Two words. Old Bay.
Posted on 05/02/2010 5:29:48 PM PDT by nickcarraway
This monster from the deep is one of the largest edible crab ever caught in the UK — with claws the size of a human fist.
Titan, who packs a 60cm "claw span", was found in a lobster pot belonging to Mylor fisherman Ned Bailey, five miles south east of Falmouth, Cornwall. The chunky crustacean tips the scales at 3.5kg (8 lbs) and has a 26cm (10.2in) shell and a pair of fist-sized claws.
Marine experts believe he may be the largest known living specimen of edible crab in the UK.
Titan will be spared the pot because of his size and has instead gone on display at the Blue Reef Aquarium in nearby Newquay. Matt Slater, curator of the aquarium, said: "Ned called us as he knew Titan was a magnificent specimen.
"You often hear reports of giant crabs and take them with a pinch of salt. However, Titan really is a bit of a monster.
"He's twice as big as any other edible crab we have ever had at the aquarium. His claws alone are absolutely massive!
"He's in fantastic condition and is quite feisty so you do have to take care when handling him. There's no accurate way of working out how old he actually is – but judging on his size alone he must be close to 20 years, if not even older."
Britain's largest species of crab, the edible crab uses its giant claws to crush and tear its prey, which includes a variety of shellfish, including mussels. The crab is also a highly successful scavenger.
Tests have shown that edible crabs' claws have the crushing strength of over 90lb per square inch (PSI). An average person's hand is only capable of squashing with the force of 25PSI.
The largest individual previously caught in the UK was caught in 2008 by a diver at Lyme Bay, Dorset. It weighed 17lb and had a shell width of 12 inches.
I can tell by looking at her...don’t haggle with her she will only nipple and dime you!
Two words. Old Bay.
All at once men!!!!!!! NOT GUILTY!
>”Where’s the crab?”
I was wondering the same thing!
Ping to post #9.
They’re EVERYWHERE!
“Homed” ?
I guess it’s kind of Anglicism, but honestly I don’t remember seeing it before. They have one definition specifically for animals.
I prefer melted butter.
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