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There are more than 52,000 species of Crustaceans in the world which include popular marine animals like lobsters, crabs, shrimp, crayfish and barnacles. Smaller crustacean breathe through their bodies and larger ones breathe through gills.Many species, including lobsters, crayfish, barnacles, and crabs are important to human economies, some very much so.
Consumption by humans
Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and nearly 10,700,000 tons were produced in 2007; the vast majority of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp and prawns.
Over 60% by weight of all crustaceans caught for consumption are shrimp and prawns, and nearly 80% is produced in Asia, with China alone producing nearly half the world's total. Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet. |
Shrimps and Prawns
While Dendrobranchiata and Caridea belong to different suborders of Decapoda, they are very similar in appearance, and in many contexts such as commercial farming and fisheries, they are both often referred to as "shrimp" and "prawn" interchangeably. In the United Kingdom, the word "prawn" is more common on menus than "shrimp", while the opposite is the case in North America. The term "prawn" is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as "king prawns", yet sometimes known as "jumbo shrimp"). Australia and some other Commonwealth nations follow this British usage to an even greater extent, using the word "prawn" almost exclusively.
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Crabs
Crabs make up 20% of all marine crustaceans caught, farmed, and consumed worldwide, amounting to 1½ million tonnes annually. One species, Portunus trituberculatus, accounts for one fifth of that total. Other commercially important taxa include Portunus pelagicus, several species in the genus Chionoecetes, the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), Charybdis spp., Cancer pagurus, the Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) and Scylla serrata, each of which yields more than 20,000 tonnes annually. |
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Cookery
Crabs are prepared and eaten as a dish in several different ways all over the world. Some species are eaten whole, including the shell, such as soft-shell crab; with other species just the claws and/or legs are eaten. The latter is particularly common for larger crabs, such as the snow crab. Mostly in East Asian cultures, the roe of the female crab is also eaten, which usually appears orange or yellow in colour in fertile crabs.
The biggest importers, and therefore countries where eating crab is immensely popular, are Japan, France, Spain, Hong Kong, the US, Canada and Portugal.
In some regions spices improve the culinary experience. In Southeast Asia and Indosphere, masala crab and chilli crab are examples of heavily spiced dishes. In the Chesapeake Bay region, blue crab is often eaten with Old Bay Seasoning. Alaskan king crab or snow crab legs are usually simply boiled and served with garlic butter.
For the British dish Cromer crab, the crab meat is extracted and placed inside the hard shell. One American way to prepare crab meat is by extracting it and adding a flour mix, creating a crab cake.
Crabs are also used in bisque, a global dish of French origin.
Crustacean
Shrimps - Varieties :
Flower
Tiger
White
Brown
Vannamei
Processing:
Whole Round
Head less tail on
Pealed Un Deveined
Pealed Deveined
Crab -
Varieties :
Blue Swimming Crab
Brown Swimming Crab
Three Spotted swimming Crab
Processing:
Whole Round
Cut Crab
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