The bountiful harvest of crabs in Pingtan, Fujian province, has led to a crazy level of crab consumption, Pingtan Times reported on Dec 1.

Fishermen unload crabs into dozens of baskets at a dock in Pingtan, Fujian province. Pingtan witnessed an excellent harvest of crabs this year. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

The price of between 2.5 to 3.5 yuan per kilogram for live crabs, and 4.5 to 7.5 yuan for dead ones at the local market, is, according to both customers and vendors, about three times cheaper than they were last year.

Chen Hongjiao, a seafood trader, said she can sell as many as 900 crabs every day.

There can’t be fresher crabs elsewhere than at a market by the dock, where buyers swarmed around to snap up the crabs immediately after they were unloaded from the fishing vessels.

“I arrived more than an hour in advance just to be the first one to buy crabs. My whole family has a hankering for crabs and I will buy them even at 60 yuan per kilogram,” said Mr. Chen, a local resident.

Lin Quan, another buyer, joked that his house had been occupied by an “army of crabs”, and he smelled like a crab after consuming so many of them.

“They are everywhere on the dining tables and in the refrigerator. My mother is versatile in various cooking ways,” he said.

The crabs will fatten up and taste better between December and January in the Chinese lunar calendar, according to Wang Yun, director of a local aquatic technology station.

Experts have warned that people, especially those with stomach illness, enteritis or digestive problems, should heed the amount of crabs they eat. And it is not a good choice for those with cardiovascular disease, heart disease, high blood pressure or coronary heart disease because the crabs carry much cholesterol which will add pressure to the cardiovascular system.

Diners can eat crabs with fruit and vegetables which contain Vitamin C, which will help the digestion of crabs, said Guo Yonghua, a doctor at the local hospital.