Posted by Eric Frasco on April 09, 2003 at 09:01:34:
In Reply to: Re: Hunting posted by seahunt on April 08, 2003 at 18:15:03:
I would be careful about advising someone to rip off the claws of a crab. DFG rules require you to take the entire animal. Taking one or both of the claws leaves the crab defenseless and is inhumane. I know of individuals that have been cited by DFG for "de-clawing" a crab.
Crab claws have their strength in pinching down, but very little strength in opening up. The best way to take a crab is to grab both claws at the same time, and grab outside the pinchers and hold them down.
And finally, one reason why so few people take crabs is due to the fact that the best meat inside the crab body (as opposed to the claw) is surrounded by a honey-comb like thin shell material, which makes for a lot of work to separate the meat from the shell. In comparison, it is very easy to get the meat out of the tail of a lobster. Crab meat can be very tasty, but after a day on the ocean and after cleaning up my gear, I just don't have the energy to spend a lot of time picking away at the crab shell just to get a mouthfull of meat.
I have eaten blue crabs from the east coast, and it is easy to get the meat out. So, maybe it is a matter of technique. Does anyone have a good method for getting the meat out of our west coast crabs?
-Eric-