Edible crab
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The edible crab (Cancer pagurus) is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. It is also referred to as Cromer crab, because it is commonly caught around the Norfolk coastal town of Cromer. In the Channel Islands languages of Dgèrnésiais and Jerriais, it is called a chancre.
The edible crab is a robust crab of a reddish brown colour having an oval carapace with a "pie crust" edge. Black colouration on the tips of the claws is distinctive of this species. Mature adults may have a carapace width of up to about 25 cm and weigh up to 3 kg. Natural lifespan is about 20 years but few individuals will reach this age because of heavy commercial exploitation.
The edible crab is abundant throughout the northeast Atlantic as far as Norway in the north and northern Africa in the south, on mixed coarse grounds, mud and sand from shallow sublittoral to about 100 m. It is frequently found inhabiting cracks and holes in rocks but occasionally also in open areas.
Edible crabs are heavily exploited commercially throughout their range. It is illegal to catch crabs of too small a size around the coast of Britain, a conservation measure brought in the 1870s.
External links
Further reading
- Crabs and Shannocks - the Longshore Fishermen of North Norfolk, Stibbons, Warren and Lee, Pub: Poppyland Publishing, 1983, ISBN 0946148023
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