The Marine Institute is studying new ways to make the off-loading of crab more efficient.

Heather Manuel, who is leading the project, said it's a difficult job for aging workforce which is getting smaller.

"It's a little more difficult, I guess, for the older workers to move some of the heavy loads," Manuel said. "But the other problem that we're facing is that the off-loading times are taking longer because you have a number of vessels landing at the same time.

"They all have to be off-loaded, but the number of people that we have available to do the off-loading is also decreasing."

Manuel said engineers are boarding the vessels to study the current practices.

She said the more efficient they can make the process, the better quality the crab will be.