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blue crab

All About Blue Crab

by Crab Guy on October 28, 2008

Although there are thousands of species of crab, the blue crab is one of the most important and famous. Found in the Chesapeake Bay, the blue crab serves as the Bay’s signature crustacean.

The blue crab is a member of the swimming crab family, known as Callinectes (“beautiful swimmer”) sapidus (“savory.”) The species is an aggressive, bottom-dwelling predator and affects many other organisms in the Bay ecosystem and food chain.

What does the blue crab look like?
Blue crabs vary in color from olive to bluish green with white underneath.

Maryland blue crab

Adults have bright blue claws. Claws of mature females have red at the tips.
Rear swimming legs shaped like paddles and three pairs of walking legs.
The width of the shell is more than twice its length and blue crabs can grow to 9 inches wide.
The shell has nine teeth on the margin; the ninth tooth is a strong spine.
Male blue crabs’ abdomens, also known as the apron, is strongly tapered, resembling an inverted “T.” The female abdomen is broad and rounded, wile the immature (prior to mating) female’s is triangular.

Where does the blue crab live?
During the course of their lives, blue crabs utilize all habitats within the Bay. Distribution of crabs varies with age, sex and season.

They tend to be most abundant in shallower areas during warm weather and are plentiful in the Bay’s deeper portions during winter.
Females congregate in saltier waters, but males range much farther up the Bay and tributaries.
They are bottom-dwellers, using bay grass beds for mating, shelter and nursery habitat. This is also where they find food.

What does the blue crab eat?
Blue crabs serve as both predator and prey, for fish, birds and even other blue crabs. Soft shell crabs, blue crabs that have recently molted, are especially vulnerable to predators.
Blue crabs are omnivores and feed on nearly anything they can find, including:

Clams and oysters
Crustaceans
Dead fish
Bristle worms
Juvenile and soft shell blue crabs

Other facts about the blue crab:

Few blue crabs live longer than three years.
Mature female crabs are known as “sooks” and males are called “jimmies.”
Blue crab mating takes place from May through October.

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A Guide to the Many Different Types of Crab

by Crab Guy on October 28, 2008

There are over 4,400 varieties of crab. Here is a guide to a few of the most common, edible types of crab:

Blue Crab

Maryland blue crab Its Latin name, Calinectes sapidus, means “beautiful swimmer” and “savory.” Blue crabs are indeed a beautiful blue-green color, with large, bright blue claws. The blue crab is the most prolific species on the East Coast of the United States, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where it is the Bay’s signature crustacean. Blue crabs also give us the soft shell crab, which is a blue crab directly after the molting process. Blue crabs range in size from 3 ½” to over 9” and do turn the traditional reddish color when cooked.

Dungeness Crab

Latin name, Cancer magister, this crab is found in coastal waters from Alaska to Baja, Mexico. Dungeness is a large crab, usually weighing from 1 and ¾ to 4 pounds, and brown to purple in color. The Dungeness crab is named for the former small town Dungeness on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, which first began commercially harvesting the delicacy. The pink flesh of these crabs is succulent and sweet, making it an ultimate, desirable catch. Law requires the crab to be at least 6 and ¼” long to be harvested and only male crabs can be taken from the waters. Prime season for Dungeness crab is in the winter months.

Horseshoe Crab

This crab is named for its resemblance in shape to a horseshoe. Horseshoe crabs are considered living fossils, tracing roots back some 500 million years. It is found along the Atlantic Coast from Nova Scotia to the Yucatan and along Asian coasts from japan and the Phillipines to India. This crab is edible, however, the ratio of meat to shell is fairly small.

King Crab

This giant crab is often called, “Alaskan King crab,” “Japanese crab,” and “Russian crab” due to its size, which can reach up to 25 pounds and measure up to 10 feet. King crab has been made recently famous on the popular television show, Deadliest Catch. These crabs are large, but only about one quarter of the entire crab is edible, primarily the legs and claws. Only male King crabs are harvested. The delicately-flavored meat is bright, snow white with a bright red outer edge.

Rock Crab
Red rock crabs
Rock crab is found on the East Coast of the United States, living among rocks and in deep water. Rock crabs’ spindly legs make it resemble a spider and is also known as “Spider crab.”

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The Chesapeake Bay - What Sets It Apart

by Crab Guy on September 25, 2008

Crabbing off the dock on the Chesapeake Bay at sunrise

The word “Chesapeake” comes from a Native American word which means “great shell fish bay.” For many residents of the Chesapeake Bay, the beginning of summer is marked by the traditional crab feast.

The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s largest estuary, which is an area where fresh water and salt water mix. The Chesapeake Bay has historically been the center of United States hard shell blue crab fisheries, as well as the largest national supplier of soft shell crabs. Maryland soft shells are consumed in England, Japan, Iowa and Georgia.

Surprisingly, the Bay is quite shallow in most areas, with the deepest parts being around thirty feet, with the exception of a few channels that reach 100 feet deep. There are several large rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay with the Susquehanna River being one of the most prominent. For those living in Virginia or Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay is one place that will always be cherished, and those that vacation here will be more than likely to visit again. The Chesapeake Bay is even so special that they named a type of retriever after it! The Bay and the surrounding areas are full of countless adventures. Chesapeake Bay activities range from crabbing, museums, seafood festivals, arts and crafts shows, to waterfront festivals, boat races, fishing tournaments, and boat shows, just to list a few.

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the most productive estuaries in the world. Home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals, the Bay is an incredible ecosystem which tries to maintain a healthy balance every day. The most famous part of the Bay would be what lies within, the blue crab. The blue crabs have the highest commercial value of all the catch in the Chesapeake Bay. The second most well known crustacean would be the eastern oyster. Oysters are extremely important for the surrounding economies and the water quality of the Bay. They also provide habitat and food for several species in the Bay.