the dark pink meat that comes from the swimming fins and claws of the crab. It has a stronger taste, and is less expensive than the white color meat grades. It is often used in soups, where the strong taste comes through. Claw fingers The Claw Fingers, also called Cocktail Fingers, are the tips of the pinchers, usually served whole, with the dark pink meat still in it. They are commonly used as garnish or hors d'œuvre. Imitation Imitation crab meat is widely used in America as a replacement for 100% crab meat in many dishes, due to the labour-intensive process of extracting fresh crab meat, and is popularly used in American sushi (e.g. California roll). The flaky, red-edged faux crab often served in seafood salad or California roll is most likely made of Alaska pollock. Also called walleye pollock, snow cod, or whiting, this fish is abundant in the Bering Sea near Alaska and can also be found along the central California coast and in the Sea of Japan. Pollock has a very mild flavor, making it ideal for the processing and artificial flavoring of imitation crab. While pollock is the most common fish used to make imitation crab, New Zealand hoki is also used, and some Asian manufacturers use Southeast Asian fish like golden threadfin bream and white croaker. The processing of imitation crabmeat begins with the skinning and boning of the fish. Then the meat is minced and rinsed, and the water is leached out. This creates a thick paste called surimi. The word means "minced fish" in Japanese, and the essential techniques for making it were developed in Japan over 800 years ago. Surimi is commonly used in Japan to make a type of fish ball or cake called kamaboko. In 1975, a method for processing imitation crabmeat from surimi was invented in Japan, and in 1983, American companies started production. Animal welfare Declawing of crabs is the process whereby one or both claws of a live crab are manually pulled off and the animal is then returned to the water. It occurs in several fisheries worldwide, such as in the Florida stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) fishery, the north-east Atlantic deep-water red crab (Chaceon affinis) fishery and in southern Iberia, where the major claws of the fiddler crab Uca tangeri are harvested. There is scientific debate about whether crabs experience pain from this procedure, but there