How American Fishermen Catch And Process Billions Of Big Crabs

How American Fishermen Catch And Process Billions Of Big Crabs

from the peaceful Chesapeake Bay with its blue crabs to the Colossal snow crabs 1300 ft deep under the Bearing Sea today we’re heading to the US to learn how billions of crabs are harvested processed and exported here our first stop is the California Oregon and Washington coasts teaming with dungeon crabs the most commercially important crab in the Pacific Northwest in 2022 36.6 million PB of dungeoness crabs were harvested and sold for $181 million a female crab can hold up to 2.5 million eggs for 2 years crabs grow through shedding shells which turn them from microscopically Tiny to this big just after 2 to 3 years though dungeoness crabs can actually live up to 8 to 13 years many are caught at about 4 years old or die from predators and environmental factors this is why fishery authorities closely monitor crab population Dynamics to ensure sustainable crabbing dungeoness crab fishing season typically runs from November 4th to July 30th but it’s been been pushed back 6 years in a row to protect humpback whales which migrate from California to the breeding grounds in Mexico and Central America in the fall crabbing has always been a physically demanding job but today machines like this window and GPS have made the job easier the krabber workday starts very early in the crab season they prepare their boats and head out to the crab traps set yesterday on the way there they often prepare baits which are fish and shrimp scraps 175 to 500 crab traps are waiting for them every day so every minute counts when they reach the first buoy the brightly colored thing that marks the Trap location the captain will use the window to bring the Crab Trap up and hand it to the Shaker the Shaker will then shake out the crabs and put in new faint meanwhile the color will sort the harvested crabs only male crabs with carpes above 6.25 in are legal to keep female crabs recognizable by their wider aprons and small male crabs must be released back into the sea to protect the species the pot slider will clean the empty trap to prevent algae from forming on the tracks and then hand it back to the shaker to set traps for the next catch this process is repeated until the last trap China is the largest importer of the US dungeoness crabs according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2018 the US exported 2.8 million pounds of dungeoness crabs to China worth nearly $20 million when they return to shore the fish will transport the live crabs to processing facilities they are then neatly arranged in trays cooked and flash frozen to preserve the freshness of the meat some cooked crab will be carefully picked from the shell and canned finally they are packaged and shipped around the world though hard shell dungus crabs are prized for their succulent and buttery meat many people throw away their soft shell counterparts because they taste like Bland jelly but for these crabs it’s a different story these soft shell blue crabs have made it a household name in the seafood market since the 1800s blue crabs are native to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico but the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland home to an estimated 37 75 million Blue Crabs in 2023 is the largest blue crabs Center in the US thanks to the right salinity and water temperature nearly half of all commercially caught blue crabs are hailed from here since 1976 the official blue crab fishing season starts on April 1st and lasts until the end of the year each vessel can deploy from 300 to9 00 depending on the crabbing license in addition to crab traps commercial blue crab fishermen also use Trot lines to harvest these crabs they are allowed to catch those at least 5 in long and the rest are released back into the sea legalized blue crabs are categorized based on grade grade one male crabs can fetch $475 a pound grade two male crabs are $2.75 while Factory grade crabs sell for around 90 a pound fishermen also check for firmness and peer signs unlike dungeoness crabs soft shell blue crabs are delicious and can be sold for twice the price of hard shelled Blue Crabs in fact it’s so sought after that many fishermen have invested in a tank system to take care of molting crabs at home this entire process takes 2 to 3 hours and within 2 hours after the shed the new shell begins to harden they are extremely weak and vulnerable during shedding so only experienced fishermen know when it’s the right time to package these crabs once offloaded at the dock they will be transported directly to processing facilities here blue crabs are still seamed or boiled hole next the cooked crabs are transferred to the picking area workers meticulously remove the white meat from the body cavity and legs of the crab this delicate work requires both skill and speed ensuring the crab meat isn’t damaged the pit crab meat can then be sold directly or processed into various products crab cans will be topped with a layer of ice to to extend its shelf life during transport to restaurants and kitchens Nationwide these are snow crabs they can live up to 20 years under the Bearing Sea Alaska at 39° F however the 2018 head wve increased this seawater temperature by 37° F creating a domino effect that starved nearly 11 billion snow crabs to death typically the snow crab season runs from July 1st to June 30th but this devastating loss forced the US to ban snow crab fishing for two consecutive Seasons to restore snow crb populations by 2029 you see harvesting snow crabs is a risky job it is ranked as one of the most dangerous professions in the US but it generates more Revenue than other crab Fisheries bringing in at least $150 million annually from 2012 to 2021 