Top producers in Florida expect this to be an above-average year for blue crab, thanks to recent rains that have brought fresh water to our bays and estuaries. Producers are bringing in large catches daily, and seafood markets and restaurants across the state are well stocked, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Harvest peaks annually in summer and fall. Blue crabs are harvested along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in bays, sounds, channels, and river mouths. The bulk of the harvest comes from Wakulla, Citrus and Duval counties. With an annual dockside value of around $6 million, blue crab is one of Florida’s top 10 seafood products. It ranks fourth in terms of pounds harvested.
Blue crab is harvested and eaten in two stages of its lifecycle, when the exoskeleton is hard and also when it’s soft. The soft-shell blue crab is a hard-shell crab that has shed its shell by molting. “Peeler” crabs (crabs in the process of molting) are held in water-filled tanks and watched closely until they form their soft shells and shed their hard ones. Then they are plucked out of the tanks and rushed to market. Soft-shell crabs are considered a delicacy and can be eaten shell and all.
Hard-shell crabs are sold live or steamed to restaurants and seafood markets. They are also sold to picking houses, where the delicate meat is extracted from the shell, usually by hand. Picked crab meat is available fresh or pasteurized.
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