Biochemical composition of the edible parts of the spider crab Schizophrys aspera in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal

Spider crab Schizophrys aspera (Brachyura: Majidae) from Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal was studied during the spawning season for total edible yield, moisture, total protein, total lipid and total carbohydrate in the edible tissue. Total edible yield, muscle yield and GSI yield in male and female spider crab were compared. Results showed that male muscle yield (32%) was greater than that of female (28%), whereas female GSI yield (5.7%) was higher than that of male (1.3%). No significant differences in total edible yield between both sexes. Regarding to moisture, it was noticed that the muscle moisture (73.5 %) was greater than that of the gonad (69.9 %). Comparing between both sexes, it was detected that male muscle moisture (76.5 %) and male gonad moisture (73.2 %) were greater than that of female (74.9 % and 70.1 %, respectively). Study of the biochemical composition in spider crab showed that gonad had higher protein, lipid and carbohydrate levels than those of muscle. Also, it was noticed that there is a difference between male and female in biochemical composition. Female spider crab showed a higher levels of protein, lipid and carbohydrate than male. The present work concludes that muscle and gonad of this crab contain high level of protein and low level of lipid and carbohydrate. These results suggest that spider crab is healthy for human consumption and is also suitable for processing into different crab products.