Two County Down Crabs

[jdoherty]

I took these photos of crabs along the coast of County Down, N.Ireland. The first one was taken near Holywood and the second one was taken at Strangford. I think they may be the same species but am not sure. IDs anyone?

Thanks, John.

[GuyF]

Hi John, brilliant shots as always! I think that these are both Green Shore Crabs.
Guy

[jdoherty]

Many thanks Guy.

John

[demicav]

Great pics, the crabs look really cute.

[Marineboy]

Hey John, you live in a lovely part of the world. I know Strangford, Down and the Mournes area very well. Have you been to the Exploris aquarium yet? For those who do not know Strangford Lough in N.Ireland, it is a wonderful part of the world, described by Rick Stein as like Cornwall 40 years ago - unspoilt. It is a large enclosed expanse of seawater that flows fast through a narrow channel, The Narrows, changing direction with the tide. The whole area was imortalised by Van Morrison, with his song "Coney Island". And its not far from here that Isambard Kingdom Brunel's ship the SS Great Britain ran aground. Within Strangford, it is a micro climate all its own with some wonderful marine life and opportunities for bird watching. Here live big specimens of Dublin Bay Prawn, Langoustine, or as we know them, scampi.
John, try a drop net over the side at Ardglass harbour for the velvet swimming crabs - beautiful crabs, almost velvet to the touch streaked with blue around the joints of claws and legs, and with the most amazing red eyes! Beautiful, but very aggressive. And the rocks on the beach below the golf course at Ardglass always seems good for finding the small but exquisite cowrie shells. Orca killer whales have been sighted off this coast too, down to St.Johns Point. If you want a close up sighting of wild seals, the ones that inhabit Ardglass harbour will certainly satisfy that.

[jdoherty]

Hi Marineboy,

I know the County Down coastline very well. I spent quite a few summers as a child in Ardglass and know Coney Island, Killough, Tyrella beach and the yellow and black lighthouse at St John's Point very well. I have also dived quite a lot in Strangford Lough, mainly drift dives due to the currents that sweep through Strangford near Audley's point. Exploris is also a great place to visit. I must get back to Ardglass soon and catch and photograph some of those velvet crabs. I'll also post a couple of Ardglass pics to bring back a few memories for you.

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts, John.

[m1.carson]

Hi marineboy,

Quick question off topic a bit, our local supermarket is selling Irish velvet crabs, pre-cooked, how much of them can you eat, and are any parts not edible/poisonous, there's about 8 per pack for a fiver, not sure it's enough for two ?.

Max.

[Dogghound]

Yep, The crab's in the photo's are both Carcinus maenas

[jdoherty]

Thanks for this information.

John

[Marineboy]

Still off subject a bit - yeah Lidl here are selling them too, pack of eight. Worth the trouble to pick the meat out. Each crab will offer a really good sandwiche full of meat. All legs and claws hold meat, as do the white thin shelled bits inside. If you have a crab that is pre moult, even the new shell inside can be eaten! We tend not to eat these crabs here in the UK, but they are very popular on the continent. As they are smaller than we are used to, and a bit more work to get a bowl full of crab meat, I guess we in the UK concentrate on the larger species. But give the velvets a try. I have even seen recipes for the common shore crab too. Mostly deep fried soft shelled crabs, but even these might be worth trying sometime. Sorry folks, but I do enjoy my seafood!
I am actually going back to Ireland this week as it happens - back to the Emerald Isle, where the mountains sweep down to the sea. I learned to dive with Lisburn BSAC and it was good to see the club still diving last summer. Didn't recognise anyone though!