Crabs - Part II

[T.Rally]

So what is the problem with crabs? I cooked crabs during the mid-eighties at a place called Mick's. We were paying 15.00 a bushel and selling the all you could eat for 10.00 a person (those were the days). What has changed? Back then to even see a female crab was a rarity and I was dealing with, on average, 30 bushels a day. To me its still taboo to eat a female but to each their own. I don't consider SusieQ and her husband to be contributing to the demise of the species. I do however take exception to the state of Virginia dredging the females up from the mud. Apparently these are the crabs sent to the picking houses to have their meat packaged and sold over the counter. Alot of which, supposedly goes overseas.

I also think that the return of rockfish to the Bay has also contributed to the demise. When the rockfish were damn near extinct, crabs were always plentiful. Ever since the return of the rockfish, crabs have been on the decline. Coincidence? Could be, but rockfish do eat baby crabs.

The popularity of "all you can eat" crabhouses do their part also. They need to start calling them "all you can waste". I can't believe the amount of crab that gets thrown away when I go to these places. What is so wrong with eliminating "all you can eat" and making people buy their crabs by the dozen? If people had to pay by the dozen, they would make sure no meat went to waste before ordering another dozen.

There are no facts here folks, just conjecture from someone who has messed with these crustaceans all their lives.

What do you think?

 

[SxyPrincess]

Whatever you do...do NOT, I repeat, do NOT buy crabs from Cap't. Lenoards...

 

[Ken King]

Originally posted by T.Rally
So what is the problem with crabs? I cooked crabs during the mid-eighties at a place called Mick's. We were paying 15.00 a bushel and selling the all you could eat for 10.00 a person (those were the days). What has changed? Back then to even see a female crab was a rarity and I was dealing with, on average, 30 bushels a day. To me its still taboo to eat a female but to each their own. I don't consider SusieQ and her husband to be contributing to the demise of the species. I do however take exception to the state of Virginia dredging the females up from the mud. Apparently these are the crabs sent to the picking houses to have their meat packaged and sold over the counter. Alot of which, supposedly goes overseas.

I also think that the return of rockfish to the Bay has also contributed to the demise. When the rockfish were damn near extinct, crabs were always plentiful. Ever since the return of the rockfish, crabs have been on the decline. Coincidence? Could be, but rockfish do eat baby crabs.

The popularity of "all you can eat" crabhouses do their part also. They need to start calling them "all you can waste". I can't believe the amount of crab that gets thrown away when I go to these places. What is so wrong with eliminating "all you can eat" and making people buy their crabs by the dozen? If people had to pay by the dozen, they would make sure no meat went to waste before ordering another dozen.

There are no facts here folks, just conjecture from someone who has messed with these crustaceans all their lives.

What do you think?

I agree, between Virginia, all you can eat, and the return of the Rockfish it's a wonder any crabs exist at all.

 

[tipsy mcgee]

And don't forget the return of the croaker/hardhead, a known soft crab feaster.

 

[DaMadman]

I wanna know what the heck Texas puts in thier water down there. It is one of the only other places in the U.S. that you can find Hard Blue crabs other than MD, and the Carolina's

I seen a thing on TV that you can get them in one area down in Texas and they have a blue crab festival that lasts two days, Kinda like the Oyster Festival in St. Mary's and these people in Texas consume 10's of thousands of dozen's during that festival.
If I am not mistaken it was less than 100,000 dozen but not much less.

If we did that in Maryland it would crush the Blue Crab Population in the rivers and Bay, I think? Could be wrong but anyway that is a lot of freakign crabs one way or another

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by DaMadman
I wanna know what the heck Texas puts in thier water down there. It is one of the only other places in the U.S. that you can find Hard Blue crabs other than MD, and the Carolina's

You can get them on the gulf coast of Florida as well. The thing is its the brackish waters of the Chesapeake and it's tribs that give the MD Blue Crab its worldwide notoriety.

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by DaMadman
I wanna know what the heck Texas puts in thier water down there. It is one of the only other places in the U.S. that you can find Hard Blue crabs other than MD, and the Carolina's

You can get them on the gulf coast of Florida as well. The thing is its the brackish waters of the Chesapeake and it's tribs that give the MD Blue Crab its worldwide notoriety.

 

[DaMadman]

Yeah I thought there might have been an area in Fla that had them but then I thought Maybe not

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by DaMadman
I wanna know what the heck Texas puts in thier water down there. It is one of the only other places in the U.S. that you can find Hard Blue crabs other than MD, and the Carolina's

I seen a thing on TV that you can get them in one area down in Texas and they have a blue crab festival that lasts two days, Kinda like the Oyster Festival in St. Mary's and these people in Texas consume 10's of thousands of dozen's during that festival.
If I am not mistaken it was less than 100,000 dozen but not much less.

If we did that in Maryland it would crush the Blue Crab Population in the rivers and Bay, I think? Could be wrong but anyway that is a lot of freakign crabs one way or another

I did some checking. The annual harvest of blue crabs in Texas is around 4.1 millions pounds per year. Maryland's annual harvest is around 24.0 million pounds per year. I thought the Chesapeake was the blue crab capital of the world. The annual harvest of hard crabs from the Chesapeake Bay accounts for over 50% of total U.S. landings.