Blue Crab
The Blue Crab (C. Sapidus) is the most popular crab for food in the United States. They range in the Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Northern Argentina. The Blue Crab was also introduced in the Eastern Atlantic from the North Sea to France.
Size: The Blue Crab is typically 5 to 7 inches across the carapace.
Mating: From The Compleat Crabber by Christopher R. Reaske who has graciously assisted me with my web site.
Usually in the late spring the female will develop a huge mass of eggs, as many as two million. She is known as a “sponge” in this phase, and it is usually against the law to keep her, for obvious ecological reasons.
When the eggs hatch they are microscopic larvae, and, as part of the planktonic food chain, most are eaten. Those that survive, however, will experience the molting or shell-shedding process some twenty to thirty times in a lifetime. The crab actually grows a new shell underneath its old shell, then breaks out of the old shell by slipping out through the side. When they are very tiny, crabs molt every three to five days, and as they grow the intervals of time get longer between each molting, with twenty to fifty-day intervals being common. As crabs get larger, the process takes longer - as much as three hours of active work when mature. When, the female is getting close to having her final molt, the male crab or jimmy (see Crab Jargon) finds her and carries her around for a few days. She prepares for having the male copulate with her as her apron expands from a V-shaped to a more circular, fuller egg-carrying shape. The male and the female are then locked in copulation for from six to twelve hours; for the female, this mating takes place only once…The male then goes off, but not without first protecting her for several days as her shell hardens.
Usually in the late spring the female will develop a huge mass of eggs, as many as two million. She is known as a “sponge” in this phase, and it is usually against the law to keep her, for obvious ecological reasons.
When the eggs hatch they are microscopic larvae, and, as part of the planktonic food chain, most are eaten. Those that survive, however, will experience the molting or shell-shedding process some twenty to thirty times in a lifetime. The crab actually grows a new shell underneath its old shell, then breaks out of the old shell by slipping out through the side. When they are very tiny, crabs molt every three to five days, and as they grow the intervals of time get longer between each molting, with twenty to fifty-day intervals being common. As crabs get larger, the process takes longer - as much as three hours of active work when mature. When, the female is getting close to having her final molt, the male crab or jimmy (see Crab Jargon) finds her and carries her around for a few days. She prepares for having the male copulate with her as her apron expands from a V-shaped to a more circular, fuller egg-carrying shape. The male and the female are then locked in copulation for from six to twelve hours; for the female, this mating takes place only once…The male then goes off, but not without first protecting her for several days as her shell hardens.
Sustainability
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program helps consumers and
businesses make choices for healthy oceans. Their recommendations indicate which
seafood items are "Best Choices," "Good Alternatives," and which ones you should
"Avoid." Blue Crab has received their "Good Alternative" rating.
Marine Stewardship Council
The MSC's fishery
certification program and seafood ecolabel recognise and reward sustainable
fishing. They are a global organisation working with fisheries, seafood companies,
scientists, conservation groups and the public to promote the best environmental
choice in seafood.
However, the catch of Blue Crabs on the East Coast of the United States has drastically been affected by pollution especially in the Chesapeake Bay.
However, the catch of Blue Crabs on the East Coast of the United States has drastically been affected by pollution especially in the Chesapeake Bay.
Size of Catch
This is a great picture of a Blue Crab by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the United Nations. Check out the F.A.O. of the United Nations.
The average catch of Blue Crab is about 125,000 tonnes per year. A tonne is a metric ton and is equal to 1000 kilograms or 2240 pounds.
The size of the Blue Crab catch is small compared to other crab catches, but is three times that of the dungeness Crab on the West Coast.