How to Harvest Soft Shell Blue Crabs
Soft shell blue crabs are harvested after the crabs have shed their shells. Often, the crabs are collected during the peeler stage, or pre-molt, and kept in cages until the molt has occurred. They are then put in refrigeration and shipped to restaurants and other suppliers. Soft shell blue crabs can be found along the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard areas of the United States.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Find brackish water areas with grassy shoals or submerged structures along the shoreline. During the pre-molt and molting, blue crabs hide from predators in these areas.
-
2
Sling your crab net into the water close to shore. If you do not have a crab net, dip your dip net into the shallow water and troll for crabs close to the bottom.
-
-
3
Place blue crabs that have already molted on ice. Place pre-molt crabs into a live well or other container filled with water from the harvest site.
-
4
Allow the pre-molt crabs to finish the molting process in the live well. You can recognize the pre-molt state by the white line that forms on the last two joints of the swimming legs. These lines will turn red just before the molt.
-
5
Keep the soft shelled blue crabs on ice until ready to cook.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
In general, the best time to harvest soft shell blue crab is between April and October, with areas farther south having the longest season.
Blue crabs shed their shells regularly, every 3 to 5 days for small crabs and every 20 to 50 days for the more mature shellfish.
Blue crabs in the molting state are often referred to as peeler crabs.
Be sure and check with your local authorities for legal limits, legal size and allowable harvest dates for soft shelled blue crabs.
