Soft Shell Crabs

Crabs, also know as Callinectes Sapidus, are usually known for their hard shells. The crabs are then steamed and their hard shells are cracked to get to the meat inside. However, not all crabs have hard shells. Soft shell crabs are edible in it's entirety which means its shell does not need to be removed in order for the meat to be eaten.

Soft crab shells are formed when a hard shell crab needs to shed its old shell in order for it to grow a bigger shell. After the old shell is shed, the crab's new shell is very soft for the first few days. The shelling process is known as molting and is done many times throughout a crab's lifetime. This process usually happens from May through July.

Prior to molting, the crab grows his new shell underneath his old one. His new shell then absorbs the calcium from the old shell, which makes it flexible enough to shed out of its old shell. Crabs can grow from birth to adult in less than 18 months and be about 8 inches in width.

During the crab's soft shell stage, the crab will bury itself to keep predators from finding them. After a few days however, the crab will then come out of hiding to eat allowing them to be baited and then trapped for consumption by fisherman.