Declawing of crabs
Declawing of crabs is the process whereby one or both claws of a crab are manually detached before the return of the live crab to the water, as practiced in the fishing industry worldwide. Crabs commonly have the ability to
While not always fatal, declawing can substantially alter the chances of a crab's survival in the wild.[2] Declawing is a controversial practice; some jurisdictions have banned it partially or completely, while others only allow the crab's claws to be harvested commercially.
Procedure
Declawing is done by hand. To ensure a clean break along the natural fracture plane, one finger is placed on the basal
Particularly for crabs whose whole bodies are not consumed by humans, declawing is an attractive practice. Claw removal can facilitate storage and transport of crab meat, eliminate cannibalism within storage tanks, and make handling easier for crew.[4]
Effects of declawing
Crabs that survive the initial declawing face potential disadvantages in feeding, mating, and self-defense. The most immediate impact of declawing, however, is possible death. In an experiment using commercial techniques, 47% of Florida stone crabs that had both claws removed died after declawing, as did 28% of single-claw amputees. 76% of these casualties occurred within 24 hours of declawing.[3]
Declawing also affects the ability of a crab to feed, as crabs generally use their claws to facilitate the capture and consumption of their prey. Declawed stone crabs are forced to scavenge as opposed to actively hunt and forage.
Additionally, declawed crabs show significantly lower activity levels than
Pain and stress caused by declawing
Whether
Regulation
The regulations on crab fishing varies across the globe based on region and species of crab, and not all crabs caught are declawed. The United Kingdom prohibited declawing for 14 years, from 1986 to 2000.[10]
In the United States, different states have adopted a variety of measures regarding declawing. Regulations on the Alaskan king crab fishing industry do not make any mention of declawing, and implicitly assume the entire crab will be taken.[11] Some Gulf Coast states such as Florida[5] and Louisiana[12] prohibit the harvesting of whole stone crab, allowing for declawing only. In contrast, declawing Jonah crab in Maryland was banned after 2015 unless a vessel could prove it had historically conducted the practice and was registered in a state where the practice was allowed.[13]
Sustainability
The central argument for declawing is that because crabs can regenerate lost limbs, it is inherently more sustainable than the capture of whole crabs.[14] Yet claws are a large portion of a crab's biomass, ranging from 20% to over 50% of some species' total weight, and thus regeneration can be highly energy- and time-consuming.[8]: 207 The empirical occurrence of regenerated claws in fishery harvests is low, with studies on stone crabs calculating from less than 10% (Davis et al., 1978),[3] to 13% (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 2011).[15] Larger, older crabs generally do not survive long enough to regrow their claws, as they are near the end of their lifespan.[3]
See also
References
- ^ .
- ^ Science Daily. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gary E. Davis; Douglas S. Baughman; James D. Chapman; Donald MacArthur; Alan C. Pierce (1978). Mortality associated with declawing stone crabs, Menippe mercenaria (PDF). US National Park Service. Report T-522.
- ^ S2CID 85400101.
- ^ a b Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Stone Crab FAQ". Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- .
- ^ Carloni, Joshua, and Jason S. Goldstein. "Claw removal and its impacts on survivorship and physiological stress in Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) in New England waters." Report submitted to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. January 25, 2016. https://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/56ba03f1AmLobsterTC_JonahCrabReport_Jan2016.pdf
- ^ . Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- S2CID 73607722.
- ^ "Crab Claws (Prohibition of Landing)(Revocation) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 1235 of 2000).". Act of 5 May 2000. Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- ^ "Southeast Alaska Personal Use King Crab Fishery: Permits & Regulations". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Horst, Jerald (July 2004). "Louisiana Stone Crab". Louisiana State University. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Maryland Register Vol. 34, No. 12. Proposed Action on Regulations, Title 08 Subtitle 02, Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service: Notice of Proposed Action. 8 July 2016. https://services.statescape.com/ssu/Regs/ss_8587336159857509982.pdf.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A fishery based on the sale of claws only has been largely replaced by that of whole crabs in recent years, although claws remain a specialty item in many markets. The claws are taken from dead or dying crabs at the markets, and by fishermen who remove claws and return the de-clawed crab to the sea. Apparently, it is a common belief that, because crabs regenerate lost limbs, the practice of claw removal at sea contributes to the renewal of the resource. Avoidance of mortality, however, requires a clean separation at the fracture plane, which is difficult to obtain without damaging the body. In addition, regeneration of full-sized claws takes two to three molts (up to two years for large adult crabs). A claw fishery alone, nevertheless, results in less overall mortality than a whole-crab fishery.
- ^ "Executive Summary of the 2011 Stock Assessment Update for the Stone Crab, Menippe spp., Fishery in Florida". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved 4 January 2020.