624 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



Table 134. United States Pack of Canned Crabs, 1948. 



The 1948 pack of canned crabs amounted to 220,802 standard cases, valued at $4,846,494 to the canner. 

 This was an increase of 58 per cent in volume and 79 per cent in value compared with the previous year. 

 The 1948 pack was the largest in history, exceeding the previous record, established in 1946, by nearly 

 22,000 cases. The increase in production occurred on the Pacific Coast, where the pack totaled 187,420 cases, 

 a gain of over 81,000 cases compared with the previous year. Three species of crabs were canned in 1948: 

 Pacific Coast dungeness crabs, 169,798 cases; Atlantic Coast blue crabs, 33,382 cases; and Alaska king 

 crabs, 17,622 cases. 



Can size and number Actual 



of cans to case cases 



$361,200 6V2 ounces (48 cans) 

 220,672 61/2 ounces (24 cans) 



Value 



13 ounces (24 cans) 



186,368 3l^ ounces (48 cans) 



Total 



220,802 4,846,494 



Total 



' Includes a small pack of 5-ounce cans, packed 24 to the case. 



Note: "Standard cases" represent the various-sized cases converted to the equivalent of 48 cans to 

 the case, each can containing 61,-2 ounces of crab meat. Crabs were canned in 6 plants in Louisiana, 21 in 

 Washington, 9 in Oregon, 10 in Alaska, and 1 plant each in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

 Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and California. 



Source: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



Table 135. Pack of Canned Crabs, 1939 to 1948. 



Source: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



locality, and time of moulting. Lightly cooked crab meat is packed in parchment- 

 lined, 6.5-ounce flat cans, sealed under high vacuum and processed at 250° F 

 for 30 minutes. It is recommended that the flake or lump meat be canned sep- 

 arately from that removed from the claws. The analysis of canned blue crab meat 

 is shown in Table 136 (Fellers, 1940). 



