CRAB AND LOBSTER FISHERIES 197 



includes both fresh and decaying fish or meat; hence it readily takes bait 

 in many forms. 



Historically it appears that the blue crab fishery was first established 

 about 1878 in Norfolk, Virginia, where the fishery is still of major impor- 

 tance. The production and marketing of the fresh, chilled meat was 

 developed in the early years and continues to be a primary factor in the 

 industry to the present date. Attempts to increase the storage life of the 

 fresh meat without changing its desirable characteristics were not success- 

 ful until the development of the low temperature pasteurization tech- 

 nique^ in 1941, which was later patented-. In 1960 the blue crab produc- 

 tion accounted for about 70 per cent of the total crab catch of 221 million 

 pounds and over 50 per cent of the total catch value of 17 million dollars. 



Fishery Methods. Methods and gear for harvesting the blue crab are 

 of considerable diversity, as might be expected from the complex life 

 history and wide range of the species. Various types of gear include dip 

 nets, push nets, scrapes, fykes, haul seines, pots, dredges, and trothnes^^ 

 In 1960^^ 60 per cent of the catch was produced by pots, 20 per cent by 

 trotlines with bait, 7 per cent by dredges, and about 7 per cent by otter 

 trawls. Scrapes and trotlines were important for soft and peeler crab 

 production, producing about half of the five million pound catch. In 1959 

 an industry survey report^*^ showed a total of 158 blue crab plants in 

 nine eastern and Gulf states. Maryland and Virginia showed the greatest 

 crab output because of the Chesapeake Bay production, which has 

 accounted for approximately two-thirds of the United States blue crab 

 production during the past ten years. 



Soft-shell Crab. The peeler crabs are retained in wood floats until one 

 to two hours after the crabs shed. The crabs must be carefully watched 

 to ensure that they are removed from the water after the shell has 

 hardened sufficiently to provide a firm skin for shipment, yet be of proper 

 softness for consumption. The hardening process is suspended when the 

 crabs are removed from the water. At that point they can be shipped to 

 market , alive by packing carefully in shallow trays with parchment and 

 crushed ice. The whole or cleaned soft-shell crabs can be frozen success- 

 fully by wrapping individually, placing in cartons, and quick freezing. 



Fresh and Frozen Blue Crab. Almost all blue crab meat is marketed as 

 fresh chilled or pasteurized chilled meat. The crabs are delivered alive 

 to the plant and are cooked whole by steaming in a large pressure cooker 

 at five to fifteen pounds of steam pressure. The cooking consolidates the 

 meat so that picking is facilitated, reduces the bacterial contamination, 

 and produces the typical crab flavor. Ulmer, et al.^'^, concluded, after 

 studies of the cooking methods, that pressure cooking the crabs at 250°F 

 (15 psi) for eight to ten minutes produced higher yield than crabs cooked 



