Crabs around the world

[crabdoc]

Can someone kindly direct me to a source where I may learn more about various species of crabs around the world?

Case in point, whenver my wife and I travel to The Netherlands, we enjoy visiting the lovely and quaint town of Scheveningen on the North Sea (try pronouncing that like a native!). While there, we are sure to take a relaxing stroll and have a tasty seafood luncheon along the docks at the harbor.

Invariably, there are crabs to be seen cruising along in the waters. And they look, for all the world, like the Callinectes Sapides blue crabs of the Chesapeake Bay. Whenever we ask about the crabs, however,  the local natives shrug their shoulders and do not seem to know what to tell us. When we ask if they are edible, they just look at us as if we had two heads! We have never seen them in the seafood markets.

I am interested in knowing more about crabs around the world. Many thanks for your kind responses.

[tattoo]

GO on the internet i'm sure you will be able to find the info you are looking for.

[Avalonjohn44]

I can never find anything definitive on the web, but I've heard that Blue Crabs are making their way over to europe the same way zebra mussles made it over here, in ship ballast.

[Rachel]

Do you see it ?

http://www.naturalart.be/Mainpages/Marinelife/Crustaceans.htm

http://www.cdislands.com/html/photos_subject/photos_animals_marine_crustaceans_crabs.htm

http://www.ciesm.org/atlas/appendix2.html

[Tuarus]

QUITE A BIT OF THOSE CRABS WHERE FROM THE PHILLIPINES.

[Avalonjohn44]

Cool links Eastern Shore Gal!  Especially the 3rd!  The Blue Crab in the Mediterranian!  Awesome!!!

[crabdoc]

Thank you for the citations, Eastern Shore Gal.
Still trying to find the Atlantic Red Crab, and the northern Pacific King Crab and Dungeness Crab in the listings.
Surprised to see hardly a word about "importance as a food source". Mostly about taxonomy. it seems.

[Rachel]

Ahhhh I see you want food sources .  I thought you were just looking for taxonomy.

Dungeness
http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/fish/crab/dungeness.htm
http://www.pacseafood.com/products/dungeness_crab.html

Red Crab
on right is a list of crab exporters
http://www.fishfarming.no/crab-export.html

King crabs
http://members.iinet.net.au/~mulataga/kingcrabs.htm
http://www.crabbroker.com/seafoodGiantCrab.shtml

[crabdoc]

Thank you Eastern Shore Gal. Interesting citations.

[Ray R.]

Here is a dish of crabs from ( Barranquilla, Colombia South America ) that we had a couple of weeks ago.

( Small but tasty w/ JO #1 )

[Larry_D]

I'm not completely sure I'd want to consume this:

(http://www.naturalart.be/Mainpages/Marinelife/Crustaceans/crustweb/crust2.jpg)

Thanks for being beautiful, Callinectes sapidus!

[Tuarus]

COME ON LARRY JUST IMAGINE HOW MUCH MEAT IS IN IT. 

[Avalonjohn44]

That crab looks like an albino tick.  Ugh.

[Felinis]

Snow Crab - Opilio crab from "The Deadliest Catch" series on Discovery Channel

http://www7.taosnet.com/platinum/data/light/species/crabsnow.html
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/shellfsh/tanner.php

[SHELLFISH]

Looks like a spider crab but with meat. Wish the spiders had some meat in em; I've got no shortage of them up here! I've heard that some folks eat em but don't know what part they eat there's no meat! Maybe the roe?

[Larry_D]

COME ON LARRY JUST IMAGINE HOW MUCH MEAT IS IN IT. 

There's a lot of meat in my keyster too, but I ain't gonna eat it!  (I might with clarified butter, though.  Love the clarified butter.)

[SHELLFISH]

My dippin sauce: Melted butter sprinkled with Old Bay!

[Rachel]

Well, just in case you want to eat a spider crab or one of those over grown ticks ... this might help   

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/divers/egg/thorel-crab.htm

[daisycupy]

Crab doc I can pronounce Scheveningen  .......... I speak Dutch, actually Flemish.... (dutch dialect) I was born in Belgium next door to the Netherlands....
This is an interesting topic, The Dungeness is the crab of choice where I lived in Canada..... nice but not as nice as the Blue Crab.

  HOLY COW did you see the claw on the Mulataga King Crab from Australia, and they get to be up to 15kg =33lb

[crabdoc]

Hi Daisy Cup,
Nice note. Thank you.
If you have never been to Scheveningen, you must try to visit the quaint town next time you are in Holland. My wife grew up there.

Beachside resort on the strand at the North Sea, elegant Kuurhaus Hotel, casino, boardwalk.... And, you can almost stroll the short distance to Den Haag. Oh, and dont forget the crabs in the harbor (not on the menu however.) Cuisine is generally bland Dutch except for some OK Indonesian and Italian, of course.
Skip the parde vlees! Pickled herring looks good but I am leery of any raw seafood.

Some years ago we took the train to Bruge for a day trip. I remember having lunch at a sidewalk cafe and seeing these huge cooked crabs sitting out on the counter in the hot sun. Not good! Looked something like dungeness crabs.

Many years ago, I flew my plane from Martin State Airport in Baltimore to Cape May, N.J. to pick up some 4 to 5 pound New Jersey lobsters fora dinner party. Well, they had this huge lobster claw there. It weighed 7.6 pounds! (They said the whole lobster weighed more than 35 pounds!)

I took the claw home with me and actually cooked it. Had to crack it with a maul on the concrete garage floor. As you might have suspected, it was, indeed, tough! Fun though.

I, also, enjoy dungeness crabs. We can get them live here in the Baltimore area in season. Sausalito much better, of course.

[daisycupy]

Crabdoc........ didn't see this kool note from you until today...... So kool your wife is from Scheveningen. The Dutch and Flemish coast is very pretty and nothing better than the quaint towns, I'm very fond of "quaint". I was born in Lessine.... now that is quaint lol........
 I love the Garnalen sala(not sure how to spell that) served in a hollowed out tomato.... mmmmmm but not so fond of sunbaked crab lol.......... yuk.......... and as far as Horse Meat!!!(Parde vlees.... ) YUK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo ....... I raised and trained sport horses in Canada and cannot even bring myself to think of that......... although I know the Europeans think nothing of it and enjoy it ........ OMG YUKKKKK........ poor Flicka......... I guess it's just what your used to.....
A 7 lb. lobster CLAWWWW OMG!!!!!!!! wow!!!! do they grow back there claws like crabs? and mm I love lobster..... especially from the coast off Nova Scotia, NewBrunswick......... icy water = yummy lobster.......... hey do lobster hibernate?   
and lollll........ how kool you mention Sausolito........ my relatives live across the bay and overlook the Golden Gate bridge......... I lost my bathing suit in a riptide on Stinson Beach in Sausolito.... and thought I would die having to surface with nada on......... luckily my uncle saved the day with a towel, lollllll
Well you sound like quite the world traveler , enjoyed  your post so much......... tell some more about your travels.......................