"Charleston Blue Crabs"

Despite its fearsome appearance and aggressive nature, the blue crab is greatly cherished in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Gourmets prefer the blue crab's sweet meat over all other locally caught seafood. Recreational fishermen seek this easy to catch crab, which also supports a considerable commercial fishery.

Blue crabs require both inshore brackish waters and high salinity ocean waters to complete their life cycle. They range from Massachusetts to Texas, and occasionally north to Nova Scotia and south to Uruguay.

Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina, and Louisiana support the largest blue crab fisheries.

Although other small swimming crabs in this family ( Portunidae ) occur locally, only the blue crab has any commercial or recreational importance in South Carolina.