additionally since females can only carry up to 100,000 eggs at a time snow crab fishing regulation is even stricter in 2020 each vessel was allowed to catch a maximum of 45 million PB of snow crab but the catch quota is set annually based on the current snow crab population giant snow crab traps baited with herring mackerel or squid are thrown into the sea in the morning after a day lying on the cold seabed the fisherman pull the traps back onto the boat only male crabs with carapaces at least 3.8 in wide a size that takes them at least 7 years to reach are legal to keep that’s why our minimum mesh size of 5.3 in is set to make sure females and undersized male crabs can return alive to the ocean after sorting the C crabs are immediately placed in tanks of cold sea water to stay fresh otherwise they must be frozen within 1 hour or they will spoil according to to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration around 80 million pounds of snow crab have been caught annually over the past 72 crab Seasons the record setting Hall occurred in 1991 when fisherman caught a staggering 325.7 million pounds of snow crab here within 72 hours of capture fishermen must accurately report their catch online to the fishery manager the harvested crabs are quickly transported to St Paul Alaska home to the world’s largest crab processing plant during Peak crab season they can process 50,000 to 500,000 lb of crab a day as the life crabs are put on this conveyor belt they are killed automatically these machines can handle 40 crabs per minute then the crabs are separated from their main body with only the legs and other edible parts retained once the parts are separated by grade based on size they are placed in containers each holding about 45 lb each container is cooked for 18 minutes at 210° f after cooking the crabs are cooled and dipped in a 92% saltwater brine at between 0 and 2° F finally they are soaked in fresh water to lock in the natural flavor and moisture for up to 2 years the crabs are then moved to the packaging area where 45 lb of crab are put into bags and cardboard boxes the boxes are stacked and placed in giant freezers they can complete 6,000 to 8,000 boxes in a single day to accomplish all this work they require ire a Workforce of 320 people the cold ocean gives snow crab its signatures sweet flavor sought after worldwide China Japan and Vietnam are the biggest import markets for snow crab with each country placing around 3.3 million pounds of orders in 2021 hello my friends during the winter holidays this is a good time to consider a table full of hearty oyster dishes oysters have held an important place on our dinner tables for centuries but have you ever been curious about their origin in today’s video we learn how American fishermen produce millions of pounds of oysters each year in 2023 the United States will produce 45.3 million pounds of oysters worth about $221 million oysters are typically produced in one of three different ways natural managed and farmed natural oysters grow and reproduce without human intervention and are generally available for harvesting by anyone with the appropriate license in contrast managed oysters are monitored by Harvesters who periodically scrape the layers to reduce aggregation for farmed oysters fishermen often use traditional methods they transport immature oyers to artificial beds where they continue to grow in many parts of the world oysters are grown on lines or in tanks and this method is now being adopted in some regions of the United States in eastern North America oyster farming efforts began a century ago to restore overh harvested oyster beds and improve yields oysters spawn in the summer when the water warms this is the beginning of the oyster farming cycle where fishermen will collect microscopic larv they provide a place for young oysters to settle and grow specifically these oysters were purchased from Fisher Island hatcheries and carefully managed in a nursery environment the nursery is the intermediate stage for oysters to grow from 0.5 in to nearly 1 in at this time they will be introduced to Farms live in open water and they will grow to Market size when they reach 1.5 in fishermen will transfer them to bags to fatten them up for the winter raise livestock but do not need to provide food that’s right oysters are that kind of livestock they can develop on their own without needing too much support from humans in fact once past the Laval stage oysters do not need to be fed because they filter food from the water column in recent years bottom cages have become a popular solution in the Oyster to farming industry oysters live on pieces of shell that are finely ground in the nursery before being put into cages after that the cages are submerged in water at rented locations at the river mouth for rearing vertical multi-tier cages allow Farmers to grow more oysters additionally oyer farming provides valuable Estuary and habitat for juvenile fish and invertebrates oyster farms have transformed flat unattractive estu inh habitats into more complex habitats at the same time it invites commercially and ecologically important species to forage and seek refuge in Alaska oysters grow in cold water with abundant Plankton so highquality oysters are available year round cold water also reduces bacterial contamination prolongs storage time and ensures safety when eating raw oysters however because they cannot reproduce either naturally or in the wild all farmed Alaska oysters are imported as seed from hatcheries on the Pacific coast these cages contain more than 30 million oysters these tiny oysters are very difficult to maintain they need constant care or the entire oyster crop could be be wiped out the best conditions for oysters to grow are between 60 and 80° F before oysters