Coastal Crustaceans

Hard Shell, 6 x 6 " oil on gessobord panel, ©2015, Fay Terry

The blue crab is common to all North Carolina coastal waters but the largest populations tend to live in the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. In 2011, over 30 million pounds of blue crabs were harvested commercially with a dockside value of $21 million.

Here's a little known fact:  If a crab loses a leg or a claw, it is able to regenerate, or grow a new limb to replace the one lost.  In addition, the crab possesses the power to throw off limbs voluntarily.  If a crab is seized and held by a leg, it may release that leg and escape. The leg is regenerated during the next shedding cycle. Pretty cool, huh?

Crab Louie

Crab Louie

This little guy is named after an old-fashioned recipe that my grandmother used to make.  It is a salad with all kinds of good things in it- crabmeat, of course, avocado, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, asparagus, and a tasty dressing and probably a few more things I can't remember.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel