Document text
45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 5, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 1, 2004 Since You Asked ‘Pick-out rate’ tests the crabs’ meatiness I saw a news account that the Dungeness crab season starts next week, unless the crabs didn’t meet something called a "pick-out rate." What is that? — Steve M., Medford The pick-out rate is crabbing lingo for testing whether the area’s Dungeness are meaty enough for harvest. The pick-out rate is the percentage, by weight, of the crab's meat to the total weight of the crab. After crabs molt in summer, it takes adult males about three months for their bodies to grow and fill out their new shells. Until then, the leg and body meat is watery and of poor quality. Crab fishery managers pick out some male Dungeness for testing. In southern and central Oregon, the crab meat to overall weight must reach 25 percent for the commercial crab fishery to remain open, and crabs regularly reach that threshold by the Dec. 1 annual opener. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s