Seafood Information
Seafood Sizes, Weights, Measures
This page offers a variety of information relating to seafood sizes, weights and units of measure. In many cases, seafood sizes are not standard and will vary locally. All information is subject to change.
Hard Clams - Quahogs
Weight per pound and hinge size (thickness of clam measured at hinge) below are approximate:
Chowder .5 - 1.25 pounds each over 2 inches 200 - 250 per bushel
Cherrystone 3-4 per pound 2 inch
Topneck 5-7 per pound 1 1/2 inch
Middleneck 7-9 per pound 1 1/4 inch
Littleneck 10-13 per pound 1 inch
Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)
Shucked Size - Number of oysters in a pint
Extra Large or Counts - less than 20
Large or Extra Select - 20–26
Medium or Select - 26–38
Small or Standard - 38–63
Very Small - more than 63
Scallops
Sea scallops and bay scallops are sorted according to size. Counts are expressed as a range. For example, 10/20 means that 1 pound of product contains 10 to 20 scallops. The smaller the size, the higher the counts.
Scallop Sizes
Under -10 (up to 10 pieces per pound)
10-20 (10 to 20 per pound)
20-30
40-80
80-120
120-250
Warm Water Shrimp
* Warm water shrimp are usually sold by count per pound.
* Counts are expressed as a range. For example, 10/25 means that 1 pound of product contains 10 to 25 shrimp. The smaller the size, the higher the counts.* Shrimp sizes are occasionally expressed in names rather than numbers, such as "colossal," "jumbos," and "extra large." These designations are not universally defined or regulated and is open to a wider range of variance than the count system,
* The following is a rough comparison of number of shrimp per pound for each market name:
Jumbo - 8 to 10
Large - 10 to 25
Medium - 26 to 40
Small - 41 to 60
* Fresh Southern Atlantic and Gulf Coast shrimp are sometimes sold in mixed sizes or heads on. These can be excellent values depending on the application, price and freshness. Remember that heads on shrimp yield considerable less meat per pound than heads off product.
* A rule of thumb is that 2 pounds of shrimp in their shells will yield about 1 1/4 pounds when peeled.
* Allow about 3/4-1 lb pound headless shrimp in the shell per person; if the shrimp are shelled, figure about 1/3 to 2/3 pound per person.
American Lobsters
The net weight of the American lobster meat depends on the size and condition of the lobsters. Soft shelled lobsters net a much lower yield of meat than hard shelled individuals. Typically, 5 - 6 pounds of soft-shell lobsters or 4 - 5 pounds of hard-shell lobsters will net 1 pound of meat.
Blue Crabs
Blue crabs are sold by the piece, dozen or bushel. Retail markets or online specialty suppliers may sort crabs into size. Local suppliers and wholesale operations usually offer crabs by the bushel. Sizes or grades of bushels include #1, #2 and #3. The three grades are not precisely defined and exact sizes of crabs in each grade vary with location and season. Typically, a bushel of #1 crabs will contain about 60 - 70 crabs (enough to feed about 10 - 12 people).
Blue crabs reach shell widths of up to 9 inches; a typical individual is usually 5-6 inches from tip to tip. Although there is no official standard for blue crab sizes, they are sometimes marketed using the following market terms:
Colossal - 6 1/2 inches or more.
Jumbo - 6 to 6 1/2 inches.
Large - 5 1/2 to 6 inches.
Medium - 5 to 5 1/2 inches.
Small - 4 1/2 to 5 inches.
* measured from shell tip to tip.
Depending on size, blue crabs weigh from about 5 to 16 oz. each. A typical crab picker can extract about 2-3 ounces of meat from each pound of whole blue crabs. Actual yields depend on the size and condition of crabs and experience of the crab picker.
Dungeness Crabs
On average 2 pounds of Dungeness crabs (live weight) yields about .5 pounds of picked meat.
Stone Crabs
Stone crab claws are usually sold pre-cooked and graded based on weight:
medium (up to 3 ounces)
large (between 3 and 5 ounces)
jumbo (5 ounces and up)
It generally takes about a pound of crab claws to feed one person.
Fish
Sizes of fish vary greatly as does the ratio of whole live weight to net weight of fillets. Depending on a variety of factors, fish may be sold whole, gutted only, headed and gutted, as skin-on fillets, skinless fillets, steaks, loins or smaller pieces.
Some fish yield much higher ratios of edible meat than others. Species such as flounder are a good value in terms of final yield. A good fish monger can net as much as 60% of live weight as boneless skin on fillets from flounder.
Most species of tuna fish yield around 42 percent white meat and 12 percent red meat.