Brown crabs, also known as edible crabs, or in Cornwall 'Pasty Crabs', are the nations favourite crustacean. The pasty shaped shell houses soft and flavoursome brown meat and the legs and claws are packed with the more delicate flavoured white meat. Crabs are at their best in the winter months but can be enjoyed all year round thanks to the sustainable nature of this fishery. There are loads of different ways to enjoy crab meat.. find recipes and more infomation here!
Brown crab stocks are relatively healthy in Cornish waters and the majority of brown crab landed to our ports are caught with crab pots, a selective and low impact fishing method. Always look for fresh local pot caught crab. Best choice for brown crabs are those caught using pots in inshore waters (within Cornwall’s 6 mile limit) where minimum landing sizes are higher.
Infomation from fishermen, and a 2018 report from Cornwall IFCA suggest however that in some areas landings have decreased and with increased amounts of pots being used (subsidised by EU and government funding) some areas may be being overfished, and fishing effort is on the increase. Many feel that limits on fishing effort for brown crab are needed, (some say long overdue).
Brown crabs have a relatively low vulnerability to fishing as a female crab can produce up to 3 million eggs each year, they grow relatively fast and use our shallow rocky intertidal areas (of which Cornwall has a huge area) as protected nursery grounds.
North Coast (VIIf and VIIg)
Potting is a selective and low impact method and within the 6 mile limits Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation authority monitor and strictly regulate the fishery.
Learn moreSouth Coast (area VIIe)
Crabs caught thorough entanglement in gill nets are lower quality and outside the 6 mile limit there are smaller minimum landing sizes. Some issues with accidental by-catch with this method. Stocks are healthier off the South Coast
Learn moreSouth Coast (area VIIe)
Potting is a selective and low impact method and within the 6 mile limits Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation authority monitor and strictly regulate the fishery. Crab Stocks are most healthy off Cornwall's South Coast.
Learn moreNorth Coast (VIIf and VIIg)
Crabs caught thorough entanglement in gill nets are lower quality and outside the 6 mile limit there are smaller minimum landing sizes. Some issues with accidental by-catch with this method. Stocks are under more pressure off the North Coast.
Learn moreCornwall Good Seafood Guide rates fish on sustainability using a scale of 1 to 5.
1, 2 and 3 are recommended, Fish to avoid are rated 5.
We use the system devised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) so our scores are comparable with the scores produced by MCS for the UK and fisheries from all around the world. For more information on scoring click here.
The majority of crabs landed to Cornwall are caught in baited crab or lobster pots. This is a low impact, selective fishing method. Any undersized or recently moulted crabs can be returned, unharmed, to the sea to be caught another day. The gear has little physical impact on the seabed (in Cornwall our rocky reefs are hard so aren’t eroded by pots landing on them- unlike chalk reefs in the English Channel). Brown crab are also caught in significant numbers as by-catch in net and trawl fisheries. Crabs tangled up in gill nets are difficult to un-pick and sometimes as a result the claws are removed to disentangle them, and qality of the catch can be reduced. Netters have a limit of 30kg of unattached crab claws per day in Cornish waters. Nets have issues with accidental by catch of other species such as skates, sharks, seabirds and cetaceans. Trawls have a greater impact on the seabed than pots and undersized crabs that are caught in nets or trawls are often much more damaged than those returned from crab pots and less likely to survive. Boats operating outside Cornwalls 6 mile limit that are over 15m in length are restricted by effort restrictions (KW/hours) which restrict fishing effort. Many will adhere to the minimum size limits set within Cornwalls fsihing district but by law eu minimum landing sizes apply which are smaller than those within Cornwalls 6 mile limit.
Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is underpinned by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide. The first UK consumer guide to sustainable seafood. For more information visit www.fishonline.org