spawn farmers will control the temperature in the water tank to prepare them for the best environment when oysters spawn they release eggs and sperm directly into the water after being put into the tank they turn into lari about 1 billion oysters are born in these tanks each year after placing baby oysters in Nets fishermen will anchor them in the ocean or on the beach here oysters feed by filtering naturally occurring plankton in the water during this period Farmers also regularly monitor the weather because if there is too much rain it will dilute the salinity in the water and affect the oysters depending on the type of cage fishermen have a way to allocate the number of oysters accordingly oyster Farmers with many years of experience often redistribute the number of oyers in the cage when the oysters reach average size they want to reduce the quantity so they can achieve high quality before they reach the market by removing oysters from high density cages about 85 to 90 oysters per cage then the farmer divides it equally among on three different cages the oysters return to the cages with more space to move and grow better as the cold gray dusk begins to creep across the calm River fishermen are trying to remove the layer of sand around the oyster shells and return them to the Sea they believe that the cleaner they keep them the more water will flow into that shell it takes about 18 to 36 months for oysters to grow to Market size after 6 months the cage is removed from the water and the oysters are taken to the production facility here machines will sort them by size those that meet standards are exported to the market while the remaining small oysters will be released into the sea potential sits for oyster farms need to have good Tides so that food can be easily transported to the site and waste discharged into the ocean of course oyster farms must be close to Seafood distribution markets weaving along the icebergs the boat entered the oyster farming area they pulled the oyers out in the 7° cold the harvesting process was harsh but also filled with pride because they kept the area supplied during the winter Farmers quickly brought the oysters to Market so that when people ate the oysters they would feel a little taste of the main Coast similar to Maine in arashan Bay oyster farming is a part of daily life for locals oyster farmers will take you to their oyster beds to flip the bag of oysters then release them into the water or harvest them sounds easy right but in reality this work is quite difficult oyster Farmers have to spend spend hours underwater rotating the oyster cages manually some oyster Farmers have used technology to do this effectively this idea also allows Farmers to harvest more easily they just stand on the boat and open each cage one by one after Decades of processed oysters eating fresh oysters in the Shell is increasingly popular like wine oysters are famous for taking on the characteristics of the surrounding climate so that’s great if you live in New England and love oysters New England oysters grow from cold fertile Waters which gives them a particularly Pleasant umam field Flavor now let’s go on a journey to catch these natural oysters at about 5:30 when it was not yet Dawn he set off deciding to follow the GPS to look for oyster beds to exploit similar to a gentle warmup before the sun even appeared he harvested the first batch of oysters the work went on continuously until about 12:00 he drove the boat back and sold them interestingly oysters cannot move not a jot they flow down the stream cling to rocks and stay there for life if all goes well the oyster has a rich flavor conveying the crisp fresh saltiness of its pristine environment in addition to being delicious and nutritious oysters also play a role in maintaining healthy ecosystems they filter their food removing particles and pollutants such as excess nitrogen from the waters where they live additionally because oyster l survived by clinging to hard surfaces oysters also help rebuild coral reefs the sun was setting and he steered his boat in a slow Circle in San Antonio Bay before Harvest fishermen began pulling up traps chopping small blocks of oysters with axes and sorting them right on the boat they make most of their money in a year by harvesting oyster reefs in April the oyster season ends with exciting activities it was the last week of the fishing season and they needed to move faster getting bigger holes of oysters in 2023 the state allowed each oyster boat to haul about 50 bags or crates per day they must Implement that quota to protect markets and resources unlike oyster farming oyster fishing is based on luck natural oysters will also not have the same appearance and size as farmed oysters but in return oysters grown in a natural environment bring a different flavor at the same time fishermen do not have to spend huge costs on raising livestock once the oysters are harvested it’s a Race Against Time to get them safely to Consumers quality oysters are washed tagged with ordering information and hand besides fishermen will add ice and place them in the cooler for about 2 hours to meet FDA guidelines trucks will transport them to stores and Distributors across the United States finally they appear on the dinner table like this and you can pay 40 cents to enjoy each oyster

Every year, American fishermen embark on an extraordinary endeavor, capturing billions of crabs from the rich waters surrounding the United States. From the iconic blue crab of the Chesapeake Bay to the prized Dungeness crab of the Pacific Northwest, each species contributes to the vibrant tapestry of American seafood.
#fishing
#catching
#crabs
#crab
#crabfishing
#foodprocessing
#fishermen
#fisherman
#farming
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