Crab Fishing:

Crab fishing is confined mainly to coastal waters within 6 miles of the shore. Crabs are captured in baited traps designed to allow entry of the fish but to hinder its escape. Almost any kind of fish or shellfish can be used as bait for crabs.

Handling crabs at sea:

Live crabs should be handled as little as possible after capture. They should be put straight away into boxes or into the bottom of the boat. Crabs left exposed to sun and wind on deck will rapidly become weakened and may die. They should be put straight away into boxes or into the bottom of the boat. When live storage is necessary the crabs should be tightly packed in baskets held in aerated sea water.

Transporting crabs on shore
Crabs travel less well than .They are usually closely packed, back uppermost, in boxes or barrels, with a layer of wet straw or shavings in the bottom of the container to provide some cooling and prevent drying out.

Killing crabs
Crabs should be alive at the start of processing but must be killed prior to boiling; otherwise they will shed their claws. They can be killed either by drowning in fresh water or by spiking the nerve centre or brain. Spiking through the nerve centre is done by inserting a pointed rod just above the mouth parts; the crab is killed almost immediately.

Cooking
Crabs should be cooked immediately after killing by boiling them in water containing 2-3 per cent salt for 20-30 minutes, depending upon size . This amount of cooking will kill a very high proportion of the bacteria present, and will destroy any potential disease-causing organisms.

Picking
After cooking, crabs delivered unpicked are transferred to picking stations where the meat is removed from the shells and is washed and packaged.

Cold Storage
Crabmeat to be utilized immediately is maintained iced or refrigerated until canning. Crabmeat to be processed later may be frozen at this point and maintained in the frozen state until needed.

Thawing
When required, thawing is accomplished by immersing crabmeat in tanks containing circulated potable water. Sensory evaluations are conducted after thawing to assure acceptable quality.

Cooking/Cooling
Crabmeat receives an additional cooking prior to can filling. Cooked crabmeat is cooled quickly to maintain quality.

Cleaning
Cooked and cooled crabmeat is placed on cleaning tables where pieces of shell remaining from the picking operation are manually removed and additional quality and sensory evaluations performed.

Can Filling
Prescribed amounts of crabmeat are wrapped in parchment paper to preserve color and placed in cans. Liquid packing media and other ingredients are added, either manually or by dispenser.

Can Sealing
Filled cans are conveyed to sealing machines where lids are put in place and the cans hermetically sealed. Each can or lid is affixed with a permanent production code that identifies plant, product, date packed and other pertinent information. The integrity of the hermetic seal is evaluated at frequent intervals during processing to ensure product safety.