Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-09-24
SOFT CRAB INDUSTRY.
HOW THIS POPULAR DELlcACY IS
PREPARED AND SHIPPED.
The Business is Loss Than Thirty Years
Old, But the Annual Output Is More
Than 25,OOO,0OO, Worth S1,0o0,000-
The Crabs Firth and Growth.

%ObOOOpOOO, SAtooobSoo
The Crabs Birth and Growth.
The popularity of soft crabs as an
article of diet is of recent develop
ment. Previous to 1870 comparatively
few restaurants in America served
them. Small quantities were re-
ceived incidentally at several places
along the coast, where they were
picked up principally by boys wading
in shallow water. No dependence
was placed in supplies thus obtained
and there was nc regular fishery o.
any place.
The soft crab industry was inaugu-
rated about 1873 at Crisfield, Md. It
consisted in catching the crabs imme-
diately before molting and impound-
Jag them until after the shedding of
the shells, when they were carefully
placed in crates with ice and seaweed
and shipped to market. The persons
who inaugurated the enterprise were
subjected to considerable ridicule and
received from their neighbors the
title of "crab breeders" Theirsuccess
however, resulted in the establish
ment of the business at many other
points and within a very few years
"crab breeding" became one of the
most profitable and extensive Of the
fishery operations on the coast.
At present nearly If not quite
10000 persons are employed in the
industry on the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts of the United states and about
25,000,0O0 soft crabs are secured an
nually. A. fair valuation of these in
the wholesale markets is about fifty
cents per dozen, making the total
value of the yield somewhat more
than S1.00O,000. The crabs are col
lected at numerous points from Mass
achusetts to Texas and especially in
the estuaries of Maryland, Virginia
and North Carolina each about
100000 and all the remaining states
combined about 100000 in number.
The soft crab is the common blue
crab (Calinectes hastatus) at certain
stage in it's development. During the
summer the young crabs are hatched
from the eggs carried under the
apron" which is doubled or folded
under the thoraX. From 10000 to
$4,000 are produced by each female.
Although extremely small at first,
they grow rapidly, and by October
they range in size from one to three
inches in length. At the beginning
of winter these small crabs, and the
adults as we'll, seek protection from
the cold by retiring to deep water,
where they enter into condition of
lowered vitality either on the bottom
or half buried in the mud. On the
approach of warm weather in the
spring they return to shoal water and
increase in size very rapidly
At periods varying in frequency
with the rapidity of growth the crab
sheds its shell, including the entire
external skeleton and the lining OF
the digestive tract. This moulting
process is intimately connected with
the growth of the crustacean, and 1t
is only at the time of shedding that
the crab increases in size. In the ear
ly stages of it's existence this func-
tion is frequently exercised, but as 1T
approaches maturity, moulting be-
comes less frequent. Adult crabs shed
the shell probably only once a year,
and very old crabs rarely ever moult.
A crab approaching the shedding pro-
cess is known in the vernacular of the
coast as "peeler" and then q bust.
er." After moulting the crustacean
quickly passes through the stages in
which it is known as paper shelp
and "bucliler" respectively, again be-
coming hard crab.
Two principal forms OF apparatus
are employed in the fishery, viz: The
dip net and the scrape or dredge. Dip
nets are used principally i'll very
shoal water and especially early in
the season, since crabs nolt much
earlier in shoal than in deep water.
It is also the favorite form of aD-
paratus in those localities where the
fishing is of small extent. The dip
net consists of a single bag net Of
twine, attached to handle four or
five feet in length.
The scrape or dredge used in taking
crabs closely resembles the ordinary
oyster.dredge in form, but it Is mitch
lighter and the pocket is made Of
twine.netting instead of iron rings.
Two or three scrapes are attached
to the sides OF each canoe by means
of long ropes and are thrown over.
board at the fishing grounds and
dragged along the bottom. At short
intervals the canoe is brought to-"
the scrapes are lifted and the con.
tents dumped on a culling platform
in the boat. There the crabs of suit
able size and condition are quickly
separated from the mass and placed
in receptacles, while the refuse is
thrown overheard.
The catch huctuates greatly, de-
pending principally on the weather
conditions. Cold weather causes the
crabs to seek deep water. Wind
storms have the same effect and also
interfere with the operations of the
boats. Tne average daily catch for
each fisherman is from 80 to 100
crabs, although some individuals oc.
casionally secure 800 or 400 in one
day.
Hard crabs, "peelers," BUSTERS
soft crabs, ETC., are all caught to-
gether. In most localities the hard
crabs are discarded, as the market
price is not sufficiently high to pay
for shipping them long distances;
but in some places where the fishery
is extensive these are boiled and the
flesh extracted and shipped to market,
where it is used extensively in the
preparation of "deviled crabs. The
"neelers" "busterS." and soft crabs