As the best time for tasting hairy crabs comes along with the autumn, a rare white-shell crab variety named "White Jade Crab" has caught many eyes of gourmet chefs at the 2024 Crab Industry (Shanghai) Expo held from Thursday to Sunday in Shanghai.
Compared with the common deep-green-shelled crabs, the white crabs are distinctively featured with white shells when both raw and cooked, visible crab roe, as well as a finer, tenderer and fresher texture.
After eight years of research and development by a team led by Wu Xugan, a professor at the School of Aquatic and Life Sciences at Shanghai Ocean University, this special variant is seeing the first season of mass production and now serving on family tables in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Wu noted that white crabs exist naturally but are extremely rare due to the recessive gene and their vulnerability in aquatic environments. Their white color is more exposed to predators and more likely to be attacked.
Wu's team first discovered the white color breed in the spring of 2016 in Shanghai's Chongming district and Xinghua in Jiangsu province, which became the start of the research and cultivation.
The team has made great efforts in the breeding process, selecting the best out of thousands of crab eggs repeatedly to ensure a stable production. The team also carried out systematic research into the variant, including morphology, genetic diversity, breeding performance and nutritional quality.
Meanwhile, the team developed a set of farming techniques and nutritional control strategies and worked with both farmers and business brands to promote large-scale farming and help foster a whole industry chain of white crab production.
"The edible rate and nutritional value of the White Jade Crab are similar to the common crabs though, it tastes sweeter and fresher with thinner shells. The visible crab roe is a big plus for consumers, as it can help them pick out the best ones with their eyes," said Wu.
Wu added that the white crabs see a higher portion of large-sized ones. The team has introduced the breed and its cultivation to multiple cities across China, with a total covering of nearly 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares). Eyeing the high-end markets, the white crab is expected to provide more options for consumers and boost the crab industrial development.
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