Qingdao crab harvest season, price up to 200 yuan/kg

Red Island clams, crabs in the meeting hall, eat clams more like crabs, eat crabs are not white. This folk song is widely circulated in the island city, which proves that the crabs in the venue have a high reputation.

Although the fishing season is not yet in place, on August 26, the morning newspaper reporters rushed to the Wanggozhuang Street venue community to learn that the fishermen were already ready. Many people predict that crabs will have a bumper harvest this year, because Qingdao's "star crabs" have been living in the "safe house" of the marine ranch, and their production has been increasing since 2014. In Qingdao, crabs in the venue are undoubtedly the "stars" of crabs. Generally, crabs in the venue can sell for 30 to 40 yuan per kilogram, while crabs in the venue need to sell for more than 100 yuan per kilogram, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which reached the highest level in the past year. What is more surprising is that no matter how the price of crabs has changed in recent years, the price of crabs in the venue has remained above 100 yuan per kilogram. Why is the price so strong? What's the secret of crabs becoming "star crabs" in Qingdao?

On August 26, the reporter came to the venue community with these questions and made some explorations. Reporters happened to meet 73-year-old fisherman Du Chenggong at the seaside pier. He started to go to sea at the age of 18. He is a famous "veteran" in the venue community. "Our village's ancestors have lived by fishing for generations, especially crab hunting, which is very famous in Fangyuan Baili." Du Chenggong said.

Talking about crabs in the conference hall, Du Chenggong suddenly came to be interested. He pointed to the nearby conference Bay and told reporters: "Look at this bay, Laoshan in the south, Aoshan in the north, Xiaoguan Island and Rabbit Island outside, which are equivalent to three sides of the sea. We don't have big rivers entering the sea here, and the salinity of the sea water is around 3 degrees all the year round. It is especially suitable for crab growth.

"Our farm Bay abounds in shellfish. In earlier years, villagers used clam skin and oyster skin to burn ashes for construction purposes. Therefore, our community was originally named"Ash Factory"and later evolved into"Meeting Hall". Du Cungong, Secretary of the conference hall community, said that the conference hall community was close to the mountains and seas, surrounded by the sea on three sides, without industrial and living pollution. "The beach of the bay is mainly sandy. There are abundant shellfish resources for Portunus crab to eat, which ensures that Portunus crab has sufficient food sources. In addition, the small temperature difference in winter and summer, suitable water temperature, excellent ecological environment and unique geographical location make the Huichang Bay the main breeding and habitat of Portunus crabs in the southern Shandong Peninsula. Du Yugong, director of community fisheries at the conference site, introduced that crabs in the conference hall were delicious, sweet and rich in crab fragrance. "What we call crabs in the conference hall is that crabs grow naturally from the conference hall to Changmenyan, and the depth of the sea area they grow is 2 to 20 meters." Du Yugong said that compared with crabs in other places, crabs in the venue were larger, with longer claws, and with longer feet and "cross legs". The first half of the two crab forceps can overlap each other, commonly known as "cross-legged", and the one-sided crab feet can reach twice the width of the body. Usually, a crab of about eighty-two can reach more than 40 centimeters in length when its feet are spread out on both sides. "We have measured before that more than three and a half kilograms of crabs can spread their feet and catch up with the height of a 1.8-meter young man." The crab's belly is bright and the crab's shell is sharp. The crab's abdomen is shiny, especially at the triangular umbilical cord. The two ends of the crab's shell are very sharp, unlike the black line at the triangular umbilical cord of the cultured crab.

"Crabs in the venue are well-known. They are not only related to sea area and taste, but also to our unique fishing methods. Because of their unique technology, crabs in the venue are very fat and beautiful." Du Cungong said that the nets used by fishermen were made of cotton yarn, which was mixed with tung oil to make them more durable and strong. The above nets were made of plane wood blocks as floats. By the 1970s, the net was replaced by nylon. Despite the material changes, this crab hunting village has a tradition. The net buckles of the nets are very large. They are only used to fight big crabs. Small fish and shrimps will be released.

"Fertile crabs generally move at the bottom of the sea. Unlike other nets, those in the middle of the sea are different from those in other places. Our fishermen use special nets because they are only over 1 meter high and open like a volleyball net. The middle crabs will swim, only the big crabs in the bottom will follow. The tide hits the net, and it won't break the crab's leg. Du Cungong introduced the unique mystery of crab nets in their community. Du Yugong said that the crab fishing technique in his community was handed down from generation to generation. It can be traced back to Yongle in Ming Dynasty. Since the Qing Dynasty, crabs in the venue have gradually gained popularity in all directions. For hundreds of years, local fishermen have followed traditional techniques and harvested crabs in the annual crab fishing season.

"Since 1998, taking half a kilogram of crabs as an example, the selling price per kilogram of crabs can reach 780 yuan. By 2007, it reached hundreds of yuan. After that, it has not fallen below 100 yuan, mainly because more and more citizens know that crabs are delicious in the venue." Du Yugong said.

In 2002, "Portunus crab" became the first trademark of live seafood in our city to apply for registration, and became a famous brand in the whole country. In 2005, venue crabs were rated as famous and excellent agricultural products favored by consumers in Qingdao. In 2006, venue crabs were rated as famous agricultural products in Qingdao.