thousand holidaymakers at the Norfolk resort of Wells-next-the-Sea, the crabbing capital of Britain, advising them on how to crab responsibly. Their principal rule is that no more than ten crabs should be placed in a single bucket.

Crowded conditions can result in fights between crabs. Such skirmishes between rivals, or between an attractive crab and her suitor, can lead to the loss of limbs. Some limbs may grow back, others will remain stumps.

Buckets containing captured crabs should be regularly topped up with sea water because low oxygen levels can lead to fatigue. Children are also warned against leaving crabs in the sun or returning home with them and replenishing their bucket with tap water. Both actions can cause crabs to die in captivity.

Crabs in Wells have traditionally enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the children who come to bait, capture and imprison them for a few hours in a plastic bucket. The fishing lines of the children who arrive each summer and crowd on to the 19th-century quay are baited with bacon or whelk.

In return for these morsels, local fishermen estimate that the average Wells crab is caught and released several times a day.

Will Pearse, a final-year zoology student who drew up the code, said that he was “in no way anti-crabbing”. “I think it’s a good thing to do, it’s fun,” Mr Pearse said. “But we want children to know what’s best for crabs too.”

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