Upon hearing Fu Liang's shout, Fu Wan quickly ended her conversation with Ye Zhenxing and hurried to the stern of the boat.
Fu Liang had already pulled up a crab trap, but just as he was about to empty the crabs out of it, he discovered that the crabs in the trap were not ordinary swimming crabs.
"Ah Wan, look, I've never seen these crabs before?"
"This appearance... Good heavens, it looks like a Dungeness crab?"
Fu Liang had three large crabs weighing about a pound each in the crab cage in his hand. They were as big as the palm of his hand. Fu Wan recognized the species of the crabs at a glance.
It's important to know that not only are fish categorized into different grades, but crabs are too.
There are five or six kinds of crabs in the waters near Guangfu Village, a coastal area. There are the inexpensive, low-meat Yuanbao crabs, the meaty and roe-rich mud crabs, and the fresh and delicious swimming crabs…
It can be said that Fu Wan has seen, caught, and eaten many crabs in her two lives, but this is the first time she has caught a rare crab.
"Duncan crab? Really? Didn't they say we don't have Duncan crabs here?"
Fu Liang was somewhat suspicious. He was a genuine fisherman, so how could he not know what kind of crabs were in the waters around him?
Even though he wasn't well-educated, he had only heard about Dungeness crabs from the old folks in the village.
"Ah Wan, are you sure this is a Dungeness crab?"
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Fu Wan simply grabbed a crab.
The crab was inexplicably lifted into the air and its two large pincers were swung around with great force, giving it a fierce appearance.
"Look, the Dungeness crab's shell is light red and brown on the back, and this one has quite a few purple spots on the front." Then she showed the crab's abdomen.
"Look, another distinctive feature of the Dungeness crab is its white and pale orange underside, white claws, and rounded tail." The Dungeness crab picture on the internet, a very expensive and delicious crab, with its red and white markings, completely baffled Ye Lin, who knew nothing about crabs.
"What? These crabs can't be sold? If they can't be sold, then just release them!"
He's a rough guy; he doesn't care about any of that red or purple stuff. All he cares about is whether it's worth money!
Keep the valuable items, and discard the worthless ones.
Upon hearing Ye Lin's words, Fu Liang was afraid that he would casually release the crabs, so he quickly pulled the crab cage, which still contained two crabs, to his side, looking protective.
"Dalinzi, are you kidding me? One Dungeness crab is worth two or three pounds of swimming crab!"
He had heard the village elders say before that Dungeness crab is called Dungeness crab not only because it is extremely nutritious and comparable to a treasure, but also because it is very expensive.
Because very few people have ever caught Dungeness crabs, they are now incredibly expensive, with demand far exceeding supply.
Fu, who had just finished cleaning the trawl net, saw the group of men huddled at the stern of the boat, whispering amongst themselves, not even bothering to put away the crab traps. He was thinking of coming over to see what they were up to when he got there and was startled by the crabs Fu Liang had caught before the New Year.
"Good heavens, is this a Dungeness crab?"
Before Fu Wan and the others could answer, Boss Fu bent down and leaned forward to take a look. Seeing how much he found it, Fu Wan was too embarrassed to look.
My face is practically pressed against the deck now, but my back doesn't hurt anymore!
"No, no, Dungeness crabs are a species that only lives in the waters off the United States, how could we possibly encounter them here?"
But its shape is clearly that of a Dungeness crab, and it's even enjoying eating that lump of something.
Seemingly noticing the confusion on Boss Fu's face, Fu Liang proudly introduced, "These are the entrails of the pheasant from this afternoon. Ah Ming and I brought them here to crab fish!"
So that's it. Crabs really can't resist things with a strong fishy smell.
"Dad, do you think it's because of species migration between seas that we have Dungeness crabs?"
Fu Wan racked her brains but couldn't come up with a second possibility.
She was even a little dazed. Shouldn't the sea beneath her feet still be in China? How come she not only encountered that white humpback whale that should have been found in Australia today, but also discovered Dungeness crabs that should have originated in the United States?
Fu Laoda thought for a long time, and even though he was very knowledgeable when he was a ghost in his previous life, he still couldn't give an answer to the origin of this treasure crab.
Ye Lin became anxious again when he saw that these people actually had the mood to study the origin of the crab.
"Hey you guys, who cares where this thing came from? Now that it's in our cage, it's ours!"
There are still several crab traps left to catch; aren't you going to hurry up and pack them up to check on them?
These words were like a slap in the face, waking everyone up. Yes, who cares where it came from? Once it's in your cage, it's yours!
These crabs aren't sentient whales; you can't just catch them and sell them if you get a good price, or eat them yourself if you don't.
In short, just get it done!
It took the group only five seconds from figuring it out to taking action. They then worked in pairs, with one person pulling the float and the other pulling the rope at the top of the crab trap. Within minutes, all eight crab traps were pulled onto the deck.
Looking at the haul in the crab traps, Fu Wan, who had seen so many valuable things before, couldn't help but smile.
There wasn't a single empty cage!
"19, 20, 21, 22! A total of 22 Dungeness crabs!"
These Dungeness crabs were mostly around half an ounce each, with more than ten even twice the size of the others, appearing to weigh about a pound.
There were 22 Dungeness crabs, two of which looked like baby crabs. Fu Wan held them in her hand and they weren't even half the width of her palm. "I'll put these two away for now and bring them back when they're bigger!"
There was also a huge Dungeness crab, which looked to weigh about three pounds, but when Fu Wan picked it up, she saw a thick mass on its abdomen, densely packed with crab roe.
Crabs carrying eggs should not be caught; this is Fu Wan's principle. She reluctantly touched the shell of the female crab, checked it to make sure it was not injured, and then released it back into the sea.
Such fine crabs should naturally reproduce in large numbers in this sea area. If these crabs multiply, and this continues for a long time, perhaps China won't need to import crabs from the US anymore; it might even be able to export them.
Just thinking about it makes me excited!
After the crab traps were collected, it was time for the ground traps. Having already taken the Dungeness Crab as an example, Fu Liang wasn't as excited about the ground traps.
He and Fu Ming set the crab traps and fish traps, but because the pheasant entrails were limited at noon, they only put small portions of pheasant entrails in the eight crab traps. As for the fish traps, they dutifully put some small fish and shrimp in them.
"Hey, there's quite a bit to be found here too!"
Boss Fu untied the top of the fish trap, then shook it against the empty bucket next to him, causing the fish to fall into the bucket with a splash.
"Sea bass, conger eel, swimming crab, and hey, there are two sea cucumbers!"
It had been a long time since I'd seen a sea cucumber. Just as Fu Wan was about to pick it up, Boss Fu beat her to it.
Such a rapid pace is bound to raise eyebrows.
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