The
farming of moulting crabs is a local industry peculiar to
the Venice lagoon.
"Moeche"
or "moleche" refers, in Venetian dialect,
to the soft shell moulting stage of green crabs (Carcinus
aestuarii).
As
a matter of fact, crabs are encased in a hard, rigid shell
of fixed shape which must be cast off at intervals and
replaced by a larger one so that the animal may have room to
grow; this process is known as moulting.
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