Qinzhou Blue Crab

Qinzhou Blue Crab

Qinzhou Blue Crab is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　A premium seafood product from the coastal areas of the city, it boasts a delicious taste and high nutritional value, and is one of the traditional seafood exports. The blue crab’s scientific name is Scylla serrata. Its carapace is bluish-green, its body is flat and oval-shaped, and its breastplate is grayish-white, with five pairs of appendages on both sides. Mature crabs typically weigh around half a kilogram each, while larger ones (males) can reach 1–1.5 kilograms. Cooking the crab with the traditional Chinese herb Rehmannia glutinosa creates the famous “Blue Crab and Rehmannia Soup,” a delicacy often served at banquets. The meat from the crab legs can be dried to make crab meat, which is easy to store and transport over long distances, and remains a delicious and high-quality food.

　　Also known as the yellow-shelled crab, and called “qiú móu” in Chinese, the blue crab belongs to the class Crustacea and the family Portunidae, commonly referred to as “qiú móu chóng xún.” It inhabits muddy flats and shallow coastal waters, often moving into the mudflats with the tides and preferring to burrow in areas where freshwater flows out. Blue crabs are available year-round, but from the third to the twenty-third day of the eighth lunar month, their shells are as hard as shields, their claws are round and strong, and each crab has a double layer of shell. There is a local saying: “An August blue crab is worth a chicken.” The famous poet Su Dongpo also wrote in his poem “Qiú Móu”: “Half a shell filled with golden roe, perfect with wine; two snowy claws urge you to eat more.”

　　The blue crab’s carapace is slightly oval, smooth-surfaced, slightly raised in the center, with indistinct segmentation. The surface and appendages are bluish-green. There is a distinct “H”-shaped groove between the gastric and cardiac regions on the back. The frontal area features four prominent triangular teeth, more protruding than the inner eye sockets. The front lateral edge has nine medium-sized teeth, with the last tooth small, sharp, and pointing forward. The chelipeds are robust and asymmetrical. The merus has three spiny teeth on the front edge and two on the rear edge; the carpus has two blunt teeth on the outer edge and one strong spine on the inner corner; the palm is swollen and smooth, especially so in males, with two ridges on the back and one spine at the tip. The dactylus and propodus have one groove each on the inner and outer sides, with a relatively large gap between the two fingers, and the inner edge teeth are large and blunt. The first three pairs of walking legs have short hairs on the front and back edges of the dactylus and propodus, while the last pair has flattened, paddle-like segments suitable for swimming. The male abdomen is broadly triangular, with the sixth segment’s edge slightly concave, straight sides, and a bluntly rounded final segment. The female abdomen is broadly rounded.

　　Protected Area:

　　 Within Qinzhou City, including Qinzhou Port Area, Sanniang Bay Management Zone, as well as Longmen Port Town, Kangxi Ridge Town, Jianshan Town, Shabu Town, Dafanpo Town, Xiniujiao Town, Dongchang Town, and Nali Town in Qinnan District, along with their adjacent sea areas. The geographical coordinates are longitude 108°27′34″ to 108°57′30″, and latitude 21°35′21″ to 21°51′35″.