Sandy Claus is comin' to town....

[nootka]

the little eight-legged ones!

Dungeness (pronounced DUN-Juh-ness) season is right around the corner and the boats are all loading up with crab pots, trucks drive by with trailers full of them stuffed with miles of green line and colorful buoys.

Hubby's been working on his boat's gear for over a month, now, and just today the boat set out for San Francisco, where the season opens "early" on Nov. 15.

He gets to fly down and meet the boat, though, so he gets a few days extra at home.

The season here in OR starts Dec. 1 provided the tests show the crab are ready.

Stormy weather and stacks of crab pots...truly it must be Christmas soon.

*LOL*

If you haven't tried it, I recommend it as the best tasting type of crab ever. If you are close, maybe we can find a way to get you a few either live or already cooked.

I will have to get some photos of the pots and boats, etc., and share them, now that I'm thinking about it.

This is also a very dangerous time as we traditionally lose several boats and/or crew in the very stormy weather when they overload their boats with pots or get swamped with waves as they work very close to shore in the surf sometimes.

I hope we have an unusual year and noone is badly hurt or killed.

Anyone else have any unusual occurrences that coincide w/the holidays and are therefore part of the "getting in the mood"?

Liz M.

 

[tuffsmom]

I have a tradition that coincides with the holidays!!! I *practice* eating!!

I have practiced on pumpkin pie and pecan pie so far!!!!

It's not as interesting and neat as the crabs...but it sure is fun!

 

[RENMACMINIS]

There is a TV show on about them catching crabs.. called "The deadliest catch" Is this the same one you are talking about???

 

[JO~*]

I was at the dock yesterday and everyone was getting geared up.

I have been meaning to take a picture of all the crab pots in the parking lot at the harbor but never have yet....maybe tomorrow

Is your boat stopping in Crescent City on the way down?

 

[nootka]

Jo, I hope they are not stopping there. They stopped in last year (different boat, the Chandalar), but this boat is headed straight to SF Bay and hopefully no glitches.

It is called the Seasick II.

*LOL*

RENMACMINIS, no, this season is taking place down here, and not quite as extreme as that type of crabbing, but my husband has done and sometimes does that same fishery.

We know many of the people featured in that show, the boats, too.

Liz M.

 

[Marty]

I have never seen anyone so happy to be catching the crabs............

 

[nootka]

*LOL* Marty, when it means 5 or 10 thousand bucks a week you would see lots of ppl happy 'bout catching them.



Liz M.

 

[CAM]

The show that I've seen a couple of times on tv now about crabbing was one titled something like The World's Most Dangerous Jobs and crabbing was at the top of the list. Wish your hubby lots of good luck and $$.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I'm happy for you

I will not eat anything that is cooked alive- some of the big ones take up to a minute to die....we criticise the Koreans because we consider cats and dogs house pets!!!! It's OK to do it to crabs because no-one has domesticated crabs, and Lobster?? Not for me, it isn't, sorry.

 

[Kendra]

Wow, another world! Boggles the mind of this prairie girl! How do they catch the crabs? And then how do they keep them alive? I've never even eaten crab, let alone caught it, I've got no idea!

 

[nootka]

The crabs are coerced into a big pot that looks like a cat food can (much larger, weighs about 90 lb.) covered in woven mesh. There is an escape ring for the ones that are too small also the females hopefully all get out. Only males of legal size (usually 5 and 3/4 inches) are trapped and kept.

There is some kind of bait inside the pot like fish heads and squid and clams.

They are hauled in, usually there are about 10-50 in a pot (hopefully more) by a hydraulic block that lifts the line (sometimes many fathoms of it, but usually not so many if they fish on the beach).

The pot is dumped out,t hey are sorted one more time for legals and females (they are quite alive and do just fine when put back).

They are then dropped into a tank of fresh saltwater on the boat (usually in the stern area below deck) and then when they have enough of a load, taken in to a processing plant where they are offloaded and then cooked quickly and/or sent to market alive in totes of fresh sea water.

They live quite well as long as the water is kept fresh or they are kept out of water no longer than a few hours.

The crabs are pretty closely related to spiders and other insects. Their affectionate nicknames among the fishermen is "bugs."

I've watched tons of cooks and none of the crabs is alive more than about ten seconds, I would guess, and from all I've asked about, they have a different nervous system than we do, and don't feel the same type of pain, it would be more a different sensation. I know it sort of bugs me, too, but seeing them, I am ok with it...they are ugly little dudes and yow, they pinch hard.

They are (the Dungeness) much more aggressive and fast than the larger King Crabs from Alaska. Hubby's been pinched several times, once while he was standing next to a garbage can full of them, one reached out and pinched him on the "cheek." I laughed til I almost passed out at that one.....

Liz

 

[CAM]

Hubby's been pinched several times, once while he was standing next to a garbage can full of them, one reached out and pinched him on the "cheek."  I laughed til I almost passed out at that one.....

Liz

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Can I borrow that crab?

 

[REO]

OMG Liz, I almost spewed my coffee! Butt cheek crab LMAO!!!