Blue Crab wanna -bes in Captree, NY?

[NY Crab Lover]

My neighbor went crabbing last week and showed me some so-called blue crabs... they look very much like blues but the do not have the color to fit the description. They are green and white yet look just like blues.

He cooked some and I remember the smell was not as attractive as the blues, and the taste was pretty bad although the meat texture seemed in line with the blues.

What are these crabs called?

thanks

[madcrab]

Most likely blue swimmer crabs.  Did they have longer, thinner, claws??

[NY Crab Lover]

Most likely blue swimmer crabs.  Did they have longer, thinner, claws??

Uhm... perhaps.. don't rember too well. however, all of the other body parts look exactly the same (i.e. shell, backfin, legs, spikes on the shell...) But how are these called "blue swimmers"? they weren't blue, just gryish green and white.

So is it okay to eat these suckers? I had one but w/o seasoning it tasted pretty bad. The neighbor told me that many ppl were catching and  these and none that looked like blues.

thanks

[madcrab]

Actually I am mistaken.  The blue swimmer crabs are native to the Indian Ocean region.  Guess they are something else...but I don't know what.  If it doesn't taste good...it definitely isn't a blue crab!!!

[NY Crab Lover]

Most likely blue swimmer crabs.  Did they have longer, thinner, claws??

I just googled it. They were definitely not "blue swimmers" and the claws werent skinny. They look exactly, well, almost the same as the blues. Just no trace of blue on them... I initially thought that they were immature blues but some were over 5 inches.

[NY Crab Lover]

Actually I am mistaken.  The blue swimmer crabs are native to the Indian Ocean region.  Guess they are something else...but I don't know what.  If it doesn't taste good...it definitely isn't a blue crab!!!

yeah... it had a game like fish if you know what I am talking about. Not sweet tasting as the blues. But if you were color blind, you would think that they were blues.

[NY Crab Lover]

yeah... it had a game like fish if you know what I am talking about. Not sweet tasting as the blues. But if you were color blind, you would think that they were blues.

* game fish like taste (just like the way you compare deer/moose meat to beef)... gamish taste... well I guess they weren't lethal since I amhere writing about it. 

[jack1747]

Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic Blue Crab) is not always Blue.  When the shell is old they are sometimes muddy brown to tan..

[NY Crab Lover]

Callinectes sapidus (Atlantic Blue Crab) is not always Blue.  When the shell is old they are sometimes muddy brown to tan.. I will try and post a pic this afternoon when I come back from tending the pots.  If I remember..   

I just googled it and saw what i believe I saw, however, these crabs actually have bluish legs but the ones I've seen don't. The color of the claws looks in-line with what I saw and they do look exactly lik the blues.

Now are these okay to eat? Not very tasty fellas... they must be the blues rejects... I'm assuming that this is not commercially fished unless this is the cheap crab that the food processors use to fill their lump crab meat orders. Not sweet, not sweet at all.

Thanks Jack!

[spinfreak]

The only crabs that I know of that look exctly like a blue crab, except a different color are Calico crabs. They're usually smaller, but I've seen some that were up around 5-6 inches or so. They might get bigger, but I've never seen them.

If they were Caico's, I've never heard of them being very edible. I knew a few people that used them for bait, but even then, they weren't preffered much. There were a few other types of crabs that worked better as bait, so if the fish didn't even like them much, I can't imagine what they'd taste like....LOL

I couldn't find a bigger pic, but here's what they look like....