Callinectes sapidus.

That’s the scientific name for the blue claw crab. In Latin, it means “beautiful swimmer,” and to many, it’s about the most beautiful thing in our bay … until you get pinched by one. But even then, catching, cooking and eating blue claw crabs is one of the most time-honored traditions in Southern Ocean County. They can be caught in every part of our bay, inlets and up most tidal creeks.

The blue claw crab is a bottom feeder, native from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico.