. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. clean the crustaceans by removing the eyes, mouth, gills and apron, a movable flap on the crab's abdomen. (See Cleaning Soft-Shell Crabs, page 16.) A soft crab has 10 to 15 times more edible meat than a hard crab. "Out of 100 pounds of hard crabs, if you get 10 pounds of meat, you're doing good," says Wescott. Soft crabs are classified by size. The crab is measured from the distance between the two points of its carapace. Mediums are 3 1/2 to 4 inches across; hotels, 4 to 4 1/2 inches; primes, 4
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. clean the crustaceans by removing the eyes, mouth, gills and apron, a movable flap on the crab's abdomen. (See Cleaning Soft-Shell Crabs, page 16.) A soft crab has 10 to 15 times more edible meat than a hard crab. "Out of 100 pounds of hard crabs, if you get 10 pounds of meat, you're doing good," says Wescott. Soft crabs are classified by size. The crab is measured from the distance between the two points of its carapace. Mediums are 3 1/2 to 4 inches across; hotels, 4 to 4 1/2 inches; primes, 4 1/2 to 5 inches; jumbos, 5 to 5 1/2 inches; and whales, 5 1/2 inches and over. During the early peeler run, there's even a market for 2- to 3-inch crabs, which are served as hors d'oeuvres in swank eateries. Penny Hooper calls these harbingers of spring "Core Sound ; Smaller crabs, which molt early and often, herald the shedding season. In May and June, the Hoopers will be moving 'round their 20 shedding trays day and night in a high-speed game of molting musical chairs. The payoff is sweet, but in peak season, crabs bust as fast as shedders can pull and pack them. "I imagine it's like Christmas Eve in a department store," says Penny. "You live through it and you're happy the next ; As peelers advance toward their molt, shedders grade them according to the color of the distinct line that appears on the outer edge of the last. A soft crab has 10 to 15 times more edible meat than a hard crab. two joints of their paddle fins. White-line peelers have a white or transparent line and are five to 14 days from shedding. When the line turns pinkish or light purple, the crab is two to six days from its molt and is called a pink-line peeler. A deep red or purple line indicates a "rank" or red-line peeler, which will shed in one to three days. The buster is the last stage before shedding. A crack develops at the base of the crab's top she
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