Soft Shell Crabs

While in Taipei this past week I heard an interesting story about soft shell crabs while eating one. I think all crustaceans with their exoskeleton(shell) grow by "molting", they shed their shell and then grow a new larger one from the exposed inside. Between when they shed and the new shell developed they are vunerable and tasty. There are about 4 days in the "window of opportunity".


Below is a pictures of the blue crabs which are the soft shell crabs in the US. The soft shell crabs in Taiwan are a different species but the same principle.

I also think all crustaceans also have the ability to regrown arms that are cut off, this is called "regeneration". (Some salamanders also have this ability, but frogs and toads do not.)

Because there is only a 4 day window for soft shell crabs once they molt, they can't be predictably listed on the menu.  But it turns out that cutting off an arm triggers the molting process so the "window of opportunity" can be manipulated to some extent. So crabs can be caught before their time to molt and then be induced to molt by amputation.

To those that think this is cruel, I have to points:

1. A caught crab will be eaten one way or another.
2. Is this any less manipulative than how we treat farm animals?