MEAT YIELD IN THE SOUTH AMERICAN STONE CRAB Platyxanthus patagonicus

LEAL, GUSTAVO A.; DIMA, JIMENA B.; BARÓN, PEDRO J.

La Serena, Chile

Congreso; The Crustacean Society Mid Year Meeting 2007; 2007

The Crustacean Society and Universidad Católica del Norte

Like other stone crabs such as Menippe mercenaria and Homalaspis plana, the Patagonian stone crab Platyxanthus patagonicus has conspicuously large chelipeds that confer the species a particular potential for commercial exploitation. Since management rules for this and other kind of fishing resource should be focused not only in regulating the extractive activity but also must point out to an optimal yield at processing, it was  recognized that information on crab meat yield in relation to size and sex may represent useful information. Aiming to provide a meat yield analysis for P. patagonicus, a total of 115 P. patagonicus individuals (56 females and 59 males) were captured with baited traps and by SCUBA diving in waters of Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. Specimens were sized and measured, and after carapace and glandular and reproductive tissue removal, individually boiled in salty water for 25 minutes in a pressure cocker and subsequently dipped in ice water before meat manual extraction. Meat from the chelipeds and sternal insertion of the waking legs in the body was removed separatedly and weighed at 0.01 g in a Mettler scale. Average (± standard deviation) fresh meat yield (as percentage of fresh meat relative to total weight) was 24.4 ± 8.5 %. Meat yield was lower in females (18.25 ± 4.4%) than in males (30.15 ± 7.3 %). In the last, meat content of the chelipeds represented 70 % of total meat content. Meat yield increased with size of the crabs. Results of this work are being used in the design of an economic processing line for small enterprises in Patagonia. patagonicus has conspicuously large chelipeds that confer the species a particular potential for commercial exploitation. Since management rules for this and other kind of fishing resource should be focused not only in regulating the extractive activity but also must point out to an optimal yield at processing, it was  recognized that information on crab meat yield in relation to size and sex may represent useful information. Aiming to provide a meat yield analysis for P. patagonicus, a total of 115 P. patagonicus individuals (56 females and 59 males) were captured with baited traps and by SCUBA diving in waters of Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. Specimens were sized and measured, and after carapace and glandular and reproductive tissue removal, individually boiled in salty water for 25 minutes in a pressure cocker and subsequently dipped in ice water before meat manual extraction. Meat from the chelipeds and sternal insertion of the waking legs in the body was removed separatedly and weighed at 0.01 g in a Mettler scale. Average (± standard deviation) fresh meat yield (as percentage of fresh meat relative to total weight) was 24.4 ± 8.5 %. Meat yield was lower in females (18.25 ± 4.4%) than in males (30.15 ± 7.3 %). In the last, meat content of the chelipeds represented 70 % of total meat content. Meat yield increased with size of the crabs. Results of this work are being used in the design of an economic processing line for small enterprises in Patagonia. patagonicus has conspicuously large chelipeds that confer the species a particular potential for commercial exploitation. Since management rules for this and other kind of fishing resource should be focused not only in regulating the extractive activity but also must point out to an optimal yield at processing, it was  recognized that information on crab meat yield in relation to size and sex may represent useful information. Aiming to provide a meat yield analysis for P. patagonicus, a total of 115 P. patagonicus individuals (56 females and 59 males) were captured with baited traps and by SCUBA diving in waters of Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. Specimens were sized and measured, and after carapace and glandular and reproductive tissue removal, individually boiled in salty water for 25 minutes in a pressure cocker and subsequently dipped in ice water before meat manual extraction. Meat from the chelipeds and sternal insertion of the waking legs in the body was removed separatedly and weighed at 0.01 g in a Mettler scale. Average (± standard deviation) fresh meat yield (as percentage of fresh meat relative to total weight) was 24.4 ± 8.5 %. Meat yield was lower in females (18.25 ± 4.4%) than in males (30.15 ± 7.3 %). In the last, meat content of the chelipeds represented 70 % of total meat content. Meat yield increased with size of the crabs. Results of this work are being used in the design of an economic processing line for small enterprises in Patagonia. Menippe mercenaria and Homalaspis plana, the Patagonian stone crab Platyxanthus patagonicus has conspicuously large chelipeds that confer the species a particular potential for commercial exploitation. Since management rules for this and other kind of fishing resource should be focused not only in regulating the extractive activity but also must point out to an optimal yield at processing, it was  recognized that information on crab meat yield in relation to size and sex may represent useful information. Aiming to provide a meat yield analysis for P. patagonicus, a total of 115 P. patagonicus individuals (56 females and 59 males) were captured with baited traps and by SCUBA diving in waters of Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. Specimens were sized and measured, and after carapace and glandular and reproductive tissue removal, individually boiled in salty water for 25 minutes in a pressure cocker and subsequently dipped in ice water before meat manual extraction. Meat from the chelipeds and sternal insertion of the waking legs in the body was removed separatedly and weighed at 0.01 g in a Mettler scale. Average (± standard deviation) fresh meat yield (as percentage of fresh meat relative to total weight) was 24.4 ± 8.5 %. Meat yield was lower in females (18.25 ± 4.4%) than in males (30.15 ± 7.3 %). In the last, meat content of the chelipeds represented 70 % of total meat content. Meat yield increased with size of the crabs. Results of this work are being used in the design of an economic processing line for small enterprises in Patagonia. has conspicuously large chelipeds that confer the species a particular potential for commercial exploitation. Since management rules for this and other kind of fishing resource should be focused not only in regulating the extractive activity but also must point out to an optimal yield at processing, it was  recognized that information on crab meat yield in relation to size and sex may represent useful information. Aiming to provide a meat yield analysis for P. patagonicus, a total of 115 P. patagonicus individuals (56 females and 59 males) were captured with baited traps and by SCUBA diving in waters of Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. Specimens were sized and measured, and after carapace and glandular and reproductive tissue removal, individually boiled in salty water for 25 minutes in a pressure cocker and subsequently dipped in ice water before meat manual extraction. Meat from the chelipeds and sternal insertion of the waking legs in the body was removed separatedly and weighed at 0.01 g in a Mettler scale. Average (± standard deviation) fresh meat yield (as percentage of fresh meat relative to total weight) was 24.4 ± 8.5 %. Meat yield was lower in females (18.25 ± 4.4%) than in males (30.15 ± 7.3 %). In the last, meat content of the chelipeds represented 70 % of total meat content. Meat yield increased with size of the crabs. Results of this work are being used in the design of an economic processing line for small enterprises in Patagonia.