Mud crabs - full or empty?

[RML]

On page 27 of this months' QFM magazine there is a picture of a large mud crab and the caption says it is being thrown back as it was 'empty'.

How do you tell if a crab is full or empty?

[Blackened]

G'day
Tap the back of the shell and they will sound holow, also just judge the weight and you will know.
Dave

[scottv50]

They will either feel heavy for their size and then they are full, or they will be light and empty. When it gets a bit warmer we will start to get the full ones again! :)

[marlinqld]

push down on the shell with one finger in the middle of the back.

The shell will give and push in if it is empty.

If it is full it wont give under the presuure of the finger


Mike

[Far_Canal]

emtpy crabs are nice clean and green.

full crabs are dirty mongrels

[mini696]

Cut it in half. ;D

Sorry...

I usually judge by the tip above. Colour, weight and sound when tapped.

[Far_Canal]

another method is by pressing in on the shell on the underside of the shell, difficult to explain, but its about an inch either side of the eyes but on that underside part, so when u do it (if ur game enough) ur fingers will be between the start of the arm (claws) on the underside of the shell.

[GAFYM]

Colour.. Yes
Green.. Usually empty
Rusty Brown... Usually full
If u squeeze under either side at the extremities of the body at the outer spines (where u measure them) it gives a good idea....Soft - empty
solid - full

(stress the usually) ;D ;D

[woppa]

agree with gafym! if the crab is green it'll usually be empty, if it's a good chocolate brown colour it'll be full as a goog!

[jackwhite]

colour and weight the guys have summed it up

[Gummtree]

A couple of pro crabbers noth of Cooktown told me the following:-
A crabs shell softens seasonally to allow the crab to grow, naturally a hard shell will not grow.
Once the crab comes out with new clean green shell, it is totally empty or as good as.
The shell is soft in many areas. some mentoned above but the main one they advised was under the shell next to the last leg. Just push gently in this area, if there is inward movement, the crab is empty.
Look for wear and tear on the claws, if they are feeding, they are filling.
It is a combination of things. the new shell discolours and hardens at the same rate as they fill with meat.
As state above, generally the dirtier the colour, the harder the tell tale areas of shell, the more scrathes on the claws from feeding/fighting, the heavier the crab feels for it's size, the fuller the crab

[RML]

My thought was that for a crab of that size, there must be a fair amount of meat carried forward from its previous shell, even though the new shell is obviously bigger.

The comments on the changing of colour are helpful thanks. I'm more than a little wary of handling them at the moment.

It would be interesting to be able to see the process of the change of shell.

[dartman]

I've always found the brown maltese cross on the underside of the crab to be a very good indicator. If the cross is there or partially there then you have yourself a good crab. The only exception to this that I've found is that some crabs caught in really sandy areas can be clean underneath but still full. Also if you crab a bit you get to know what weight a full crab should be just by feel. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Dave

[KelvinH]

Squeeze the underside or the tips of the legs. You will fell a slight give if the crab is empty