THE AMERICAN CRAB INDUSTRY 



625 



Table 136. Analysis of Canned Blue Crab Meat. 



Composition 



Moisture 



Dry matter 



Protein ( N X 6.25 ) 



Total ash 



Ether extract (fat) 



Ext. matter (by difference) 



Cal./lOO g 77.00 



Alkalinity of ash 11.7 



Vitamin content per 100 g. 



Ascorbic acid 0.012 mg (24 lU) 



Thiamin 230 gamma (70 lU) 



Riboflavin 150 gamma (60 Bourquim-Sherman units) 



Dungeness Crab. The dungeness crab is canned in Oregon, Washington, and 

 Alaska. It is a much larger species than the blue crab of the Atlantic and Gulf 

 coasts, and some specimens measure 9 inches across the back of the shell. In 

 Alaska it is illegal to take any of these crabs measuring less than 7 inches across 

 the widest part of the shell; in Oregon and Washington the size limit is 7/2 inches. 

 Alaska establishes a closed season when no crabs are taken legally. While there 

 is no closed season in Oregon and Washington, the greatest canning activity is 

 during the summer months, when production is high and prices are low. 



The greater portion of dungeness crabs are taken in pots, a boxlike trap 

 similar to that described for the blue crab of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The 

 pots are set 150 to 300 feet apart in 6 to 15 fathoms of water. The traps are 

 set and hauled by small powerboats equipped with a boom and power gurdy. 

 When fishing the traps the boat picks up the trap by means of the buoy line, 

 hauls it on board, and sets a new baited trap. While the boat moves on to another 

 trap, the first is unloaded and rebaited so that it can replace the next one pulled. 

 It is estimated that 2 skilled men can handle about 150 traps a day and, if fishing 

 is good, catch about 150 crabs. The crabs are placed in a live box and held until 

 a "pick-up" boat from the cannery arrives; in some cases the fishermen deliver 

 them to the cannery. These crabs will not live long during extremely warm days 

 or when exposed to the sun. 



Jarvis (1943) describes the method of handling dungeness crabs in the cannery 

 as follows: 



"The crabs are taken to cleaning tables where a workman removes the back shell or 

 carapace by hooking the edge of the shell over a stationary hook and giving a sharp jerk. 

 Another workman then cuts each crab in half by bringing the body down across a large 

 knife blade fixed to the table. The viscera are removed and the body is thoroughly 

 washed in a jet of fresh clean water under considerable pressure. This water is warmed 

 sufficiently so that the hands will not be numbed in washing the crabs. 



"The cleaned and washed portions are taken to large cooking tanks filled with fresh 

 water heated by live steam. In some canneries sodivmi bicarbonate is added in the propor- 

 tion of /2 pound to 40 gallons of water. This practice is not recommended and should 

 be abandoned. It serves no useful purpose, increasing the natural alkalinity of the crab 



