A crab eviscerating disc is used in a crab processing machine and a method for processing a crab to a market condition. The disc is used to mill a groove along the underside of a crab body without completely cutting the crab body. Each tooth on that disc has a cut clearance angle of zero degree, and a hook angle of zero degree. Because of these teeth, the depth of the groove is limited by a bony plate and a bony ridge in the crab body. The visceral cavities of the crab body are cleaned by high pressure water sprays oriented in the groove while the crab body is still attached.

A crab eviscerating disc is used in a crab processing machine and a method for processing a crab to a market condition. The disc is used to mill a groove along the underside of a crab body without completely cutting the crab body. Each tooth on that disc has a cut clearance angle of zero degree, and a hook angle of zero degree. Because of these teeth, the depth of the groove is limited by a bony plate and a bony ridge in the crab body. The visceral cavities of the crab body are cleaned by high pressure water sprays oriented in the groove while the crab body is still attached.

Apparatus and methods for deheading and peeling shrimp hydraulically using the Venturi Effect. A shrimp-laden fluid is pumped through a conduit system including one or more venturi tubes. The acceleration of the fluid through the venturis detaches the heads and loosens or detaches the shells from the shrimp. The venturis may be used in conjunction with a roller peeler to increase peeling quality. An inspection station receives shrimp from the roller peeler and directs incompletely peeled shrimp back to the peeler or one or more of the venturis.

A crab processor is adapted to be supported by a bucket defining a rim and an inner diameter, the crab processor comprising a main portion, a first support portion, and a second support portion. The first and second portions are attached to the main portion such that the first and second support portions define first and second portions of the main portion and a distance defined by the second portion of the main portion is less than the inner diameter of the bucket. The first and second support portions engage the rim of the bucket to support the crab processor in a desired orientation relative to the bucket.

A shrimp processing machine includes a frame assembly, a drive assembly coupled therewith, a bracket member, and an adjustable cutting assembly. The adjustable cutting assembly is movable between a raised position and a lowered position and includes a cutting device and an adjustable cam plate operably coupled with the cutting device. The adjustable cam plate has a cam body, an adjustment mechanism, and an engagement region having first, second, and third engagement surfaces. The adjustable cutting assembly is adjustable between a first configuration whereby the cutting device has a slow drop-in rate and a second configuration whereby the cutting device has a fast drop-in rate.

A seafood opener comprising a fork located on a first end configured to remove shells from seafood. The fork is further configured to be used as a hammer to crack the shells of seafood. A second end of the seafood opener includes a pry blade configured to pry oysters or clams open in order to access the meat inside. A bottle opener is also located on the first end of the seafood opener.

A method for inspecting peeled shrimp by human operators in a culling station illuminated by ambient visible light and in a dark shell-detection booth illuminated by ultraviolet (UV) lamps. The UV radiation emitted by the lamps is filtered to remove visible light from the filtered UV irradiating the shrimp in the dark booth. Irradiated shrimp shell fluoresces and is detectable by the naked eye. A human operator in the dark booth detects the fluorescing shell and removes those shrimps.

A shellfish meat extraction device that automates that process of extracting meat from shellfish parts, such as lobster claws, by using pressurized tubes to grip the parts and then bursts of pressure to effectively shoot the meat out of the part, after which the empty shell is discarded and the process repeated.

A method and apparatus for deshelling shellfish, particularly lobsters. An automated processing line conveys shellfish through a plurality of stations that sanitize, butcher, cut, and extract the meat, and then packages and prepares the package for sale. Vision systems with multi-axis robots guide and manipulate the shellfish through the processing line. Customized breaking blocks are used to sever parts of the shellfish, for example, the tail, knuckles and claws of a lobster, and a customized gripping device is provided for securing the severed parts in position on a conveyor. A water knife is then used to precisely cut the shell of the severed part.

Methods and systems using a vision system to process shrimp. The vision system captures images of samples of shrimps. The processor produces a digital image of the shrimps in the samples. Shrimps exiting a peeler are imaged to determine the number of tail segments in each. The shrimps are classified by the number of intact segments, and quality, yield, and throughput computed from the classification results. The processor can control operational settings of the peeler based on the classification results. In a larger system including other shrimp-processing equipment besides the peeler, other points along the processing path can be imaged by camera or sensed by other sensors to determine processing quality and to make automatic operational adjustments to the equipment.