Turn the crab over and lift one 

 side of the top shell. With a small 

 knife, scrape off the grayish-white gills. 

 Repeat on the other side. Rinse with 

 cold water and pat dry. 



Never store freshly dressed crabs 

 in the refrigerator more than one day, 

 Taylor says. Crabs have a short shelf 

 life and spoil easily. It's best to use the 

 crabs the day they are bought. 



Although most coastal cooks 

 prefer to fry their soft crabs, the cushy 

 crustaceans can be baked, broiled, 

 grilled, stuffed and used with sauces. 

 Here's a recipe for you to try. 



Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs: 



8 soft-shell crabs, cleaned 



1/4 c. chopped onion 



1/4 c. chopped celery 



2 T. chopped green pepper 



1 clove garlic, minced 



1/4 c. melted margarine 



1 c. cracker crumbs 



2 T. milk 



1 beaten egg 



1 T. chopped fresh parsley 

 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 

 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

 1/4 tsp. salt 



1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 



1/4 c. melted margarine 



Saute onion, celery, green pepper 

 and garlic in margarine until tender. In 

 medium bowl, combine sauteed 

 mixture with crumbs, milk, egg, 

 parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, salt 

 and cayenne. Place crabs in a shallow, 

 well-greased baking pan. Remove top 

 shell from crabs, and fill each cavity 

 with stuffing mixture. Replace top 

 shell. Brush crabs with melted butter. 

 Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or 

 until shells turn red and crabs brown 

 slightly. Serves 4. 



Big Sweep T-shirts HOT OFF 



THE PRESSES 



North Carolina is celebrating the 

 Big Sweep '91 with a brand new cast 

 of characters. 



"The Big Sweep Bunch" makes its 

 debut on our white, all-cotton T-shirts, 

 hot off the presses. Against a vivid 

 splash of aquamarine, these five litter- 



busters lead the attack on shoreline 

 pollution. 



The girl and boy, along with their 

 aquatic animal companions, fish, bird 

 and turtle, have their hands full — of 

 cups, plastic and other throwaways. 

 And you will too, if you join them in 

 helping to clean our littered waterways. 



This year's Big Sweep is Sept. 21. 

 Join the Big Sweep Bunch by ordering 

 your T-shirt now. They're available in a 

 variety of sizes for children and adults, 

 priced at S7 and $8. 



Children's T-shirts come in small (6- 

 8) and medium (10-12), and cost $7 

 each. Adult sizes, small (34-36), large 

 (42-44) and extra large (46-48), cost S8. 



To order, write The Big Sweep, 

 Box 8605, North Carolina State Univer- 

 sity, Raleigh, N.C. 27695. Checks should 

 be made payable to The Big Sweep. 

 Include SI per shirt for postage and 

 handling. Please specify size and 

 quantity. 



Big Sweep '90's Dirty Dozen 



The Dirty Dozen has finally 

 emerged from the 165 tons of trash 

 picked up across North Carolina during 

 Big Sweep '90. 



After analyzing the data recorded by 

 the 10,000-plus volunteers who cleaned 

 the state's waterways, the Big Sweep 

 has come up with the 12 most preva- 

 lent shoreline litter items. 



Cigarette butts, new to last year's 

 data cards, were number one - 

 volunteers picked up 77,080 in all. The 

 filthy filters accounted for 19 percent of 

 all the trash items collected. 



Metal beverage cans came in 

 second, with 25,443 retrieved. Glass 

 and plastic beverage bottles followed in 

 third and fourth places, respectively, 

 with 24,073 and 20,704 recovered. 



Paper pieces ranked fifth at 17,350, 

 plastic pieces sixth at 16,624 and plastic 

 foam pieces seventh at 15,060. 



Plastic food bags represented 12,719 

 pieces of litter and the number eight 

 item. In ninth place was plastic foam 

 cups - 11,889 were picked up. Pieces 

 of glass - 11,302 of them - came in at 

 10th place. Metal bottle caps ranked 

 11th, with 9,282 collected. And the 12th 

 most prevalent item - representing 

 9,208 pieces - was plastic caps and lids. 



Boating Tips for Cleaner 

 Water 



As a boat owner, you can do a lot 

 to preserve the water whose resources 

 you enjoy so much. 



Remember the following rules of 

 the aquatic road. 



• Use onshore restrooms and 

 pump-out facilities when possible. 

 Never release garbage or raw sewage 

 from your boat. 



• Keep a trash container on board, 

 keep it covered and make sure every- 

 one on board uses it. If you dispose of 

 your garbage at a marina, follow their 

 recycling rules. 



• Avoid bringing disposable plastic 

 products on board. 



• Make it a rule that no trash goes 

 overboard, including old fishing line. 



• Retrieve trash found in the water. 



• Make sure your motor is not 

 leaking gas or oil. Don't drain engine 

 fluid into the water. Be careful not to 

 spill when adding oil to your engine. 



• Place a bilge pillow — an oil- 

 aborbing sponge available in marine 

 stores — in your bilge to remove oil 

 from your bilge water. 



• Clean your boat with non- 

 phosphate detergent and a scrub brush. 

 Avoid using toxic polishes or stain 

 removers on or near the water. 



• Obey posted speed limits, and go 

 slow near banks that your wake can 

 erode. 



From Earth Guide: 88 Action Tips 

 for Cleaner Water, published by the 

 Connecticut, New York and New Jersey 

 Sea Grant programs. 



19 



