Hermosillo, Mexico

Soft Shell Crabs ... Catch Them Yourself

Crabs are arthropods. They have a hard external skeleton. In order to grow, they have to molt or shed the hard outer shell. Immediately after shedding the shell, the entire body is soft and pliable. The crab continues to absorb water into its tissues and cells causing the entire body to expand and grow and additional 25% of its size before molting. As time passes, the outer skin becomes leathery and then papery and then hard as the cells absorb calcium from the surrounding water. How long does this all take? That depends on the temperature and I don't know but my best guess would be several days for our particular type of crab.

The soft shell crab that emerges during the molt is helpless and vulnerable and delicious. If you can get one, just lift one side of the carapace or top shell and remove the gills. Do the same on the other side and the crab is ready to cook. If you are squeamish, you can cut off the face (eyes, antennae and mouth) and the tail. But there is nothing in the intestine because the crab has not eaten for some time ... maybe as long as a week.

Now, roll the entire crab, legs, claws and all in flour , cracker meal or your favorite breading and gently place it in a saucepan with enough oil to cover the bottom ... butter would be even better but keep the temperature low. Fry slowly until the batter or flour turns golden brown on the bottom. Then flip the animal over and continue cooking until it is golden brown all over. The larger the crab, the longer this will take. When done, the entire body will be firm. remove it from the pan, drain on paper towels and serve just the way it is ... no sauce, no nothing. The flavor is distinctive and stands on its own. Some people, including me like to make a sandwich. Put the crab between two slices of white bread with mayonnaise. Throw on a little shredded lettuce if you like.

But first you have to catch the soft crabs. I wish I had a sure fire strategy for these crabs but I do not. The environment just doesn't provide obvious places to find them. But they are there and you can get enough to eat if you persist.

If you go wading after hard crabs with the dip net as described on the crabbing page, you will undoubtedly catch a few. My students or my family and their friends almost always do. the problem is, they do not recognize the soft crabs as different from the hard shell forms. You can actually tell on sight. The hard crabs are aggressive and move quickly. The thrash about with their pinchers grabbing almost anything they contact. Soft crabs act soft. They just roll into the net with their claws folded in to the body. No heavy duty thrashing. If you suspect the crab is soft, you can touch it with your finger or another object to verify your first observation. If soft, it absolutely cannot hurt you, but if treated roughly it will not live long and the body will almost fall apart. Reach into the net and take the crab up in your palm and place it in a container that is separated from the hard crabs whose random thrashing will destroy the soft crab.

While small hard crabs are not desirable because it is too much work to remove the meat, small soft shell crabs are actually better tasting. Since you prepare the whole crab (less the gills) size is not a real problem. Tell your team to catch everything they see and check to see if it is soft. If not, throw the smaller ones back and only keep the larger hard shell crabs.

The second technique that we have used fairly successfully is a small seine net. It takes two people to pull the net and it is far and away most effective at night. The hole operation is fairly simple. Each person holds the dowels or posts that attach to the net that is between them. They then walk through shallow water and preferably small channels sweeping the entire water column. It is important that the net operators keep moving forward, make sure the net forms a bag, and keep the lower end of their dowels well in front so that the bottom of the net (chain line) is in front of the top (float line). After a short pass, the operators pull the net up onto the beach. As it comes out of the water, the net collapses, trapping whatever is inside.

The catch is almost always interesting. Even if there are no soft crabs, there is often lots to see. Many small crabs and colorful fish are often swept up in the net and in April and May there may be lots of shrimp.

Soft crabs or no, the seine is worth the effort. Try it in different areas and at different depths. It is important that the bottom is free of obstructions as rocks and branches. If the chain line hangs up, the catch will be lost. The net does not have to be landed on a beach. The operators simply agree on a time and place and rapidly lift the chain line to the surface while pulling away from one another. This lifts the entire net out of the water with the catch trapped in the bag in the middle. Another person and "cull" whatever is wanted and then the net is dumped and another sweep is made.

Soft crabs are ignored by the commercial fisherman here. Very few people even know what they are and I have not met anyone who has convinced me that they have actually eaten one. I have thought that this should be a potential industry. There are lots of crabs. The problem is that there is no shallow water area where they might concentrate when they shed. Sonora esteros are almost completely free of places to hide. There are not expansive beds of sea grass and algae as in the estuaries of the eastern U.S.. There are no holes and few rocks. Thus the crabs probably shed in the rocks in deeper water where there is protection in the cracks and crevices ... not a great place to get them. But for the casual crabber, there is enough action combined with hard crabs, shrimp and other animals to make it worth the effort ... at least once in a lifetime.

If you are going to spend a few nights at the estuary, you might as well do some clamming and explore the rocky intertidal zones of nearby beaches. If the weather is calm, snorkeling will reveal a virtual aquarium of exotic fish and invertebrates.

Seafood ... a first look..

SHRIMP.

Go to the HOTPAGE Do It Yourself Seafood page.

Buying crabs and crabmeat.

Catching your own crabs ... a real learning experience.

Soft Shell Crabs ... yes, they are here.

Catch and cook your own clams, mussels and snails.

Back to the HOTPAGE FOOD & DRINK index.

Comments or suggestions? Want to share your own knowledge or experiences? Send an email to nschool@nschool.org