Dungeness Crab
The Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus Magister, formally Cancer Magister) also called the Pacific Edible Crab, Market Crab, Edible Crab and Commercial Crab is found from the Alaskan Aleutian Islands to Southern California.
The crab was one of many food staples from the sea for numerous Indian tribes including the Makah, Skagit, Talalip tribes in the Northern Pacific region to the Miwok in California.
Picture by my wife, Connie
Recently on a cruise to Alaska my wife, Connie, and I took a side trip on a catamaran to Misty Fjords near Ketchikan and saw this fantastic island, and Connie took a picture of New Eddystone Rock “discovered” by Captain George Vancouver in 1793.
Vancouver also named a place on the Strait of Juan de Fuca one year earlier in 1792 in Washington State Dungeness after the Dungeness headland in England which is on the coast of Kent on the English Channel. It was here that the crab now called Dungeness Crab was first commercially harvested - and hence, the name.
It is interesting to note that until about the 1950s all crabs in northern California were called Dungeness Crabs including the four species of Rock Crabs. All crabs including the Dungeness Crab in southern California were called Rock Crabs.
Size: A mature Dungeness Crab can measure 9.8 inches across the carapace but usually measure under 7.9 inches. The mature males are usually larger than the females.
Mating: Mature female crabs generally moult in the summer months between May and August, and mating occurs immediately after the female has moulted and before the new exoskeleton hardens. Males are attracted to females by pheromones present in the urine of female Dungeness crabs. Upon locating an available female, the male initiates a protective pre-mating embrace that lasts for several days which appears to be common in all crabs. In this embrace, the female is tucked underneath the male, oriented such that their abdomens touch and their heads face each other. Mating occurs only after the female has moulted, and the female signals her readiness to moult by urinating on or near the antennae of the male. The female extrudes the eggs from her body several months later; however, they remain attached under her abdomen for three to five months until they hatch. Small female Dungeness Crabs can have about 500,000 eggs, and larger females can have between 1.5 and 2 million eggs. Young crabs are free-swimming after hatching, and go through five larval stages before reaching maturity after about ten moults or two years.
Mating: Mature female crabs generally moult in the summer months between May and August, and mating occurs immediately after the female has moulted and before the new exoskeleton hardens. Males are attracted to females by pheromones present in the urine of female Dungeness crabs. Upon locating an available female, the male initiates a protective pre-mating embrace that lasts for several days which appears to be common in all crabs. In this embrace, the female is tucked underneath the male, oriented such that their abdomens touch and their heads face each other. Mating occurs only after the female has moulted, and the female signals her readiness to moult by urinating on or near the antennae of the male. The female extrudes the eggs from her body several months later; however, they remain attached under her abdomen for three to five months until they hatch. Small female Dungeness Crabs can have about 500,000 eggs, and larger females can have between 1.5 and 2 million eggs. Young crabs are free-swimming after hatching, and go through five larval stages before reaching maturity after about ten moults or two years.
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." Dungeness Crab has received their "Best Choice" rating.
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. 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. Marine Stewardship Council.
Marine Stewardship Council
Certified as sustainable on December 1st 2010.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.
Oregon Dungeness Crab has been Certified as sustainable on December 1st 2010.
Oregon Dungeness Crab has been Certified as sustainable on December 1st 2010.
Size of Catch
This is a great picture of a Dungeness 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 Dungeness Crab is about 17,000 tonnes per year. A tonne is a metric ton and is equal to 1000 kilograms or 2240 pounds. In 2003 the total catch from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California was about 46,000 tonnes.
The size of the Dungeness Crab catch is small compared to other crab catches.
The average catch of Dungeness Crab is about 17,000 tonnes per year. A tonne is a metric ton and is equal to 1000 kilograms or 2240 pounds. In 2003 the total catch from Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California was about 46,000 tonnes.
The size of the Dungeness Crab catch is small compared to other crab catches.