Blue Land Crab

baitin

This is about the Blue Land Crab - Cardisoma guanhumi not the Blue Swimming Crab(Callinectes sapidus).

The season is open around here until July 1 and stays closed until October 31. With only 1 month left in the season, I hope to be able to give them a try.

I have seen some pretty big clawed males out on the dry 'hills' above stretches of mangroves lately, definitely look like a good meal. The blue swimming crabs are easy enough to catch by hand, but these are so fast and dip into holes before you can even get near them.

What do you all think about eating them? They look small but tasty. Seems you can only catch them either by hand or with a net. No traps, no snares, no chicken drumsticks dipped in blood tied to some rope. I will be needing some thick gloves as they look pretty tough. :cool

Anyone out grabbing blue land crabs around here?

mandaferret

I have never eaten them. I do know some who used to catch them, and they would keep them in a pen while feeding the table scraps for a week or two to clear them out before eating. They said they were pretty good, but I don't plan on eating them.

baitin

Why no plans to eat them if you dont mind me asking? Just due to size or are they known to be riddled with parasites or something along those lines? Trudging through the mangroves to catch them seems like it would be enough of a chore/adventure to put most people off.

mjrodriguez300

Planning on going tonight. They are great eating but not much meat and hard to prep to cook. But honestly I just think its fun running in the mud catching **** that bites/clamps w.e. lol

mandaferret

I don't really like any crab too much. I doubt they would have many parasites.

baitin

mjrodriguez300 wrote: »

Planning on going tonight. They are great eating but not much meat and hard to prep to cook. But honestly I just think its fun running in the mud catching **** that bites/clamps w.e. lol

Haha nice. The weather is looking good right now. I plan to be out at 7am after taking my daughter to school, front end of low tide, so I will probably be tossing some live shrimp for snapper & sheepshead and netting mullet for last day snook. Land crab may have to wait another day.

Please let us/me know how the land crabbing goes. A little bit of danger goes a long way! :fishing

Tripleclean

I think there is a "fopaw" about eating land crabs for some reason, I ate them in africa and didnt know they where land crabs at all until after dinner.

mjrodriguez300

I've never kept them alive more than a couple of hours and never been sick. Today was nothinggggg last like year. Last year I had to leave cuz I had no more space to put crabs in.

Pic is of the first crab caught today. It was still light out and was surprised he was completely out of his hole. Crept up on him and made a quick go at the big claw he was waving around.

Uncle Buck

That thing has a beard!

Roc N Rol

I lived on Rum Cay, Bahamas for 13 months while building a house for friends and ate them several times. They were fun to catch at night running around with a flashlight chasing them down. I have seen some of my workers catch them during the day around the lumber piles, they would pull there legs off so they cant run away and then put them in a fire alive to cook them for a snack.

Fi$h2nguyen

Are these the same crabs that were splattered all over Kanner highway and cove road last year? There were hundreds of them right at the intersection.

Fi$h2nguyen

Fi$h2nguyen wrote: »

Are these the same crabs that were splattered all over Kanner highway and cove road last year? There were hundreds of them right at the intersection.

Yep, answered my own question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzTzGKu4BO4

wpbth

mandaferret wrote: »

I have never eaten them. I do know some who used to catch them, and they would keep them in a pen while feeding the table scraps for a week or two to clear them out before eating. They said they were pretty good, but I don't plan on eating them.

This is the only way I would eat them.

conchydong

In old days in the Keys, they called them "toilet crabs" because they used to burrow near the outhouses (food supply). As previously mentioned, best to keep them penned for a week or two and feed them water and coconut to filter and fatten them up.