Advice for keeping dungeness fresh

So yesterday I got a keeper at LM. At 8pm. Put him right in the bucket with fresh sea water and aerator. Got home at 9:30. Connected another aerator (2 heads) and threw in a small piece from the rock fish carcass that I used for bait. At 6am it was dead. I have no idea why.
It was in sea water, in the garage, with enough air, and it was cold outside.
Anybody specializes in pathological examination of crabs?

Ok, there is a lot to break down, but here it is in essence:

Aquatic creatures excrete waste in the form of ammonia. Decomposing fish also excretes ammonia. Ammonia is bad for aquatic creatures. It’s not the lack of oxygen in the water that kills them, it’s the build up of ammonia. When you have small animals like minnows in a bucket they do not produce much waste so they tend to last longer. Large creatures create more. That crab was probably at a lethal dose pretty quickly.

If you ever set up an aquarium there is something called the nitrogen cycle. Critters produce carbon dioxide and ammonia. Some types of bacteria process the ammonia and convert it into nitrites. A second bacteria converts nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are used by plants and algae to grow. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are bad for the critters. Without bacteria to process all that, or chemicals to neutralize it, or a huge amount of water to dilute it that crab was doomed from the start.

You would have kept him alive longer with just a damp towel instead of the water.

I have kept crabs alive for a few days prior to family coming over in a 100 gallon trough full of water that had temp controls, circulation, filtration, etc. But it’s quite an endeavor if you don’t have that sort of stuff laying around. At the time I had multiple salt water coral reef tanks and hundreds of gallons of salt water along with the ability to quickly make more saltwater. Nowadays I don’t have that anymore so I don’t think I would do it again. 

Looking at your pic you had maybe 1.5 gal of water in there with a big crab. A full bucket would have helped out a lot to keep it alive through the night.

^^^^
This! You don't need to put anything but you need a big container I use big bins with the yellow lids from Costco never had a die off until some pour freshwater on them.

So yesterday I got a keeper at LM. At 8pm. Put him right in the bucket with fresh sea water and aerator. Got home at 9:30. Connected another aerator (2 heads) and threw in a small piece from the rock fish carcass that I used for bait. At 6am it was dead. I have no idea why.
It was in sea water, in the garage, with enough air, and it was cold outside.
Anybody specializes in pathological examination of crabs?

From what I've read, definitely more water and no need to feed.

I've eaten a dead dungie, and I'm still here. It was delicious. I harvested it by hand at a beach, and it was getting thrashed around in my catch bag in the surf as I looked for more. When I got to the car, I noticed the crab was dead. It took me 15 minutes to get home and I threw it in the steamer right away. The crab was probably dead for 30-60 minutes. No big deal. I'm sure the meat does go bad quickly when a crab dies, but define quickly. Apparently quickly is not 30-60 minutes.

I've eaten a dead dungie, and I'm still here. It was delicious. I harvested it by hand at a beach, and it was getting thrashed around in my catch bag in the surf as I looked for more. When I got to the car, I noticed the crab was dead. It took me 15 minutes to get home and I threw it in the steamer right away. The crab was probably dead for 30-60 minutes. No big deal. I'm sure the meat does go bad quickly when a crab dies, but define quickly. Apparently quickly is not 30-60 minutes.

5 out of 6 rounds of Russian Roulette don't kill you, either. 

just a question for you guys - how many times do you think a restaurant or market has cooked a dead dungie and served it to you?  someone who works in the restaurant biz please chime in.

i would probably bet that a dead dungie isn't just thrown away.

Yesterday got a few in Monterey, it's a 2 hour drive back home, I had my boiler with me but I was tired and didn't want to delay the drive. They went in the yeti45, it was filled with about 15# (left over from previous 3 days of fishing) of ice, the crabs were already in a wet burlap. I added about half a scoop of shaved ice into the bag and put the bag on top of the ice in the cooler. Got home cooked up great. The wife made crab enchiladas...yum

I do prefer to cook them at the landing however I was told it was not allowed in the parking lot at the wharf. I have never seen a sign or printed rules saying no cooking in the lot or anything like that. I'd hate to be half way thru just to get a ticket add not be able to finish my cook. Do you guys nowhere I would get the official word on what is allowed? I've tried calling local wardens, facilities, the parking lot manager. Everyone passes me to someone else. I get advice both ways. These shared managed spaces can be hard.

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just a question for you guys - how many times do you think a restaurant or market has cooked a dead dungie and served it to you?  someone who works in the restaurant biz please chime in.

i would probably bet that a dead dungie isn't just thrown away.

We cleaned 20 crabs daily where I worked and those crabs were beautifully fresh and kicking, used the shells for stock. When we used lobsters again kicking and mean. We used the eggs of the lobo to make beautiful orange-red pasta (it's puke green when raw) and used the shells to make lobo oil which is ferociously fragrant when making but a couple drops in your risotto will take you on a flavor journey.  These were fancy Michelin starred restaurants.   

I'm very sure you are fed dead ones at shady restaurants, can't imagine what happens these days with Covid killing the restaurant industry.

Lobster roe is one of the most delicious things on this planet! I found some in a lobster I bought once, and just fried it in a pan with butter and garlic. Broke da mouth, as we say in Hawaii.

Lobster roe is one of the most delicious things on this planet! I found some in a lobster I bought once, and just fried it in a pan with butter and garlic. Broke da mouth, as we say in Hawaii.

”Drop yo’ lips to da groun’ kine onoliciuos?”

”Drop yo’ lips to da groun’ kine onoliciuos?”

Haha. Garans.

I get the 6.5 gallon buckets with locking twist tops and transport them home with salt water, once home an air pump in a 70 gallon cooler and I have kept them alive for almost a week that way.   

 

I get the 6.5 gallon buckets with locking twist tops and transport them home with salt water, once home an air pump in a 70 gallon cooler and I have kept them alive for almost a week that way.

This is what I have used in the past. I actually drilled wholes in the bucket (Live well) and would leave the bucket in the water near the beach on a float at Doran until I was ready to go home. I would then put the bucket in my truck and the crab would make it home (hour drive) without water and Ice.  I have also done the ice in the cooler method too. They all work.

Like many have said the best way is to clean and cook at the beach, that way when you get home, you are ready to relax and enjoy.

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Like many have said the best way is to clean and cook at the beach, that way when you get home, you are ready to relax and enjoy.

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I don't think I'd make it all the way home with the aroma of cooked crab in the back of my truck, lol.

Dredging this one up to get advice.  Got 10 crab today, not enough time to cook them tonight.  Have them in about 20 gallons of seawater with an aerator going in an open 27gal black storage bin.  They seem happy and active, but what do you guys think?  I am hoping to cook them in the morning.  Should I suck it up and steam them tonight, or do you think they will be fine in the am?  The temp should stay between 50-60 all night.  Anyone do anything similar?