Best way to keep dungeness crab alive for 1 to 2 days?

trevorhoang

Member
So i caught a few crabs but wanted to save them for a day or hopefully 2 till i have time to eat them. I have tried leaving them in the fridge wrapped with newspaper but they seem to die by the next morning. anyone have any tips to keeping them alive for longer periods?
 
only way to keep em alive is keep them in salt water and make sure it's changed or aerated some how. or leave em in your trap till you want to eat them, otherwise I would cook them while alive and keep them in the fridge for a day or 2 till you can eat them, better than letting them die and then cooking them.
cheers nicnat
 
An old crab fisherman i know would take the crab and put them back down to bottom for 10 mins after catching them, he said that if you do that then bring them back up to surface they will live longer then if you just pull them out of water. call it wierd but he was a commy crab fisherman in Nanaimo for years.
 
So i caught a few crabs but wanted to save them for a day or hopefully 2 till i have time to eat them. I have tried leaving them in the fridge wrapped with newspaper but they seem to die by the next morning. anyone have any tips to keeping them alive for longer periods?

Did you use wet newspaper before going in the fridge? I've used wet newspaper (preferably salt water but tap water is better than nothing) and the crabs seem to last at least a full day. I prefer to put the crabs in a bowl and then add newspaper on top: they need air to circulate for oxygen but just a little and they need the moisture to keep the gills moist from that drying air. The crabs will be very lethargic from the cold so they might look dead but still be kicking a little if you look closely.
 
I'm definitely no PETA supporter...but that sounds like a pretty ****** way to spend the last couple days of your life!

I expect it's not much different than the crab getting stuck on the beach at low tide while buried in the sand on a cold winter's day. Cold is mother nature's anesthetic for cold blooded creatures. If you keep them warm in a tank they're either fighting to the death and eating each other or have their claws tied and starving.

I prefer to clean the crabs immediately but would rather put them in the chill locker live than have them go bad and be wasted. I do at least kill them before cooking!
 
I was told to put ice in bottom of cooler, cover with wet towel and put crabs on top.
Pull plug on cooler, they can not sit on the ice or in the water.

Worked for me for a weekend fishing trip. When I took them out they looked dead. But after warming up for a bit they started to move and woke up.

Only tried it once and it worked fine.

Tips
 
I have seen quite a few folks ask the question when they are away from home etc. but I see no reason to keep them alive once you are at home or you are out on a day trip etc. I keep them in saltwater alive in a cooler that I drain and replenish multiple times through out the day on the boat (they **** themselves). Once I get home the first thing I do is kill them by shelling, gutting, and splitting them in halves. They immediately get cooked in salted water. I drain them and let them cool a while then throw them in the fridge. I deal with them the next day. I shuck the meat and chamber seal it. I have opened up packs that are 6 months old and they taste like the day you caught it.
 
haha this made my day.

anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. Ima try the cooler and wet towel trick.

I know the guys that do it commercial throw ice in the tanks just prior to unloading. Makes the crabs go into hibernation. Ice on the bottom of a cooler with wet towels should do the trick.
 
You can always kill and clean them, good for a couple days in the fridge before cooking.

You must be a fan of mushy meat and slippery poops.... ;)


I know the guys that do it commercial throw ice in the tanks just prior to unloading. Makes the crabs go into hibernation. Ice on the bottom of a cooler with wet towels should do the trick.

Without aerated or fresh supply of sea water this would be the way to go. You can tell if it is dormant if you pick it up and the legs stay fairly close to the body, if it is dead they will hang right limp. Crab deteriorate really fast after they are dead
 
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