Frequently Asked Questions and e-mailed comments by web site viewers.
Q. Why do crabs blow bubbles after they are caught?
A. As long as crabs keep their gills wet they can breathe air from the outside. Crabs keep water stored in their gill chamber for this purpose. The bubbles are caused by them breathing.
Q. How many # 2's are there in a bushel?
A. When buying crabs already steamed or live, many people buy them by the bushel. The crabs available will be graded according to their size, how many inches they measure from point to point or lateral spine to lateral spine. The larger the crab, the fewer it takes to make a bushel. The smallest legal crabs are number 3's; middle size are number 2's and the largest are number 1's. Generally you get 7 to 8 dozen #1's in a bushel; 6 to7 dozen #2's and 5 to 6 dozen #1's in a bushel.
Q. How do I cook blue claw crabs without boiling them? We will be at a
seaside picnic but we cannot have any gas grills. We must use coals only.
A. You will need a steamer pot. Simply put the pot on the grill and cook the crabs in the normal way. Keep checking the coals to keep them good and hot. Replenish the supply as needed. What you need is a steady heat source that will boil water. Cooking crabs this way requires some practice as coals have hot spots and areas where coals have not ignited at all. Keep an eye on the water in the pot at all times and do not let it boil away!.
Here's another way. Take heavy duty Reynolds Wrap and roll it out to about 50". Double it over so you have a 25 inch size. Place the crabs in the foil. Do not overload it. You then pull the long ends up and together and fold the ends over about 3 times. Then you do the same for the other two ends. What you are doing is making a foil enclosure which is as tight as possible so moisture cannot escape. Place this on the grill and shake it several times during the 20 minute process of cooking. The crabs will steam this way but it requires lots of attention so they will not burn.
A final way is to get lots of seaweed and place this on the coals then put the crabs on top and another layer of seaweed on top of that. This also steams the crabs. Usually this is done in an open fire in a pit dug in the sand. It's how lobsters are cooked lots of times.
Q. Do I need a license to catch crabs?
A. Check your local rules and regulations.
Q. Are there size restrictions on crabs?
A. Yes! Check the regulations for details.
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Q. Can I keep sponge crabs (females carrying eggs)?
A. Why would you want to do this? In many states keeping female crabs with eggs attached to her underbelly (sponge crab) is prohibited. With blue crabs on the decline the past several years, put the females back in the water so they can release their eggs.
Q. Can I crab anywhere I want?
A. No. There are restrictions about private piers; being too close to some
other traps; crabbing in military anchorages, etc.
Check local rules before you start out.
Q. What equipment will I need to crab?
A. Many use a simple piece of string with bait tied to an end. Others use traps. Check
the CRABBING EQUIPMENT page for some basic ideas.
Q. When is the best time to catch crabs?
A. During a flood tide and usually in the early morning. Crabs do not like the sun and generally head for deeper water the brighter
it gets. Crabs will ride the tide and an ebb tide will carry them out to deeper water.
Q. Where is the best crabbing spot?
A. You must search for your spot. Crabs ride the incoming and out going tide. It can
be to your advantage to place your traps near the mouth of a river or creek if you
can. Many commercial crabbers will have several hundred traps in such areas so
you will have to learn by trial and error. See WHERE TO CRAB
Q. Is water temperature important?
A. Yes it is. Crabs begin to move around when the water temperature gets above
50 degrees but the warmer the water the better. Since creeks and rivers have summer time temperatures of 80 degrees
in some spots there will be a lot of activity. But catching them is hit
and miss.
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Q. What do you mean, "hit and miss"?
A. Crabs travel 1 to 2 miles a day. It is common to find crabs in an area one
day and not the next.
Q. What type of boat should I use.
A. People crab from all sorts of water craft.
From jon boats to yachts. Small boats with fairly flat bottoms are used the most because they can get closer to grass beds where crabs hide.
Q. Suppose I do not have a boat?
A. You can crab from the shore by walking out a short distance and placing
your traps. Many people use a dip net to catch soft crabs along the
shore in grassy areas where crabs go to molt. BE CAREFUL! There
is broken glass and lots of thick mud on the bottom in which you can become
stuck. Sometimes you can crab from the dock in a marina with management's permission.
Some private pier owners will also let you crab if you ask them first. MAKE SURE
YOU ASK!
Q. My steamed crabs have been full of water or hollow?
A. What you are finding are crabs known as whiteys or water galls. The terms are used to describe a crab that is hollow and full of water when cooked. A trait of some crabs and they are perfectly safe to eat.
Q. Can I eat the mustard and what is it anyway?
A. It is the Hepatopancreas. The large internal organ which secrets digestive enzymes. It also absorbs and stores digested food. Calcium and phosphate are also stored here during the intermolt period. It also functions in the capacity of cleaning the crab’s blood stream. In some crab species, high levels of PCBs have been found in the Hepatopancreas. The mustard turns yellow with cooking and is found in male and female crabs. Other yellow stuff is found in female blue crabs. They are eggs. Females carry them for some time and fertilize them with male sperm they carry. Once fertilized she carries them under her body attached to the apron. Many people eat the mustard but the webmaster does not recommend it.
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