Blue crab is a crab commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico, where Texas seafood comes from.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Portunidae
Genus: Callinectes
Species: C. sapidus
Binomial name: Callinectes sapidus
Blue Crab Trivia
- The blue crab is also known by other names like Atlantic blue crab and the Chesapeake blue crab.
- The Big Blue Crab was named by the World Record Academy as the World’s Largest Blue Crab (an installation, not an actual live blue crab). It is found in Rockport, Texas.
- When it is raining hard in Corpus Christi, it is not surprising to spot blue crabs, as reported in the news.
- The total blue crab landings in Texas for 1982: 8,018,700 pounds worth $2,378,416 (Gulf of Mexico OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) Region Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sales No.104-105: Environmental Impact Statement).
Blue Crab Buying Guide
- Buy crabs that are alive, or cooked and processed crab products like picked crab meat and crab legs. Never buy dead crabs. You should see it trying to move or squirm. If the crab is not moving, it could be dead.
- Do not buy crab meat if there is discoloration and if there are parts of the crab meat that has turned blue or gray. Crab meat should be white if it is fresh and in excellent condition.
- When buying crabs, consider what are you planning to cook. Some dishes require intact crab or crab legs, while there are dishes that require crab meat only. Fresh crabs are available at your local fish market or at the fresh seafood section of the supermarket or grocery store. Frozen crab meat is in the frozen goods section, while crab meat sold in a can or tub is in the canned food aisle.
Blue Crab Production & Farming in Texas
Blue crabs are caught in Texas in two ways: commercial and recreational.
“Although many species of crabs are present in Texas coastal waters, the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is the only crab extensively exploited by man” (Texoma Group Salt Domes, SPR: Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 4)
The book Texas Barrier Islands Region Ecological Characterization: A Socioeconomic Study Volume 1 shared some important milestones in the blue crab fishing landscape in Texas. “The first blue crab processing plant in Texas, built in Palacios in 1958, caused a rapid growth in commercial fishing by providing a market.”
Blue crabs hatch in inlets, coastal waters, and the mouths of rivers. Blue crabs will spend the majority of their lives in brackish waters. According to Gulf of Mexico OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) Region Proposed Oil and Gas Lease Sales No.104-105: Environmental Impact Statement, “the bays and estuaries within Galveston County provide nursery areas for shrimp and blue crab.” The maturity of blue crabs in the Gulf of Mexico happens as early as one year after hatching.
The book Texas Barrier Islands Region Ecological Characterization: A Socioeconomic Study Volume 1 explained that “spawning in Texas occurs from December through October. Mating occurs in the upper estuaries and the females migrate to the lower bays and Gulf for spawning.”
Pesticides, Additives, and Chemicals
There has been a study investigating the effects of organophosphate pesticide malathion on blue crabs.
A study conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science entitled Blue crab mortalities associated with pesticides, herbicides, temperature, salinity e, salinity, and dissolve, and dissolved oxygen also explored the role of pesticides and herbicides from land, among others, in the changes that happen to blue crabs.
Authorities suspect that pesticide poisoning was the cause of death of blue crabs according to an article from Coastal Review.
Unlike some kinds of seafood that contain mercury, crab usually has a very low mercury content. Brown crab, however, contains high levels of cadmium.
Geography
Blue crab is native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The territory covers Cape Cod to Argentina up to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Blue crab is also found in the Gulf of Maine.
The blue crab has been introduced to Japanese and European waters. Blue crab is thriving in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. The first time the blue crab was spotted in Europe was in 1901 at Rochefort, France.
The crab industry is big in four major locations in the US: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Texans enjoy their fair share of blue crabs. They harvest crabs from the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial and recreational crabbing happens year-round in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the book Texas Barrier Islands Region Ecological Characterization: A Socioeconomic Study Volume 1, “the predominant commercial crabbing areas in Texas are Galveston, San Antonio, Aransas, and Matagorda Bays and in Lower Laguna Madre.”
Packaging
Live crabs sold in the market do not have any packaging. Cooked and processed crab meat are sold in vacuum-sealed packs or in a can or tub.
Enjoying Blue Crabs
People all around the world eat crab. It has been part of the human diet for many years. Crab – including blue crab – is a favorite among those who enjoy eating seafood. It is meat and tasty and tastes great with dips and sauces or cooked as a sweet-spicy dish. Part of the experience of eating crab is breaking it apart. Others prefer to buy ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat crab meat without the shell, for convenience.
Crab meat is a great ingredient to use in making different dishes. By itself, crab meat is enjoyable to eat and goes well with many types of dipping sauces. It also goes well with different kinds of drinks, like beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages, making the crab meat-based dish a great bar food.
The most common sought-after part of the crab is the claws. You’ll also find brown meat and the orange “coral” (roe or eggs) for female crabs. This is edible. The flesh inside the main shell of the crab is somewhat an acquired taste; it is not for everyone because of its appearance, taste, and texture. You’ll also come across what they call “soft-shell crab” or a crab that has recently molted, shedding the old, hard outer shell.
Before eating blue crab, make sure you do not have a crab meat allergy.
Eating crabs must be done in moderation because crabs are high in sodium and cholesterol. Regular heavy consumption of crabs can result in several health problems even for a healthy person, and those with health or medical condition should follow the advice of the doctor regarding how much crab to eat and how often.
Storage
For live crabs, store them in the refrigerator or cooler. Remember: keep them moist and cool, but not wet.
Can you free live crabs? No! The flesh of a live crab that has been frozen will rot even at freezing temperatures. Instead, take out the meat, cook it, and then freeze it.
How long can you refrigerate live crab? It will stay alive inside the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
For crab meat, keep it in the refrigerator if you plan to cook it in the next couple of days. If you plan on storing it for longer, freeze it.
For live crabs, store them in the refrigerator or cooler. Remember: keep them moist and cool, but not wet.
Can you free live crabs? No! The flesh of a live crab that has been frozen will rot even at freezing temperatures. Instead, take out the meat, cook it, and then freeze it.
How long can you refrigerate live crab? It will stay alive inside the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
For crab meat, keep it in the refrigerator if you plan to cook it in the next couple of days. If you plan on storing it for longer, freeze it.
Cooking
The most common way to cook live crabs is to boil them. It is boiled in water seasoned with different ingredients to infuse the flavor of the crab meat. The whole crab is then broken apart to get the meat, which is dipped in sauce or dips. It is also common to cook or sauté crab legs in a wok, mixing them with different savory ingredients.
Use crab meat to make popular crab-based dishes like crab cakes, Crab Rangoon, crab meat sandwiches, seafood gumbo, and crab dip. Use it as toppings or ingredients in salads, casseroles, tacos, pizza, pasta, and noodle-based dishes. Use it as a filling for savory, meat-based breads and baked goods. Use it to make soups like crab bisque, or to make popular, comfort food dishes like mac and cheese and fried rice. Use it to make a patty to make crab meat burgers, or to make a cream cheese-based spread or dip.
Nutritional Benefits
Crab meat helps promote bone health and boosts mental activity. It also helps manage inflammation, improve immunity, and prevent anemia.
Crab meat is a good source of protein that helps build muscles, as well as folate, iron, niacin, selenium, vitamin B12, and zinc. Crab meat is also high in omega-3 fatty acids.
