A recent article on a Baltimore tradition, "Crabs and spaghetti in Crabtown" (Oct. 16), included a recipe that called for a dozen "female" crabs.
While it is legal for commercial crabbers to harvest some females (with some restrictions), recreational crabbers are prohibited from catching females and for a very good reason. We should save the crabs, then eat them.
Recipes should not, and need not, specify female crabs. The difference in taste between a male and female crab is negligible, but the impact to their survival is large.
I strongly recommend that cooks not use females.
Alan Pflugrad