The lead-up to the Lunar New Year is one of the busiest times of the year for mud crabber Darren Cook, as he prepares for a spike in demand created by New Year celebrations.

It is one of his four busy periods of the year, with the other peak times for demand for mud crabs being Christmas, Easter and the western calendar New Year.

"It's the main catch for this area, there's a good return on it as well," Mr Cook says.

"You gotta do what you enjoy, and you make money out of it. But I don't think I'll die rich."

The Year of the Rat signifies wealth and surplus, but it is another animal that puts a smile on the face of the NSW Mid North Coast fisher.

'It gets into your blood'

Hauling in the pots with legal size live mud crabs Darren Cook sends them off to market ( ABC Rural: Michael Cavanagh )

For more than 30 years professional crabber Darren Cook has been plying the waterways of the Macleay River like his father did, and his grandfather and his great-grandfather before them.

It's something he never tires of.

"It just gets into your blood. I suppose it's like an addiction, you need it," he says, while navigating his boat along the waterway checking his 50 crab pots along the river.

This time of the year is an even bigger buzz for him as the lead-up to Lunar New Year is one of his four busy periods of the year.

Australia's Asian community feast on the delicacy that he hauls in, which are sent live to the Sydney Fish Market for auction.

Measuring up

Every morning as the sun rises, after the obligatory caffeine hit, he takes a short drive through the quiet village of Stuart's Point towing his boat to the ramp where he launches it.

He then heads out hoping after several hours he will return with several large tubs filled with mud crabs for which he is licensed to catch 1,400 kilograms over the year.

Also in the boat are containers filled with the heads of mullet, which he uses throughout the morning as bait to replenish the traps.

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On board also is one of the most important pieces of equipment — a gauge.

It is a gauge that he uses to measure any crab that he thinks will be below the NSW legal size of 8.5 centimetres across the shell.

Any undersized mud crabs are removed from the trap and thrown back into the water, while the "keepers" are removed very carefully by hand and placed in tubs.

"You are getting to the part of the year when the bigger crabs are starting to come out of the mud," he says.

"Generally, the high-quality crabs are just above the legal size. Whereas the bigger crabs tend to get soft and they don't get as much money."

Drought affects catch

The hunt for the delicacy this year is much more "hit and miss" as the drought is also affecting the catch.

"It's pretty much trial and error. We are in a drought and it's been a bad season. There are a few starting to come out now but still down on last year," he says.

"Generally, the drought will hit the water before it hits the land."

Coming up alongside one of his first buoys on the river, marking one of his submerged pots, he cuts the motor and hauls it in.

Trapping the crabs with his foot, Darren Cook binds the crab's claws with twine. ( ABC Rural: Michael Cavanagh )

Inside the net are three crabs of various sizes.

Carefully reaching in he grabs them, the first and largest obviously legal size while the next two need to be measured and both prove to be undersized and are thrown back.

Moving onto another pot, this time there are six, with three of them soon to be on the road to the Sydney Fish Markets for auction.

Also in the net are two decent-sized octopuses that Mr Cook grabs and kills before placing them in a tub of water.

Crabs are a delicacy for the octopus as well.

"They kill crabs like it's going out of fashion and you also get good money for them," Mr Cook says.

"As bycatch I am allowed to keep them and sell them."

After several hours on the water, with an increasing number of other professional and amateur fishers trying their luck, Mr Cook heads back to the boat ramp.

Hauling the boat onto the trailer he drives across the sand but soon pulls up in the shade of a large eucalypt.

Jumping out, he places a scale on the ute tray and starts weighing the catch.

This must be done within 50 metres of where he comes ashore and then he registers the catch via his phone to fisheries, which keeps a running tally of his catch over 12 months.

This morning he came away with 17.2 kg.

"I'll make a pay out of that. Overall not too bad," he says.

Once tied the crabs are shipped to Sydney Fish Markets for auction. ( ABC Rural: Michael Cavanagh )

Tricky tying them up

It is then back to his processing shed where, to the uninitiated, comes the most delicate part of the day — making the catch ready for transport.

Sitting on a low stool, he grabs the cranky mud crabs, places them on the floor in front of him, and with his big toe on the crab's back he pins it to the floor.

This is followed by several deft movements with baling twine, binding the crab's claws and making it near impossible for them to nip Mr Cook or the other crabs that are in a similar position in the tubs ready for transport.

"I have been doing this for 36 years now," he says.

"I've had my fingers bitten a few times but never my toe, touch wood.

"The little females seem to be the crankiest. Although, when it is breeding season, the males get a bit aggro and territorial."

They are separated by gender for transport.

With several hours passed and only an early morning coffee at the start, is crab on the breakfast menu?

"Bit overrated. Personally I wouldn't pay for them," he says with a laugh.