Softshell Crab Season Has Arrived From Maryland!
The season's first catch of Wild Maryland Softshell Crab has arrived! They're making their West Coast debut at Water Grill.
THE START OF THE SEASON
Spring is a wonderful time. For starters, we get more daylight (and eventually recoup the hour of sleep lost at the start of Daylight Savings Time).
That means little to Mother Nature though: the world continues to turn, and tilt on its axis, bringing warmer weather to the Northern Hemisphere. It’s here, in the Mid-Atlantic, where we begin to reap those rewards. Watermen take to their boats off the coast of Chesapeake Bay and prepare their traps for the blue crab harvest.
As water temperatures rise, these blue crabs begin to molt and shed their shells. It’s at this moment when the live crabs are harvested – at the peak of tenderness.
Learn more about their journey – from blue shell to softshell, and from the country’s largest estuary to one of our favorite seasonal offerings – here.
ABOUT BLUE CRABS
Who says Latin is dead? The language tells us a lot. Exhibit A: the scientific name for blue crab is Callinectes sapidus, meaning beautiful savory swimmer.
These crabs propel themselves through the water using their back fins, or swimmerets. You’ll find this species all along the Atlantic Coast, down through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and even to some northern parts of South America.
HARVESTING
Blue Crabs live anywhere from three to four years and reach maturity around one year to 18 months. Growth is very dependent on temperature. Mating occurs from fall through the spring and, interestingly, females can only mate once during their life but can spawn multiple times.
Females, especially those carrying eggs, prefer higher salinity areas and often migrate towards the mouth of nearby rivers to spawn. Males prefer lower salinity waters and can often be found closer to river mouths and estuaries.
Most of the season’s harvesting will happen in late Spring as water temperatures warm and crabs prepare for their summer growth. This is often marked by the first full moon in May. In some cases, like what we’re seeing out of Georgia, the water warms as early as the beginning of April.
A COMING OF AGE
Softshell crabs are blue crabs. They’re harvested throughout the East Coast by commercial crabbers when the hardshell blue crabs are deemed to be peelers, or crabs that are ready to molt.
Watermen will look for signs, such as white, pink and red colors on the shells, to tell which crabs will molt, and when. In fact, a red outline, called a “red sign”, on the swimming fin indicates that a crab will molt in less than two days.
These crabs are then transferred to shedding tanks where they are monitored until they molt. The tanks are shallow, and the water temperature is carefully regulated to emulate the crab’s natural molting habitat.
Once a crab molts, it is removed from the shedding tank as soon as possible before the shell begins to harden (which can take as little as a few hours). It’s at this moment when a blue crab becomes a softshell crab. They’re then carefully packed and arrive to us daily – directly from pristine coastline of Georgia, straight to our restaurants.
this moment when a blue crab becomes a softshell crab. They’re then carefully packed and arrive to us daily – directly from the Chesapeake to our restaurants.
FLAVOR
Iconic, sweet and earthy, softshell crab delivers a crunchy, delicate bite with olive-like notes imparted from the shell.
At Water Grill, our Wild Maryland Softshell Crab is prepared tempura-fried, served with pickled plums, Belgian endive and our house XO sauce
All this softshell talk got you hungry for more? Check out our menus and make a reservation!
.png)
Pacific Bluefin Tuna Season Returns for Another Summer
Appreciate the good times while they last. You never really know when the next ones may come. That’s especially true when it comes to Pacific Bluefin Tuna.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna are some of the fastest fish in the ocean. But it’s not their speed that makes them elusive.
As one of the most carefully managed fisheries in the U.S., the annual harvest of Bluefin Tuna is limited to help prevent overfishing and restore populations to target levels. There is a capped amount for the season, and once that number is reached, there can be no more landing of Bluefin Tuna by commercial or recreational fishermen.
Consequently, this remarkable fish has sporadic and limited availability and may not be available from one year to the next.
A Highly Migratory Fish
Pacific Bluefin has the largest geographic range of all tunas. While they mostly live in open water, their fatty flesh gives them the ability to keep their bodies warm, unlike most fish. This is what allows the Pacific Bluefin to live in cooler temperate, tropical and open waters.
Bluefin Tuna spawn in the Western Pacific between central Japan and the northern Philippines from April through August. While some Bluefin end up spending their entire lives in the Western Pacific, some young fish will end up migrating to the Eastern Pacific to feed. Southern California waters provide a pristine environment filled with some of their favorite food – such as market squid and sardines.
Getting from place to place isn’t a problem for this fish, though. With their streamlined bodies and powerful tails, Pacific Bluefin Tuna are some of the fastest fish in the ocean.
At about age one, these fish start to arrive off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. They remain in the Eastern Pacific for a few years before migrating back to the Western Pacific Ocean to spawn, a journey taking as little as 55 days.
Why the Blue Fin?
Pacific Bluefin Tuna can be identified by dark blue dorsal sides. The color doesn’t stop there though. They also have a series of small yellow fins, edged in black, that run from the second dorsal fin to the tail. Their bellies are dotted with silver / gray spots or bands.
When you see a Pacific Bluefin Tuna, you’ll see that it’s built for speed. Compared to other tuna, they have relatively small eyes that are set flush to their body, streamlining their flow through the water. Make no mistake though: even though the eyes are small, they have some of the sharpest vision of any finfish and hunt by sight.
Prized Flavor
Prized for their fatty flesh and often served as maguro or toro in sushi restaurants, Pacific Bluefin Tuna are fished extensively throughout the Pacific.
At Water Grill, our Pacific Bluefin Tuna is locally sourced in the San Diego area. We work directly with local fishermen. Each fish is caught one at a time by hook and line. This helps to reduce by-catch while ensuring great handling and a top-quality product.
We bring in the whole loin of the fish to Water Grill, and cut and prepare it for several dishes that highlight its rich, buttery texture and meaty flavor. These include the Trojan Roll, Tuna Poke, Tuna Toro Tartare and Tuna Crudo along with the Wild Pacific Bluefin Tuna entrée with togarashi. View today's menu to see what's available today!
Cover photo credit: Kate/Unsplas from CA Sea Grant
