clean the crustaceans by removing 

 the eyes, mouth, gills and apron, a 

 movable flap on the crab's abdomen. 

 (See Cleaning Soft-Shell Crabs, 

 page 16.) 



A soft crab has 10 to 15 times 

 more edible meat than a hard crab. 

 "Out of 100 pounds of hard crabs, if 

 you get 10 pounds of meat, you're 

 doing good," says Wescott. 



Soft crabs are classified by size. 

 The crab is measured from the 

 distance between the two points of 

 its carapace. Mediums are 3 1/2 to 4 



inches across; hotels, 4 to 4 1/2 

 inches; primes, 4 1/2 to 5 inches; 

 jumbos, 5 to 5 1/2 inches; and 

 whales, 5 1/2 inches and over. 



During the early peeler run, 

 there's even a market for 2- to 3-inch 

 crabs, which are served as hors 

 d'oeuvres in swank eateries. 



Penny Hooper calls these 

 harbingers of spring "Core Sound 

 Petites." Smaller crabs, which molt 

 early and often, herald the shedding 

 season. 



In May and June, the Hoopers 



will be moving 'round their 20 

 shedding trays day and night in a 

 high-speed game of molting musical 

 chairs. The payoff is sweet, but in 

 peak season, crabs bust as fast as 

 shedders can pull and pack them. 



"I imagine it's like Christmas 

 Eve in a department store," says 

 Penny. "You live through it and 

 you're happy the next day." 



As peelers advance toward their 

 molt, shedders grade them according 

 to the color of the distinct line that 

 appears on the outer edge of the last 



A soft crab has 1 to 15 

 times more edible meat 

 than a hard crab. 



two joints of their paddle fins. 



White-line peelers have a white 

 or transparent line and are five to 14 

 days from shedding. When the line 

 turns pinkish or light purple, the crab 

 is two to six days from its molt and is 

 called a pink-line peeler. A deep red 

 or purple line indicates a "rank" or 

 red-line peeler, which will shed in 

 one to three days. 



The buster is the last stage before 

 shedding. A crack develops at the 

 base of the crab's top shell between 

 its two paddle fins. 



It takes a skilled and experienced 

 crabber to distinguish peelers. But 

 the good ones can cull whites, pink 

 and reds from hard crabs as easily as 

 a confectioner sorts jelly beans. 



Continued 



Crabs metamorphose through 

 several larval stages before reaching 

 their familiar adult form. 



COASTWATCH 9 



