Crazy Catch in the Islands, no fins

[lokidog]

Last shrimp pot pulled yesterday had an interesting surprise.  Looked like a cross between a crab and a shrimp. Turned out to be a Squat Lobster, a type of crab and pretty rare to the area. For those not familiar, the trap mesh is 7/8" openings.

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/squat-lobster

[wadu1]

What did you do with it, toss it back? Cool to see odd critters.

[lokidog]

What did you do with it, toss it back? Cool to see odd critters.

Saved for posterity, especially since the first article I found while on the water said they've not been seen north of Newport, OR or somewhere near there.

[Dan-o]

Very cool.

[HntnFsh]

We pick up 1 or 2 every time we shrimp in hood canal. We always call them shrab.

[trophyhunt]

That's really cool, I bet they taste great.  Did you eat it?  Lobster and crab in the same meal, so it isn't so!!!!

[Jpmiller]

Sent it off to the taxidermist I hope  cool looking critter

[jay.sharkbait]

Next up....

Shrab catch cards and Shrab reporting with catch limits and fines for retaining undersize.

Size limits will be determined by the inner left pincer and measured in millimeters.

[LDennis24]

Do you think they can reach their mouths with those long arms or do they use secondary arms to feed off the main claw?

[Stein]

What did you do with it, toss it back? Cool to see odd critters.

Saved for posterity, especially since the first article I found while on the water said they've not been seen north of Newport, OR or somewhere near there.

How did it taste?   

[MIKEXRAY]

Cool , thanks for sharing.  Never seen or heard of before .

[SeatoSummit88]

Looks like a Chilean Langostino!

[trophyhunt]

I just want to know how they tasted? 

[KP-Skagit]

We got them up around Waldron Island but never of a size we would consider eating. Reading about it they are called a few things, tuna crab, langostilla, pelagic red crab. What is odd is they are pelagic so are suspended in the water column so I always felt it was weird to get them in shrimp pots.

Must be the secret bait.

[RB]

Cool!

[lokidog]

We got them up around Waldron Island but never of a size we would consider eating. Reading about it they are called a few things, tuna crab, langostilla, pelagic red crab. What is odd is they are pelagic so are suspended in the water column so I always felt it was weird to get them in shrimp pots.

Must be the secret bait.

SHHHH!   

[Sutherland]

Oh very cool! Haha. Thanks for sharing.

[lokidog]

Oh very cool! Haha. Thanks for sharing.

 

Love finding all the strange stuff. I'm planning on making a shirt that says "I Catch Weird Ship" with drawings of stuff. I caught a blood star a couple weeks ago.

[Brushcrawler]

Very cool catch! I got a sea cucumber in a crab pot this year. It was surprisingly tasty.

[j_h_nimrod]

We would catch similar critters in SE AK and was told to call them scampi    Never ate them but they were pretty small. Always amazing what you might get in a pot out of the deep.

Sea cucumbers are tasty, radial muscles are similar to clam strips when cooked right. Commercial fished for them for a number of years. Never ate the skins, but very popular in some Asian cultures.

[lokidog]

We would catch similar critters in SE AK and was told to call them scampi    Never ate them but they were pretty small. Always amazing what you might get in a pot out of the deep.

Sea cucumbers are tasty, radial muscles are similar to clam strips when cooked right. Commercial fished for them for a number of years. Never ate the skins, but very popular in some Asian cultures.

I've eaten a few deep fried Sea Cukes, tasty, but too much work. I only cook them for effect any more. 

[PlateauNDN]

Ok, so how'd it taste??? Inquiring minds are waiting...

[lokidog]

Ok, so how'd it taste??? Inquiring minds are waiting...

Preserved in a jar of alcohol for posterity, or an emergency....   

[Alchase]

Ok, so how'd it taste??? Inquiring minds are waiting...

Preserved in a jar of alcohol for posterity, or an emergency....   

so you are marinating it 

 

[Jpmiller]

Ok, so how'd it taste??? Inquiring minds are waiting...

Preserved in a jar of alcohol for posterity, or an emergency....   

How well does that work on a crustacean? I'm assuming you can't ever remove it from the alcohol?

[lokidog]

Ok, so how'd it taste??? Inquiring minds are waiting...

Preserved in a jar of alcohol for posterity, or an emergency....   

How well does that work on a crustacean? I'm assuming you can't ever remove it from the alcohol?

You can remove for short observation periods. Alcohol does tend to pull the pink fats out of shellfish though.