If you are what you eat ..........

[Pilar]

Then why do scavengers like crab, crawfish, sturgeon and others taste so good? After all these creatures are the trashmen of their eco system. They turn refuse and dead things into good eats.

Does anyone have a somewhat scientific answer? I'd be particularly interested in learning more about shellfish like crab and shrimp.

I've heard folks talk about this around the campfire but no one ever had the answer that made any sense.

Anyone?

[happybrew]

I would imagine it's because their digestive systems are very good at filtering out the bad stuff, and taking in the good stuff. In any dead fish that a crab is eating there are going to be proteins, lipids, minerals, etc., that the crab can use,and there are going to be ****** compounds created by the decay that the crab can't use. I suppose it just takes in the good, and excretes the bad for use by the plankton and seaweed as fertilizer.

happybrew

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

My guess is darn good livers.

I knew these black guys that would fish for catfish in this sewage pool by one of the schools we played on our football schedule. They were there every year and they ate them. Datz jus plain naseeee, homies. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Got Fish?]

I've always debated if sturgeon would rather have a fresh or still living bait compared to a dead rancid one. But I can say that I have had a lot better success using something fresh and natural than using something dead and artifically scented. At least with this theory I can hope that the sturgeon eat nice fresh stuff... well because I EAT THEM!
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[nivtup]

OK, I am not buying it for a second.

Do chickens taste like corn?

Do cows taste like grass and grain?

Do salmon taste like herring? Do halibut taste like herring? Do salmon and halibut taste the same?

This doesn't make any sense does it?

I wonder if I taste like Pizza?
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ 10-04-2001: Message edited by: nivtup ]

[Johnny Mac]

And I wonder if I taste like....aw nevermind. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[CATCH AND EAT]

Uncle Bob and Spooled are what they eat......
CRACKERS! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Sorry boys, Pilar set you up on this one. Actually, I am sure that I am a Big Mac. At least that is what I smell like after eating there today. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[Threemuch]

I have an answer, crabs don't eat rotten stuff, unless it's the bait in your pot. Crabs like fresh bait better than rotten. They are at the bottom of the food chain, but the best bait is fresh and oily (high in fat). So given the choice, crabs aint eating rotten anything.

How long does something dead last in the ocean before it gets eaten? My experience says about 6 hours. There isn't a bunch of rotting stuff at the bottom of the sea. If it's dead and edible, it gets eaten.

When I pulled commercial crab gear, we would turn our gear over as often as we could. Not because the pots were stuffed, but to freshen the bait. Because bad nasty rotten bait doesn't fish as well. Hanging bait would be gone within 6 hours of dropping a pot. Bait in the cup would last, but only fish for a couple of days.