Exploring The Crab Season In South Louisiana: A Cajun Tradition

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - We love our seafood in south Louisiana, and boy do we love when it's crab season. Crab season fills the large void created when crawfish season ends. Did you know that there are over 4,500 different species of crab? Did you also know that crabs actually shed their shells? It certainly makes them easier to clean and eat!

Courtesy: Lance LeBlanc

WHY ARE SOME CRABS SOFTSHELLED?

Softshell crabs are a favorite in Cajun Country. The LSU Ag Center recently shared information about softshell crabs on their social media pages. The tell us that before soft-shell crabs end up on platters or in po’boys in restaurants, the crabs shed their shells. Crab shedders buy “busters,” as crabbers call blue crabs about to lose their shells, then they keep them in shallow tanks until they molt and lose their hard shells.

Crab shedding is a full-time job. The crabs can shed their shells at any time, and within a couple of hours they must be removed from their tanks and refrigerated before their new exoskeletons form.

Recently, this traditional Louisiana business has been in decline. Since 2013, AgCenter and Sea Grant specialists and agents have led workshops focused on crab shedding to stoke interest in the industry and educate the fishers who sell crabs.

While tough, the business has potential to pay well. A soft-shell crab is worth seven times the value of a regular blue crab, Julie Anderson Lively, AgCenter and Sea Grant specialist said. And demand is much higher than supply. Louisiana crab shedders regularly get calls from restaurants in other states searching for soft-shells.

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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham