These crustaceans have been misnamed for two reasons: First, they’re not true crabs, like blue crabs, in that they don’t have a uniformly hard exoskeleton and can’t grow their own shells.

At the center of the issue is a proposed revision to the state’s Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan. Officials with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) say catch numbers have been falling for ...