[General] picked for crabmeat

[luxury20041985]

Hello,

All the sooks go into the barrels. Upon landing they will immediately be plunged into pressure cookers, stored under refrigeration overnight and picked for crabmeat early the next morning.

William Warner, Beautiful Swimmers: Waterman, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay

How can I interpret “picked for crabmeat”? Does it mean you choose sooks from which crabmeat can be picked?

 

[SoothingDave]

No, it means people will pick all the meat off of the crabs, so the meat can then be sold. Chesapeake blue crabs are very tasty, but they are a lot of work to sit around and pick for a meal. Yes, people do do that, but it involves a lot of time. Most people prefer crabcakes or other recipes made with the crabmeat that someone else has picked.